The Happy Prince analysing the relationship between the Swallow and the Happy Prince

Done:
The Happy Prince is not only an interesting fairy tale for children but it also contains
thoughtful morals for adults by Oscar Wilde’s pen. For his point of view in writing: “art for
art’s sake”, he built successfully the two main characters touching the reader’s heart - the
Happy Prince and the Swallow. They give us a beautiful picture of a good relationship
between two non-human entities but through their relationship, we can find the real validity
and beauty of human beings.
The Happy Prince was a real prince before. He lived in a palace where no sadness and
worry can come until he dies. After he died, he became a statue stood high above the city.
Because the value of society bases on gold and jewels, he is thought to be beautiful and
presents for happiness: “His body is covered by leaves of fine gold; for eyes he had two
bright sapphires...” However, when he is a statue, he realizes that everything is different.
Observing the poor are in miserable circumstances, a statue with a lead heart as him weeps.
The Swallow is on his fly to Egypt stops below the statue and eventually becomes touched by
the statue’s kindness and desire to help the others when he sees the Prince’s tears. Since then
has begun the relationship of the Happy Prince and the Swallow. It’s friendship. He becomes
the messenger of the Prince and agrees to bring jewels and gold from him to the poor. For the
first time, the Swallow resisted the Prince’s offer but he used his deeply-felt words to
convince the Swallow to agree: “Swallow, Swallow, little Swallow,” “will you not stay with
me…be my messenger…” Although the weather here is getting colder and colder, he is late
for the trip with his friends and even he was hurt by the boys, he ignores them and forgives.
This friendship is very beautiful because it makes two different entities sympathize each other
and with the others by means of their righteousness and generosity. If the Swallow can put off
the trip and his desire for his love with the Reed, now he can postpone it just for a good deed
of his friend. This makes him feel warmer in the cold weather. Thus, the Prince uses this
close name and demands his friend by the honest way repeated many times in the story:
“Swallow, Swallow, little Swallow”, “will you not stay with me one night longer?”, “ do as I
command you” and the Swallow obeys him well.
Especially, this beautiful friendship finally turns to love. Despite the cold winter, the
Swallow has no longer wanted to leave the Prince because he loves him now. He was blind

and he sacrificed too much for the sake of the others. However, he doesn’t force or offer to
keep the Swallow as he loves him and he doesn’t want to let him die of coldness “No, little
Swallow, you must go away to Egypt”, “…you must kiss me on the lips, for I love you”. The
Swallow knows that his bigger dream is bringing help to those who are in need and being his
friend eyes as well as gives him a company throughout the winter. He can not let him weep
alone with his powerless. He must be with him to share with his friend about the marvelous
things as well as miseries that people are suffering and continue helping them. Nevertheless,
it is not a normal love. It is a love between two men and it is in contrast with the love of the
Swallow with the Reed. The love of him with the Reed is a true love lasting from the spring
to the whole summer. Even though he was warned that the Reed is poor, he didn’t want to
abandon her. However, it bases on the outer beauty. He loves her because of her beauty. They
are not well matched. Their ideas and desires are so different. She loves wind but he doesn’t.
On the contrary, he loves travelling but she loves bounding at home and flirting with the
wind. Therefore, their love failed. The Swallow loves the Prince, not for the first sight. They
both do the charity together for the love of poor people and then understand each other. They
can not be separated. However, the little Swallow can not stand the coldness and dies. At the
same time, the statue is also broken down because of his ugliness and useless. God praised
their love and humanity and let they live a happy life together in the heaven. Whether through
their relationship, the author is sympathizing with himself for his homosexual practice and
appealing us to sympathize with this love? Oscar Wilde here shows that real love is
regardless of everything and finally will be rewarded. Shallow minded people can not accept
this great love and lose the humanity. However, God and angels can see it. This irony
indicates that the quality of love is the most important thing.
Through their relationship, Oscar Wilde wants to transform his moral lessons to the
reader: we shouldn’t live for ourselves, we should share and sympathize with the difficulties
of the poor and needy as well as the others. Besides, it also points out that beauty and
materialism are not important as the life of human beings. We gain happiness through
sacrifice, sharing and love. Generosity is only real when we sacrifice to the others without
receiving something in return. Especially, love is for everyone and they must have the equal

rights so we should accept, sympathize and respect instead of criticizing them or keeping
them away from our society.


As a student like me, I don’t have much money as well as jewels and gold like the
Happy Prince but I will ready to give them my hands in volunteer works like the Swallow to
delete the distance between people and people in our society.