Phân tích tác phẩm THE NIGHTINGALE AND THE ROSE

ĐẠI HỌC QUỐC GIA THÀNH PHỐ HỒ CHÍ MINH
TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC KHOA HỌC XÃ HỘI VÀ NHÂN VĂN
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THE NIGHTINGALE AND THE ROSE
I.

OSCAR WILDE (1854-1937)

1/ Life
- Oscar Fingal O’Flahertie Wills Wilde (Oscar Wilde) was born in October 16, 1854 in
Dublin Ireland.
- An Irish poet and playwright.
- His father is a surgeon and mother is an Irish poetry.
- Studied in Portora Royal School and then Trinity and Magdalen College (Oxford)
- In 1884, he married Constance Lloyd (daughter of a barrister) and had two sons.
- In 1895, he was sent into jail for 2 years because of crossing indecency with men.
- In 1897, he got free, went to France and died at the age of 46.
2/ Select works
- A spokesman for aestheticism.
- The Happy Prince and Other Stories (1888, fairy stories)
- The Soul of Man under Socialism (1891, political essay)
- The Important of Being Earnest (performed 1895, published 1898, play)
- The Ballad of Reading Gaol (1898, poem)

II. PLOT
1/ Exposition
The prince held a ball. The Professor’s daughter whom the student was attracted to
promised to dance with him only when he gave her a red rose first. Unfortunately, the
student could not have any red roses in his garden, which made “his beautiful eyes filled
with tears”.

The Nightingale overheard the Student’s lament and judged him to be “a true lover”.
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2/ Rising action
While the other animals were cynical about the reason the Student's crying, the
nightingale decided to help the Student. She went to three rose trees but none had a red
rose except the last one. However, the red rose tree could not produce rose because of
winter. There was only method to have a red rose but it cost the Nightingale's life as it
said “'You must build it out of music by moonlight, and stain it with your own heart'sblood”
3/ The climax
Despite of having to lose her “dear”, “pleasant” and “sweet” life, the nightingale
“flew to the Rose-tree, and set her breast against the thorn”. She sacrificed herself to
create a red rose. “All night long”, the nightingale “must sing” and “the thorn must
pierce” her heart, and her “life-blood must flow into” the rose tree veins. Finally, the red
rose was created by the death of the Nightingale.
4/ The falling action
The professors’ daughter rejected to accept the red rose. First, she politely refused
that the rose would not go with her dress. Then she mentioned Chamberlain’s nephew
was more acceptable as he had sent “real jewels”.
5/

Resolution
The Student angrily threw away the red rose and ‘a cart wheel went over it’. Then,

the student concluded that love was not practical and went back to study.
6/

Conflict
 The student needed a red rose to have chance with the Professor’s daughter but

he could not have one.
 The Student’s love: At the beginning, he was supposed to be deeply in love with
the Professor’s daughter as he said, “my heart will break”. However, unlike the
Nightingale took action, he just wept and did nothing for his love. He turned out to be the
one who did not understand what love was. “for he only knew the things that are written
down in books” “I am sure it has a long Latin name”. At the end of the story, after being

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turned down by the girl, the Student criticized his love and considered love as “a silly
thing”.
 The different opinions in love among characters: To the Nightingale, love is
wonderful thing, which is “better than Life”, “more precious than emeralds” and
“cannot buy it”. To the Student, love is just a short-term passion and easily forgotten
which does not make him think about sacrifice. To the Professor's daughter, she
considered love as a conditional and material one, which is based on social conditions.
 Reason vs. Passion: Reason is stated by the judgements of the other animals of the
garden about the Student’s “very ridiculous” sweeping. Reason also comes in the form of
the Nightingale’s reluctance in choosing between her beautiful life and the red rose.
Nevertheless, in the Nightingale, the passion won over the passion. Finally, with the
reason of the Professor’s daughter, Nightingale’s sacrifice seems just a miserable and
false passion.

