The Happy Prince by Oscar Wilde - An analysis

The Happy Prince

“The Happy Prince” by Oscar Wilde is a wonderful allegory. It narrates the story of the statue of a Happy Prince and a little Swallow.

The Happy Prince is a beautiful statue. The statue is covered with thin leaves of gold. He has sapphires for his eyes and a ruby in his sword. One night a little swallow flies over the city. He is tired and wants to spend the night between the feet of the Happy Prince. As he is ready to sleep large drops of water falls on him. Soon the swallow realizes that the Happy Prince is crying.

The Happy Prince tells the swallow that he lived in a palace. While he was alive, he had a kind human heart. There was no sorrow and his courtiers called him the happy prince. After his death he had been set up on a high pillar, his heart is made up of Lead. But the heart always weeps when he sees the ugliness and misery of his city.

The happy prince tells the swallow that a little boy of a seamstress is sick. He is crying and his mother could not give him oranges to eat. He asks the swallow to give his ruby to the poor woman. The swallow keeps the ruby on the table of the poor woman. Then the Happy Prince sees a writer. He is hungry and suffering from cold. The Happy Prince asks the swallow to give one of the sapphires to the writer.

Next, the Happy Prince looks at a girl who lost her matches in the gutter. At his command the swallow unwillingly plucks out the sapphire from the other eye of the Happy Prince. The swallow slips the sapphire into the palm of the match girl. Now the Prince is totally blind. Then the Happy Prince allows the swallow to fly away to Egypt. But the swallow decides to stay with the blind Prince forever. The swallow, at the command of the Happy Prince, distributes the golden leaves among the poor.

Now the statue is dull and grey. The frost makes the swallow colder and colder and he becomes sick. The swallow Kisses the Happy Prince on the lips and dies. The lead heart of the Prince breaks into two. The Mayor of the town orders to pull down the statue since it is neither beautiful nor useful. The statue is melted in a furnace. But, the broken heart does not melt. So it is thrown away on a dust heap where the dead swallow is also lying. When God asks the angels to bring the two most precious things in the city, an Angel brings the dead bird and the broken heart.

Thus the story illustrates the selfless love between the happy prince and a swallow. The love without expectation will earn a high place in heaven.