I.

OSCAR WILDE (1854-1937) (Cổ Hoàng Gia Trường)

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
- Wilde wrote during the Victorian age (1837 – 1901) when the negative effects of
industrialization on the Victorian society: individualism, materialism and utilitarianism
occurred. Oscar Wilde used his writing to expose the weaknesses of the society he lived
in.
- A spokesman for aestheticism. Aestheticism influenced his writings: beautiful
characters, themes, etc. and the writing technique reflects the beauty. He tried his hand at
various literary activities: he published a book of poems, lectured in the United States and
Canada on the new "English Renaissance in Art" and interior decoration.
 He said, “Beauty is the only thing that time cannot harm. Philosophies fall away
like sand, creeds follow one another, but what is beautiful is a joy for all seasons, a
possession for all eternity”.
- He published his only novel “The Picture of Dorian Gray”.

- The Soul of Man under Socialism (1891, political essay)

- The Important of Being Earnest (performed 1895, published 1898, play)

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 - The Ballad of Reading Gaol (1898, poem).

- The Nightingale and the Rose was originally published in Wilde’s first volume of fairy
tales, The Happy Prince and Other Tales in 1888. Wilde though he classified The
Nightingale and the Rose as a fairy tale states that is not for children, but for “childlike
people from eighteen to eighty”.

II. PLOT (Lê Đặng Hoàng Điệp)

1/ Exposition
 Necessary information is introduced:
- The main setting of the story: The Student’s garden.
- Three main characters: The Nightingale, the Student and the Professor’s Daughter.
Besides, their appearance and background information is also mentioned to help the
readers have an overview on the story:
+ The Nightingale’s home “From her nest in the holm-oak tree”
+ The Student’s appearance and social status. “The I have read all that the wise
men have written. His hair is dark as the hyacinth-blossom, and his lips are red as the
rose of his desire; but passion has made his lace like pale Ivory, and sorrow has set her
seal upon his brow.”
+ Professor’s Daughter: graceful “She will lean her head upon my shoulder, and
her hand will be clasped in mine.”
 Sudden event: The prince held a ball.
The Student asked Professor’s daughter whom he was attracted to that ball with him.
However, she demanded a red rose, which the Student could not fulfill as he said, “in all
my garden there is no red rose”. This made him “flung himself on the grass, and buried
his face in his hands, and wept”.
 The main problem of the story: having a red rose “No red rose in all my garden!”
2/ Rising action

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 The conflict “having a red rose” developed and intensified.
- The Student's crying when he was unable to have a red rose made the animals be
cynical about that “ridiculous” reason. Only the Nightingale understood the hidden
meaning of “having a red rose” and decided to help the Student.
- She went to three rose trees but none had a red rose except the last one.
- The red rose tree could not produce rose because of winter.
- The conflict comes to a higher point when exposing the only method to have a red
rose is sacrificing Nightingale's life “You must build it out of music by moonlight, and
stain it with your own heart's-blood”
3/ The climax
At this time, the Nightingale came to the most difficult decision of her life. She
struggled to fight against herself. In the end, 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. The image that the
Nightingale let “the thorn must pierce” her heart and her “life-blood must flow into”
stained the rose “all night long” while keeping singing reaches the greatest emotional
point intensity. In this event, the great sacrifice of the Nightingale gives the huge
impression on readers and touches deeply their emotions. Finally, the red rose was created
by the death of the Nightingale.
4/ The falling action
At last, the Student had a rose. However, 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”
This event made the readers wonder what the Student would behave his beloved. The
readers are surprised when they know that he criticized the Professor’s Daughter “You are
very ungrateful.” and betrayed the Nightingale in a most bitter way. He angrily threw
away the red rose and “a cart wheel went over it”. On the other hand, the readers did not