III. SETTING
1/ Physical setting
-

In capital city where people are more educated and there is the discrimination

between the rich and poor.
-

The main story happened in the garden where these creatures here are all personified

and animated. The garden supposed to be colorful and bursting with life was still under
the great influence of the winter. The garden in “The nightingale and the Rose” is just
like the society at that time which is reflected by its citizens (holm-oak tree, nightingale,
lizard, butterfly, daisies…). It could not have red rose, or that society was too “cold” for
love to exist and survive.
-

At the Professor’s doorway, Professor’s daughter refused the student invitation to the

Prince’s ball.
2/ Chronological setting

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-

We can realize that Wilde put the story in springtime by the saying of the red rose:

“the winter has chilled my veins, and the frost has nipped my buds, and the storm has
broken my branches, and I shall have no roses at all this year.”
-

Not the middle or the end of spring but just the beginning so plants recovered and

bloomed after the hard wintertime.
 Spring often comes with happiness and love but in this case, spring came with sorrow
and hopelessness.
Time span: day-night-day. The time to create the red rose was all night that clarifies
more the suffering and pain of the nightingale.

IV.

CHARACTERS

1/ MAIN CHARACTERS
1.1/ The student
Through the nightingale’s narration, the student has a good appearance. “His
beautiful eyes filled with tears”, “his hair is dark as the hyacinth-blossom, and his lips are
red as the rose his desire”.
He is just a student and he has no social standing. At the end of the story the girlProfessor’s daughter refused to dance with him even though he had the red rose she
requested him to have. She also said that “I tell you what, you are very rude; and, after
all, who are you? Only a student.”
He was a bookish and rigid person. He was insensitive to the beauty of art.


He thought that love also had in books and he believed that was always true.

Thus, when he knew there was no red rose in his garden and he would not dance with the
girl he loved, he cried and wondered why “on what little things does happiness depend.”
It was not like which was written in the wise men’s books as well as all the secrets of
philosophy that were imprinted deeply in his head.
When the nightingale decided to sacrifice life for the student and said the last
words for him, he could not understand and did not have any emotion. Because “he only

knew the things that are written down in books.” He could not realize as well as feel the
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meaning of true love the nightingale wanted to say with him. “She has some beautiful
notes’, ‘they do not mean anything’. This analytical mind led him to the conclusion that
“do any practical good”. Because he did not understand what the true love was, he had a
disrespectful attitude in dealing with it. When he was denied by Professor’s daughter “he
threw the rose into the street”, walked away and concluded “what is a silly thing love is.”
Furthermore, he thought that love “is not half as useful as Logic, for it does not prove
anything, and it is always telling one of things that are not going to happen, and making
one believe things that are not true.” Then he returned to his room, went back to
Philosophy and studied Metaphysics.
 He was so selfish and calculating in love. He said he loved Professor’s daughter
and wanted to have a red rose for her; but he did nothing to find the red rose. He only
cried and moaned. He thought about the party tomorrow night if he did not have a red
rose the girl who he fell in love will not dance with him and had no heel of him that made
his heart break. Then, he thought about a luxury and romantic space in the party and the
scene of the dance with the girl he loved. But he realized he has no red rose; so “he flung
himself down on the grass, buried his face in his hands and wept.” Besides, there was
actually a red rose “that was growing beneath the Student’s window” but it was unable to
blossom because of his dusty books. Then, he went back to his room and slept. It showed
that he did not will to sacrifice for love and only imagined the prospects. He was the
presentative of the logic and anti-aesthetics education, which made him judge things in its
practical and utilitarian value.
1.2/ The nightingale
To the nightingale, love was very important “It is more precious than emeralds,
and dearer than fine opals. Pearls and pomegranates cannot buy it, nor is it set forth in the
market-place”. To her, it was a platonic love but her love for the Student was too sincere
and deep that made her agree to sacrifice life for him. When she saw the student cry, she

