"The Nightingale and Rose"
“Nightingale
and Rose” is a famous short tragic fantasy story written by Irish playwright
and poet, a very popular literary figure in Victorian England, Oscar Wilde who
was also a spokesman of the 19th century Aesthetic movement in
England, which advocated art for art’s sake. He was known for his acclaimed
works including ‘The Pictures of Dorian Gray’ and ‘The importance of Being
Earnest”. Besides these factors he also remains in talk of town because of his
brilliant wit, flamboyant style of writing as well as imprisonment of
homosexuality.
The short
story is about a undying and altruistic love, in a typical Wilde style, the
narrative deals with irony, sarcasm, paradox and surprise as well.
“She said that
she would dance with me if I brought her red roses’, cried the young Students;
‘but in all my garden there is no red rose.’
The story
begins with boy’s quest for red rose, the girl demands him to bring red rose
then and then only she will dance with him. The story presents Nightingale and
boy as a dreamer, those who decide to love for love’s sake and are willing to
give up everything to live that standard. In term of dialogue, the short story
has its own charm. Though the dialogues are short, it is pregnant with meaning.
After doing efforts when the boy is not able to find red rose, he says...
“On what
little things,
Does the
happiness depends”
As soon as he
starts weeping as he couldn’t get a chance to dance with girl, the four
elements from nature; a little green lizard, a butterfly, a daisy and Nightingale
start to talking about him. Though all are laughing on him except a Nightingale
who in the real sense understand boy’s feeling and says
“Surely love
is a wonderful thing, It’s more precious than emeralds and diamond and gold”.
The
Nightingale as a martyr for her cause of love, wanders from one rose tree to
another one in search of the red rose for love-striken man. Finally she finds a
red rose but it is frozen, by giving a solution of it rose tree says
“You must
build it out of music by moonlight and make it red with your own heart’s
blood”.
As a
consequence a red rose comes at very high price: the life of bird. Nightingale
sacrifices her life for red rose but she is not there on the another day to see
red rose. Nightingale might think that death is a great price to pay for a red
rose, thus it is an ultimate sacrifice given by Nightingale and she dies.
“Yet love is
better than life, and what is the heart of the bird compared to the heart of a
man?”
But alas! The
boy could not even understand the message that Nightingale wants to give him.
In a very heartfelt moment the Nightingale asks to do something in exchange of
her sacrifice.
“All that I
as of you in return is that you will be a true romantic, for love is wiser than
philosophy”.
The bird’s
sacrifice is ultimately goes worse but it learns a lesson to boy. In the next
morning when the boy offers a red rose to girl, she denies it by saying it
doesn’t match with her dress as she also comments that
“Jewels cost
for more than flowers”.
Boy tries to
convince her but he fails and throws away the rose and he starts to think that
love is silly thing.
“What a silly
thing love is” said the students and he walked away.
Finally this
makes him to rely on philosophy rather than love and he starts reading again.
Thought it is very simple story, it highlights selfless nature of nightingale
and selfishness of boy. He throws away the rose in gutter without even taking
care of bird’s sacrifice and as well as from the bird he don’t even learn the
true meaning of love which stands for sacrifice. It highlights the realistic
notion of human worlds, no matter how much you sacrifice for other, the world
will look at you by putting themselves at centre and forgot about other’s
emotions and sacrifice for them.
Comments
Post a Comment