pg. 3
expect the Professor’s Daughter would insult the Student with his social status. They
supposed the story would have fairytale ending.
5/ Resolution
The student concluded that love was not practical and went back to read “a great
dusty book”.
“What a silly thing Love is,” “It is not half as useful as Logic, for it does not prove
anything” “I shall go back to Philosophy and study Metaphysics.”
The Student was no longer eager for the girl’s love. Thus, the resolution of the story
problem was given.
6/ Conflict
In this story, there are three kinds of conflict that made up the plot: physical conflict
(external conflict), social conflict (external conflict) and psychological conflict (internal
conflict).
6.1. Physical conflict (external conflict)
The conflict between the Student and the nature happens when the Student needed a
red rose but the harsh nature made him be unable to have it.
“yet for want of a red rose is my life made wretched.”
“but in all my garden there is no red rose.” “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.”
This conflict clarified the true personality of the Nightingale and the Student by
showing their different reactions when meeting Love challenge. This conflict finally
solved with the sorrowful sacrifice of the Nightingale.
6.2. Social conflict (external conflict)
 The conflict between the Nightingale and other animals.
Conflict between the Nightingale and the other animals happened when they all saw
the Student weeping because of a red rose.
The other animals criticized the reason for the Student’s weeping by stating: 'how very
ridiculous!’. A red rose contains noting extraordinary for them, thus they just showed a

pg. 4
sigh of astonishment. Moreover, the Lizard who runs ‘with his tail in the air’ is ‘a cynic’
and he ‘laughed outright’ reveals indirectly the view on Love of the emotionless society in
Oscar Wilde’s story.
Their views are opposite to the Nightingale thought on Love. Her reaction was
completely different from theirs. “But the Nightingale understood the secret of the
Student's sorrow, and she sat silent in the oak-tree, and thought about the mystery of
Love.”
This is a contrast view between the shallow-minded ordinary people and the
awareness of hidden beauty. This conflict shows us how cold, ignorant and scornful
judgement on Love of the ordinary mass of people in Victorian society. That negative
opinions could be spoken loudly and was appreciated by the majority. On the other hand,
the Nightingale was just able to keep her positive viewpoint inside her mind to avoid
ridicule. Miserably, in this story, the cynic and cold-hearted side won.
 The conflict between the Student and the Professor’s Daughter.
6.3. Psychological conflict (internal conflict)
 Internal conflict on the Nightingale
The first internal conflict happens on the Nightingale when conflict between her
instinct and her attempt to have the red rose for the Student she loved comes to the highest
point when she had to make her decision between Death and Life.
“Death is a great price to pay for a red rose” “and Life is very dear to all”
The Nightingale struggled to fight himself that states her great sacrifice love to the
Student. “Yet Love is better than Life”.
The sentences that “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 pearl. Sweet is the scent of the hawthorn,
and sweet are the bluebells that hide in the valley, and the heather that blows on the hill.”
reveals that inside of her heart there was fighting, struggling between Life and Love. She
regretted her beautiful life that reveals her great desire to live. In the last, her love defeated
her instinct. She chose to sacrifice herself to fulfill her love’s aspirations.

pg. 5
III. SETTING (Cổ Hoàng Gia Trường)
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
- 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.
 Talk about the spring, we also think about the proliferation and in folk tale or fairy
tale, it usually had a happy ending. However, it ended with the death of the nightingale. It
made the conflict of the story, thus made it more memorable to the readers.
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 (Lê Nguyễn Bích Viên)

pg. 6
 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 girl-
Professor’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.”
Bookish, rigid person
 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 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.
 Selfish and calculating in love. He wanted to have a red rose, but he did not will to
sacrifice anything for his love. After realizing being unable to have red rose, he did not
think about the method of having red rose but calculated the loss he had to face. He could

