Wa0011.

TEXTBOOK: MOMENTS
LESSON: THE HAPPY PRINCE

AUTHOR: OSCAR WILDE
CLASS: IX (ENGLISH)
LEARNING OUTCOME:
At the end of this chapter, learners will be able

to:
 summarize 'The Happy Prince'

 practice writing analytically by using
concrete evidence from the text to back up
and develop original arguments.
 engage with Wilde's distinctive literary
style, while also practising their own
creative writing skills.
 infer characters’ inner thoughts, emotions,
and motivations from what is explicitly
stated in the text.
 imagine another ending of the story.

 improve the reading, listening, speaking and writing skills of the students with the
help of this story.
 facilitate self-learning to enable them to become independent learners
 review, organize and edit their own work and work done by peers.
STEP 1: Watch the explanation of the chapter through
the given link:
https://youtu.be/52Wph9oMPRg
STEP 2: Read the text and underline important words

and ideas. (Refer to the dictionary to find the
meanings of difficult words)
STEP 3: Revise the text through the following notes.
ABOUT THE WRITER:
Oscar Wilde was born in Dublin on 16 October 1854 to Sir William Wilde and his wife
Jane. Oscar's mother, Lady Jane Francesca Wilde (1820-1896), was a successful poet and
journalist. She wrote patriotic Irish verse under the
pseudonym "Speranza". Oscar's father, Sir William
Wilde (1815 - 1876), was a leading ear and eye surgeon,
a renowned philanthropist and gifted writer, who wrote
books on archaeology and folklore. Oscar had an elder
brother, Willie, and a younger sister, Isola Francesca,
who died at the early age of 10.
He was educated at Portora Royal School (1864-71),

Trinity College, Dublin (1871-74), and Magdalen
College, Oxford (1874-78). While at Oxford, he became
involved in the aesthetic movement and became an advocate for 'Art for Art's Sake'
(L'art pour l'art). Whilst at Magdalen, he won the 1878 Newdigate Prize for his poem
Ravenna.
BRIEF INTRODUCTION
The title of the story, “The Happy Prince”,

presents its elements in a symbolic manner.
The story is about a prince who used to be
happy when he was alive. However, he
became very sad after he was placed atop a
column as a statue. The prince appeared to be
happy only because he knew nothing of life
outside of his palace. Only after he died and
became a statue did he learn of the people’s
suffering and the disparity between the rich and the poor. He now sought happiness by
sacrificing himself for the happiness of others. The title thus aptly suggests that the
outward happiness of the prince is symbolic of the superficial joys in life. Real happiness
lies in having a compassionate heart.
GIST OF THE STORY:
 Once in a town there lived a prince. He was called

the Happy Prince because he had been happy all
his life.
 After his death, his statue was erected on a tall

pedestal in the middle of the town. The statue was
covered with gold and had two precious sapphire
stones embedded in the eyes. A ruby stone had
been fitted into the handle of his sword.
 From there, he could see all around the place and
realized that the people lived in a lot of poverty
and misery. This sight saddened the prince and
being helpless, he would weep to see the plight of
his people.
 One day, a swallow bird was flying through the

city. On its way to Egypt to meet its friends, it
took shelter for the night at the feet of the statue of
the happy prince.
 The bird realized that the statue was weeping

and upon inquiry, realized the plight of the
prince. The helpless prince requested the bird
to help it by becoming its messenger. After
initial refusal, the bird agreed and took the
ruby stone out of the sword hilt and delivered
it to a poor seamstress.
 The next morning, as he went to bid goodbye,

the statue convinced him to stay back for one
more day. That day, the bird was asked to
remove the sapphire stone from one of the
statue’s eyes and deliver it to a young
playwright. Also, on the third day the bird had to
pull out the second sapphire stone for a poor
match girl.
 By this time, the weather had become cold and the
bird had developed an attachment with the statue.
The bird did not want to leave the statue which had
now become blind. The happy prince asked the
bird to go around the city and inform him the
condition of the people living there.
 The bird told him that the rich were making merry
while the poor lived in misery. As the happy prince did not have any more
precious stones, he ordered the bird to remove the gold foils from his body and
distribute among the living that needed money for survival.
 Gradually, the statue of the prince lost its

covering of gold and became dull and grey. On
the other hand, the poor became joyous as they
got bread to eat. The swallow bird was now
unable to withstand the cold weather and realized
that death was approaching.
 It informed the statue that it had to leave and the

statue, who loved the bird, asked it to kiss him.
As the bird died and fell at the statue’s feet, a strange sound came out of the statue
- the sound of the breaking of its heart.
 Although the statue’s heart was made of lead, it broke as it was overwhelmed with
affection towards the bird. When the statue was melted in the furnace, the heart
did not melt and was thrown in the garbage.
 It landed near the swallow’s body. God’s angels took both the dead swallow and
the broken heart as they were the most precious things on land.
THEME:
The story is an allegory. It is based on the

theme that love and sacrifice are important
values in human life and happiness comes to
those who make others happy. Those who
have compassion and concern get as much joy
as those who receive their kindness and
charity. Hence, one must try to live a life
guided by the virtues of love, sacrifice, benevolence and joy.
CHARACTERS:
The Happy Prince

The Happy Prince was a statue of a prince who used
to be known as Happy Prince when he was alive. He
had been decorated with thin gold leaves all over his
body and had sapphires as its eyes. A red ruby shone
on his sword hilt. The Happy Prince became sad
after his death because he could see the sorrow of
the city from the place where his statue had been mounted. He was fastened to his
pedestal which made him immobile. Feeling helpless, he wept and wished to help those
in need. He humbly pleaded with the swallow to be his messenger. He had pity in his
heart and he was generous as he gave away every bit of wealth that he had. He truly
loved the swallow and could not bear to be separated from it. When the bird died, the
leaden heart of the prince broke into two.
The Swallow
The swallow is kind-hearted and polite. On
discovering that the statue was not made of solid
gold, he did not make any personal remark. He
had to leave for Egypt to be with his friends but
stayed back when the prince insisted. He also
helped the prince in distributing precious jewels
and gold among the poor and needy of the city.
He also had a compassionate heart. He refused
to pluck out the sapphires, for they were the
prince’s eyes. And when the prince’s eyes had been given away as charity, the swallow
decided to stay on with the prince. Even when the prince urged him to leave, he did not.
He braved the cold and hunger until his last breath and sacrificed his life for the well-
being of humanity.

Wa0011.

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Wa0011.

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Wa0011.

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

TEXTBOOK: MOMENTS

LESSON: THE HAPPY PRINCE

At the end of this chapter, learners will be able

 summarize 'The Happy Prince'

 imagine another ending of the story.

STEP 2: Read the text and underline important words

STEP 3: Revise the text through the following notes.

ABOUT THE WRITER:

He was educated at Portora Royal School (1864-71),

The title of the story, “The Happy Prince”,

GIST OF THE STORY:

 Once in a town there lived a prince. He was called

 After his death, his statue was erected on a tall

 One day, a swallow bird was flying through the

 The bird realized that the statue was weeping

 The next morning, as he went to bid goodbye,

 Gradually, the statue of the prince lost its

 It informed the statue that it had to leave and the

The story is an allegory. It is based on the

The Happy Prince

You might also like