decided to help him find a red rose. Finally, after two times of being unable to find the
red rose three, she did not give up had found it. When she had to face with the fact that
the red rose three was hurt by winter and it needed blood of nightingale’s heart stain its
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rose in the nightingale’s singing all night moon. She still put the Student first and agreed
to sacrifice life for the red rose without requesting anything in return. The Nightingale is
the symbol of sacrifice and aesthetics which was greatly influenced on Oscar Wilde
writing.
The nightingale was quite innocent because she believed in student’s love that was
a true love just by his agony, his look and his whispers. The student cried and moaned
because of no red rose in his garden but the nightingale concluded, “Here at last is a true
lover” and felt pity for him. In addition, she affirmed again “here indeed is the true lover”
when she heard and looked his pain because of love. On the other hand, the Student,
visibly, was not worthy for her love. The nightingale’s sacrifice, miserably, was useless
and disregarded. At the end, “he threw the rose into the street, where it fell into the gutter,
and a cart-wheel went over it.” This sorrowful sacrifice of Nightingale reflects the social
criticism at the time when the true values were overshadowed by superficial values.
1.3/ The Professor’s Daughter
From the beginning, the readers just know about the girl by basing on the personal
view of the student until the student gave her the red rose. She was a beautiful girl “She
will dance so lightly that her feet will not touch the floor, and the courtiers in their gay
dresses will throng around her” Oscar Wilde described portrayal of the Professor’s
Daughter with universal human weakness: materialism, selfishness and the duality of
personality.
Even though she was visualized to be ideal, elite and educated lady from a Professor
family “I shall hold her in my arms, and she will lean her head upon my shoulder, and
her hand will be clasped in mine”, she turned out to have an opposite attitude toward the
Student when he brought the required red rose. “Ungrateful!' said the girl. “I tell you

what, you are very rude; and, after all, who are you? Only a Student. Why, I don't believe
you have even got silver buckles to your shoes as the Chamberlain's nephew has". This
speech shows the ironic and humorous reality that appearance and social status cannot
always judge correctly the true value of a person.

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Besides, she also was materialism and utilitarian person by weighing out in “the
balance for gold” "the Chamberlain's nephew has sent me some real jewels, and
everybody knows that jewels cost far more than flowers." This character shows us the
dark side of human under the beautiful cover and tending to place undue emphasis on
external beauty often leads to the misjudgment of inner values.
1.4/ The red rose tree/ The red rose
The red rose was the final rose tree, which was growing beneath the Student's
window. “My roses are red,” it answered, “as red as the feet of the dove, and redder than
the great fans of coral that wave and wave in the ocean-cavern. But the winter has
chilled my veins, and the frost has nipped my buds, and the storm has broken my
branches, and I shall have no roses at all this year.” It was extremely nearby the Student,
but it was damaged by the coldness of society.
Red roses are traditionally associated with the true love which need constant
nourishment of passion of the lovers so it also is used by Oscar Wilde to symbolize the
real love in the Nightingale and the Rose. First, the red rose was considered as a gift,
which represented the student's love for the girl since she asked him to give her. The
nightingale also asserted that the flower was an expression of true love and she sacrificed
her life to bring the Student a red rose. In fact, the red of this rose came from the
nightingale heart and was made by her blood. In the end, neither the student nor the girl
were able to appreciate the real significance of this symbolic, the red rose. In the girl’s
view, the rose was not as worthy as the jewel she got from another suitor. By the red rose
journey, we can see the true romance value, which is the most precious and appreciated

thing in the world, at Oscar Wilde time was lamentably ignored.
Besides, the red rose tree also reveal us its selfishness. The rose tree knew she
would not have any rose in this year, so this was the best chance for her to fulfill its
bloom desire even though her beauty cost the Nightingale’s life.
“'You must build it out of music by moonlight, and stain it with your own heart'sblood. - You must sing to me with your breast against a thorn. All night long you must