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not enjoy the luxury and romantic space in the party and the admiration when he danced
with a higher class beautiful girl. Besides, at the end of the story he thought that love "is
quite unpractical, and, as in this age to be practical is everything." To the Student, unlike
the Nightingale’s viewpoint, love had to give him back benefits and the conditions for his
love is the girl had to accept his love. Thus, when this girl refused him, his love for the girl
disappeared easily. These proves his calculation in love.
1.2/ The nightingale (Lê Nguyễn Bích Viên)
Sacrifice for love. 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 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 unconditional sacrifice. To the Nightingale, this sacrifice was
worthy, because she believed her death could fulfill the Student’s aspirations. However, in
readers’ view, it is a blind sacrifice because her love was given to a wrong person who did
not understand and appreciate love. She was so blinded by love that she could not realize
who he truly was. She just knew that the Student loved Professor's daughter,
misunderstood him to be a sincere lover and she needed to do everything for her ideal
lover. Her love did not originate from the truly understanding her love partner. These
reflects the blindness in love.
Innocent. 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

pg. 8
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 (Phạm Nguyễn Như Ngọc)
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.
Has a 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". She turned out to be a rude, arrogant person and opposite to
her appearance. This speech shows the ironic and humorous reality that appearance and
social status cannot always judge correctly the true value of a person. 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.
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." Although she was the daughter of a knowledgeable person,
her concept did not depend on the definitions of love through books.
This character in the story is placed in the contrast to the definition about love of
Nightingale. “It is more precious than emerald, and dearer than fine opals. Pearls and
pomegranates cannot buy it”. To her, love, absolutely, was not more valuable than gold.

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These opposite behaviors toward love (the girl and the Nightingale) make the story so
ironic and sad and shows how people at that time disregarded the true love. Besides, in the
story, the girl’s decision plays the role of turning the story to another direction. It is not a
fairytale with happy ending anymore.
1.4/ The red rose tree/ The red rose (Phạm Nguyễn Như Ngọc)
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's-
blood. - You must sing to me with your breast against a thorn. All night long you must 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.”
pg. 10
 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 (Phạm Nguyễn Như Ngọc)
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
sits upon an amber throne, and yellower than the daffodil that blooms in the meadow
before the mower comes with his scythe."

pg. 11
V. ATMOSTPHERE AND TONE (Phạm Nguyễn Như Ngọc)
Tone: Oscar Wilde was a conductor who controlled the emotions of readers from deplore
and sorrow over the death and sacrifice of the nightingale to ironize about the end of the
love of the Student and the Professor’s Daughter. All of this negative emotion was
expressed so beautiful and gentle, Wilde showed us that love and sacrifice for love was the
most rewarding thing even it is unknown.
Atmosphere: The atmosphere in “The nightingale and the Rose” is sad and gives a
fairytale feeling. The story started as a fairytale make the reader think it will end with a
happy ending. Love was described as the most beautiful things in the world by many love
songs which the nightingale sang outside the student's window and represented by the red
rose, a traditional symbol of true love. The song of love gave the romantic atmosphere to
the story. However, the story began to give a sorrowful and regrettable feeling when the
Nightingale chose to die, devoted herself to unconditional love and, though unfortunately,
the beloved was only a superficial heart.
VI. POINT OF VIEW (Lê Đặng Hoàng Điệp)
 Omniscient point of view.
Feeling and psychology of two main characters - the Nightingale’s and the Student’s
were expressed through their actions and words. The Nightingale’s feeling and her
sacrifice actions were able easily approached by the readers. On the other hand, the author
revealed the Student’s thought to show his view on love which was opposed to the
Nightingale. Due to the omniscient point of view, the difference between characters are
greater clarified.
The writer’s view and comment were expressed through the main characters’ view.
Wilde’s view on aestheticism was express by those sentences:
“Love is wiser than Philosophy, though she is wise, and mightier than Power, though
he is mighty”
“but he could not understand what the Nightingale was saying to him, for he only knew
the things that are written down in books”

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 Besides, by letting the readers approach the characters’ feeling and actions, the Oscar
Wilde gave readers a wider view on the story and easier evoked sympathy and
understanding of the characters.
 Objective point of view:
The readers could not approach the true feeling of the Professor’s Daughter and the
red rose tree. At the end of the story, the true feeling of the red rose tree toward the
Nightingale is also unknown. Besides, the readers still do not know if having a red rose
was just an excuse for the girl to refuse the Student from the start. The lack of this
information led the story to opposite direction. Objective point of view shields the readers
from the truth and gives them a surprise with unexpected ending.
VII. THEME (Nguyễn Đặng Ngọc Xuân Duyên)
1/ Sacrifice blindly yourself for love to fulfill the partner’s aspirations is not always
worthy

