2.1.3. Literary analysis of the short story “The Nightingale and the Rose”

The Nightingale and the Rose (1888) is O. Wilde's short story included in his fairy tales collection The Happy Prince And Other Tales [50]. This short story embodies the typical writing styles and techniques of Oscar Wilde, namely vivid imagery, satirical tone and flowery wording style. It is frequently anthologized as a classic short story about love which interprets its true meaning.

Genre: It is a short story. Although the literary work does have certain features of a fairy-tale, like fantastical elements (talking Nightingale, Lizard, Daisy, Rose-trees) and occurrences in groups of three, it does not adhere to fairy-tale conventions, as there is no happy ending.

Theme: Nightingale's noble self-sacrifice in the name of Love.

Main idea: Persuing true love may involve some sacrifice, while the «fake love» always involves material interests.

The short story may be perceived as critique to the society that values usefulness and material wealth above true feelings.

Conflict: Love vs. Reason.

Range of problems: problem of altruism and self-sacrifice, problem of changing nature of the human emotions, problem of greed, problem of bookish knowledge as opposed to true wisdom.

Plot

Exposition: The Nightingale decides to help the Student find a red rose for the Professor's daughter so he could dance with her.

Rising Action: The Nightingale travels to several rose bushes in search for the red rose. She then finds out about the way she can obtain one and considers sacrificing her life.

Climax: The Nightingale sacrifices itself to create a beautiful crimson rose.

Falling action: The Student finds the red rose and brings it to the Professor's daughter.

Denoument: After being turned down, the Student complains about love and regards it as silly, useless and unpractical. He goes into his dorm and studies.

Narration / Point of view

The story is told from an omniscient narrator. The narrator uses the third person to tell the story and he is not involved in it.

Specific Setting

1) Time: winter (day and night);

2) Places: the Student's garden, the Nightingale's nest in the holm-oak tree, the boy's room and the Professor's house.

Mood: sad and very emotional; dark and tragic.

System of characters:

I. Main characters:

Protagonists:

— The Nightingale: empathic, unselfish, motherly, kind, self-sacrificail, determined, brave, impulsive;

— The Student: naive, superficial, unexperienced, intelligent, but not wise; his love for the girl lacks depth and passion.

Antagonist:

— Professor's daughter: a selfish, materialistic girl.

II. Secondary (minor) characters: Lizard, Butterfly and Daisy (mere observers, symbolize the cynic people); White Rose Tree, Yellow Rose Tree, Red Rose Tree, Chamberlain's nephew.

Symbols:

1) The rose: love, beauty and passion (it is hard to find and sometimes it involves sacrifices and pain); the unattainable / fantasy;

2) The Nightingale: romance, utopian love, nurture, sacrifice;

3) White: purity and innocence;

4) Red: love and passion;

5) The student: naiveness, intelligence;

6) Professor's daughter: fickleness of love, insincerity;

7) Oak tree: wisdom;

8) Thorn: death, suffering;

9) Jewels: material possessions, greed.

Some of the symbols have biblical aspects.

Archetypal interpretation:

The caregiver — The Nightingale;

The Sage — The Student;

The Magician — The Red Rose Tree;

The Skeptic — The Lizard;

Stylistic devices:

Personification: The white Moon heard it, and she forgot the dawn.

Simile: His hair is dark as hyacinth-blossom, and his lips are red as the rose.

Hyperbole: She will dance so lightly that her feet will not touch the floor.

Metaphor: She sang of the birth of passion in the soul of a man and a maid.

Repetition: Bitter, bitter was the pain, and wilder and wilder grew her song.

Allusion: Life is very dear to all. It is pleasant to sit in the green wood, and to watch the Sun in his chariot of gold, and the Moon in her chariot of pear.

Polysyndeton & gradation: But the Nightingale's voice grew faiter, and her little wings began to beat, and a film came over her eyes.

Irony: The Nightingale calles the Student «the last true lover», when in truth his feelings lack depth and passion. The most cruel bit of irony resides in the fact that

the Nightingale's sacrifice has gone to waste and her feat was never acknowledged.

Possible interpretation

The short story also demonstrates Wilde's dissatisfaction about the alienation towards him and his ideas [33]. Nightingale is a symbol of Wilde himself. He expresses his grievances through this short story that he is like the nightingale, producing art with blood from his heart, whereas the world is too insensitive and conservative to notice. The implication being that a society that suffers from hypocrisy and spiritual emptiness simply cannot aknowledge such «nightingales».