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sing to me by moonlight. -All night long you must sing to me, and the thorn must pierce
your heart, and your life-blood must flow into my veins, and become mine.”
She constantly emphasized and hustled the process although the nightingale life –
blood must flew into her vines and became weaker. Here is the very human trait hinted by
the author. In front of getting the benefit, humans usually put themselves first and have a
destructive action.
2/ MINOR CHARACTERS
2.1/ The oak tree
The oak tree understood and empathized with the feeling of the Nightingale
because the nightingale's nest was in his branches and he observed throughout the
process. "The Oak-tree understood, and felt sad, for he was very fond of the little
Nightingale who had built her nest in his branches." He was so sorry to hear that she
would self-sacrifice for creating a rose and he mourned for the death of nightingale.
“Sing me one last song,” he whispered; “I shall feel very lonely when you are gone.”
2.2/ Three animals:
The green Lizard, the butterfly and the daisy were indifferent, they did not know
what happened and maybe they did not really care about it. They filled the role of the
cynics and the realists in human society, as they could not understand why the Student
was crying over a rose, and implicitly, over love:“Why is he weeping?' asked a little
Green Lizard, as he ran past him with his tail in the air. Why, indeed?' said a Butterfly,
who was fluttering about after a sunbeam. 'Why, indeed?' whispered a Daisy to his

neighbor, in a soft, low voice.”
2.3/ Two other rose trees: white rose, yellow rose.
- The white rose was the first rose the nightingale found when she went in the search of
the red rose. "In the center of the grass-plot was standing a beautiful Rose-tree". But it
was not red so the white tree rose suggested nightingale to go to its brother.
- The second rose tree was "the rose-tree that was growing round the old sun-dial." Its
color still was not red, like the white rose, yellow rose suggested nightingale to go to his
brother. "My roses are yellow,” it answered; “as yellow as the hair of the mermaiden who
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sits upon an amber throne, and yellower than the daffodil that blooms in the meadow
before the mower comes with his scythe."

V. ATMOSTPHERE AND TONE
Atmosphere is similar to an atmosphere of a fairytale
Tone: sad and ironic

VI. POINT OF VIEW
The point of view in short story “The Nightingale and the Rose” is third-person
omniscient. The narrator is omniscient because the story reveals not only outside the
actions of all characters but also their innermost thoughts. For example, the narrator
knows the Nightingale felt toward the Student and how she appreciated the true love. On
the other hand, the author approaches the Student’s thought to show his view on love
which was opposed to the Nightingale. The readers, thanks to the use of third-person
omniscient, are able to see the death of the Nightingale while the other character (the
Student did not know it). Due to the third-person omniscient, the difference between
characters are greater clarified.
Besides, by letting the readers approach the character’s feeling and actions, the
Oscar Wilde gave readers a wider view on the story and easier evoked sympathy and

understanding of the characters. It also helps the author reveal his viewpoint about his
character in an easier and fairer way. For example, Oscar Wilde wanted to criticized the
Logic thinking at that time as he said “but he could not understand what the Nightingale
was saying to him, for he only knew the things that are written down in books”

VII. THEME
1/ Love, which comes in many forms is not always perfect and sweet
In Nightingale and the Rose, there are three forms of love: sacrifice love,
infatuation and conditional love.
The nightingale who stained the red rose with her own heart-blood reflects the
sacrifice love. To her, love is something sacred and better than life. Day after day, the
Nightingale was on the palm-tree, observed the Student and was attracted to his good
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appearance. She gradually built a one-sided love with him, thus was touched by his words
and tears. She had a strong belief in an ideal love, which believed that love is a worthy
cause to sacrifice. She did not ask the Student anything except his being a true lover.
These reflects the sacrifice love, which means giving away without receiving.
Unfortunately, this sacrifice love is futile after all because of the lack of reason. She had a
wrong thought about the Student when supposing him to be true lover. As a result, her
“life rose” was thrown away, “a cart-wheel went over it”. These show that without
reason, sacrifice love that has been considered as the most precious and
prioritized feature of love is not always a good choice for us.
Infatuation love is represented by the Student. Even though he was attracted to the
Professor’s Daughter, his love just contained short-term passion and based on the
appearance of Professor’s daughter. Without knowing the meaning of love was, he just
thought that if he had a red rose, he could dance with the girl. When he met the challenge
to achieve his love, he gave up immediately without thinking of sacrifice. Thus, when the
girl looked down on him, he changed his attitude instantly and concluded that love was a