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
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.
 The Nightingale could understand what the love was and the meaning of love. The
true love comes from people’s emotions, the way people feel the heart and feeling of
other. It does not along to any books. Thus, it was worth for the nightingale, because it
wanted to prove that the Student whom the nightingale was attracted to “his love” was the
true lover. She thought that he also understood the love as well as her, even though that
sacrifice was not recognized by anyone.
Unfortunately, the Nightingale did not truly understand the Student. Thus, her
sacrifice love is futile after all because of the lack of understanding and reason. She had a

pg. 13
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
and understanding, sacrifice love that has been considered as the most precious becomes a
blinded “silly” and is totally unworthy.
Through the Nightingale and the Rose, we should have a balance between passion,
sacrifice and reason in love.
2/ Due to the great influence of the materialism, people sometimes disregarded the true
beauty.
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.
The materialism is defined by Professor’s daughter characteristic. 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. Moreover, the fact that love, in 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 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

pg. 14
the rose is ‘I am sure it has a long Latin name'. These shows the weakness of the logic and
practical education makes the people lose the true feeling of human.
VIII. FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE
1/ Symbolism (Hồ Thị Bích Trâm)
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 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 death of the Nightingale maybe does not deserve in the end of
the story when his rose is “threw into the street” but this sacrifice deserves when it created
a masterpiece of art and 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”). It also symbolizes
romance that is unpractical or a demanding love of the girl, and also symbolizes the beauty
of a work of art in the love of a true lover, true artist. The more beautiful in a thing, the
higher price to have it or create it.
2/ Personification (Hồ Thị Bích Trâm)
The Nightingale and the Rose is a fairy tale which is a type of literature and
contains fictional elements, imagination and usually uses the personification. The natural
world in this short story becomes incredibly lively under the author's pen when Oscar
Wilde uses 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

pg. 15
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). By
multiplication of things is almost inanimate, the author makes bold the vividness of the
story, of the context of the story takes place. The author blows the soul to the insensitive
creatures to become lively, emotional, passionate and aware objects, makes the world of
things, plants and animals be closer to human. Creatures become characters who come into
direct contact with the human world with full of feeling. Personification helps the author
put the soul into senseless plants, animals that only instinctively live and highlights images
of symbols in the story.
3/ Simile (Hồ Thị Bích Trâm)
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.
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 (Nguyễn Thị Thu Hiền)
- Situational 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.”

pg. 16
 The type of this irony is situation. It occurs when the girl rejected the red rose, the
Student threw the rose into the street and a car-wheel went over it. The nightingale gave
her life for getting the red rose, she and readers hoped that it will help the Student happy
with his lover. However, unexpected element occurs is that the girl refused the red rose
she required before. 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 the 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 was 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 was 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.
- Dramatic irony:
Dramatic irony is when the Student heard the Nightingale sang for the oak tree
before her sacrifice, the Student thought the Nightingale was selfish and would not
sacrifice herself for others. In fact, we know that it was her last song before her sacrifice
for him. Through this irony we can see the superficial judgement of this scholar character.
Another dramatic irony is after finding the red rose, the Student said: “what a
wonderful piece of luck!” He considered it as a luck, but we know this was what the

pg. 17
nightingale sacrificed her life to get. After that, one more time the red rose was
underestimated when the Girl said the rose was worth less than jewels. Actually, the
Nightingale and readers know it is so precious because it was exchanged by her life. The
irony brings a message to us that the sacrifice for love will be not worthy if it is unusual
and meaningless.
5/ Oxymoron (Nguyễn Thị Thu Hiền)
“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.”
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 had a thinking of love being too blind because she was willing to die
to make a perfect love and maybe she believed love is the most wonderful thing endless
beyond Death.
5/ Hyperbole: (Nguyễn Thị Thu Hiền)
“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 the Student imagined the girl he loved
would dance with him in the party. The detail takes reader’s attention to the dreaming of
Student when he was 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.

pg. 18