“silly thing” “always telling one of things that are not going to happen, and making one
believe things that are not true’, “It is quite unpractical, and, as in this age to be
practical everything”.
The material love is defined by Professor’s daughter. She came from a higher class
than the Student and disregarded the poor. Wealth and status were the reasons why she
rejected the rose and chose Chamberlain’s nephew who gave her valuable jewels.
Besides, the Chamberlain’s nephew is also materialistic because he showed his love by
precious jewels. Love is also often based on social conditions as materialism and status.
Love has multi forms and each single form never can meet our perfect expectation.
Through the Nightingale and the Rose, we should have a balance between passion,
sacrifice and reason in love. Additionally, the story shows the fact that people do not
often appreciate love and understand sacrifices. Sometimes, we, sadly, usually forget
about the true meaning of love and care more about the other things.
2/ Materialism greatly influenced on the society while love was disregarded
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The story is set in the winter and in a garden without rose. The garden was
regarded as a mirror of the society at Victorian era when the Materialism were more
appreciated than Romanticism. The winter presented the coldness (without romance) of
this society, which made the love symbol – the red rose tree was unable to blossom. Thus,
unsurprisingly, the other animals had negative thought about the Student’s weeping.
Moreover, the fact that love, in the Professor’s Daughter and the Chamberlain’s nephew
view, could be purchased like a market-goods shows the great influence of the
Materialism on the society. This was also revealed through the repetition about
“practical” of the Student. On the other hand, the romance value was poorly treated by
calling “a silly thing”. The most beautiful and precious proof of the true love was ignored
and thrown away like a trash. Oscar Wilde criticized the weakness of the his society and
showed the negative impacts of industrialism.
3/ Education should not only contain the logical and practical thinking

The Student represented for the Philosophy: Metaphysics (had to be based on
Science and Logical thinking) which prevented the human emotions has a negative value.
These “great dusty books” which came from the “great” philosophers but was “dusty”
which did not approach the human emotions. This made the Student who had read tons of
books unable to understand what ‘a little thing is” love was. His reaction to the beauty of
the rose is ‘I am sure it has a long Latin name'

VIII. FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE
1/ Symbolism
The Nightingale represents a true lover and true artist when it sacrificed itself for the
person it loves, for the beauty of love and for the masterpiece of love. A true lover who is
the embodiment of the willingness to sacrifice their life for the one they love is an
unselfish love. Moreover, the Nightingale embodies a true artist when ready to sacrifice
herself to embellish a masterpiece of true love - the red rose. She believed in the love of
the Student for the girl and chose to sacrifice for that beauty. In both symbols for artist
and lover is the presence of sacrifice and passion. “Love is better than life and what is the
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heart of a bird compared to the heart of a man”, “love is a wonderful thing”, “all that I
ask of you in return is that you will be a true lover”, “she sang of the birth of passion in
the soul of man and a maid”
The student embodied the sentimental beauty, full of word but cliché, cynic and
selfish love. He did not appreciate and understand the true beauty of real love.
The red rose is a symbol of romance, but there was the price for love when the
Student had to have it to get the girl’s acceptance, and when the Nightingale had to pay a
painful death to create a red rose (“Death is a great price to pay for a red rose”).
2/ Personification
The natural world in this short story becomes incredibly lively under the author's
pen by his using personification. Oscar Wilde personifies the bird (The Nightingale), the

reptile (Lizard), the insect (Butterfly), the plants (Oak tree, Rose tree and Daisy) and the
Sun, the Moon by using words to refer human actions to plant and animal actions (Plants
and animals can speak, look, hear, cry and show their feeling, their thinking). Creatures
become characters who came into direct contact with the human world with full of
feeling. These made the story vivid, so the readers are easier to consider these creatures
as a typical citizen in the Victorian period.
3/ Simile
Comparison about color ("his hair is dark as ..., his lips are red as ..., like pale ivory,
as white as ..., whiter than ..., as yellow as ... and yellower than ..., pale as ..., silver
as ..., ) helps the reader visualize the true and vivid images of colors depicted on things in
story, makes exactly the colors that people do not easily describe by simple color
adjectives, depicting nature with the color of nature.
Comparison about things ("precious coal emeralds, ... like flame, like water
bubbling ..., as the mist, as the feet ..., as a shadow, as ruby …) helps the reader clearly
visualize the characteristics of phenomena such as color and shape.
Comparison about the smell and taste ("sweet is ..., like frankincense, sweet as")
helps the reader feel the true smell and taste of things.

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Comparison in this story makes images more specific and vivid. Most comparisons
help things which is less specific is more specific. It helps the reader visualize things and
things to talk about. Moreover, the comparison helps evoke the reader’s imagination and
bring a new way of perception about an object.
4/ Irony
“ ‘Well, upon my word, you are very ungrateful,’ said the Student angrily; and he
threw the rose into the street, where it fell into the gutter, and a cart-wheel went over it.”
The type of Irony in the story is situation Irony. It occurs when the girl rejected the
red rose, Young Student thrown the rose into the street and a car-wheel went over it. That

the red rose which Nightingale sacrificed her life to get was thrown easily and ruthlessly
is not the situation that readers expect to happen. As a result, this unexpected
consequence makes the readers interpret the message of the story. Two messages we may
reach are that Young Student is not a true lover because he got away the red rose which is
considered his love for the girl as soon as she refused him, and that the sacrifice for love
may not be respected or appreciated, even may be ignored by the receiver. In other word,
the Student is as ungrateful as the Girl and the Nightingale has a blind belief in love.
“What a silly thing Love is,’ said the Student as he walked away. ‘It is not half as
useful as Logic, for it does not prove anything, and it is always telling one of things that
are not going to happen, and making one believe things that are not true.’ ”
At first Young Student wanted to find a red rose to prove his love but at the end he
changed the attitude and thought love was foolish and useless. Therefore, the situation is
also a clue showing that he is not a true lover as he seems to be in the previous situation
of the story when he cried for could not finding any red rose. Actually, he is shallow in
love.
In conclusion, irony situation at the end of the story creates effectively meaningful
theme. The author has succeeded in attracting the readers by making an interested ending.
5/ Oxymoron
“Bitter, bitter was the pain, and wilder and wilder grew her song, for she sang of
the Love that is perfected by Death, of the Love that dies not in the tomb.”
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In the story, the contrary is expressed significantly is the concepts of Love and
Death. Love is emotion that exists only when we are living. By putting two opposite
concepts together, the author wants to emphasis the strength of Nightingale’s love. For
her, Life is very dear, but Love is better than Life. Evenly, Death makes Love perfect and
Death could not make Love disappear.
The nightingale has a thinking of love being too blind because she is willing to die
to make a perfect love and maybe she believes love is the most wonderful thing endless

beyond death.
5/ Hyperbole:
“She will dance so lightly that her feet will not touch the floor, and the courtiers in
their gay dresses will throng round her.”
The overstatement appears in the story when Young Student imagined the girl he
loves would dance with him in the party. The detail takes reader’s attention to the
dreaming of Student when he is in desire of love. Furthermore, this image which is
described unrealistically suggests that Student’s love is illusion and is not true as reality
occurring after that.

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