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The Happy Prince and Other Tales: study guide
By Oscar Wilde. A spoiler-light guide with themes, characters, vocabulary and questions to discuss.
The Happy Prince and Other Tales
Oscar Wilde · 1888 · public domain
The story
A collection of fairy tales that includes “The Happy Prince”, in which a golden statue and a little swallow give away the statue’s jewels to help the poor. Other tales, such as “The Selfish Giant” and “The Nightingale and the Rose”, also explore love, sacrifice and selfishness.
This summary avoids the ending, but later sections of a guide can spoil details.
Main themes
- Compassion and sacrifice
- Wealth and poverty
- Vanity and selfishness
- Love and beauty
Characters
- The Happy Prince
- A statue who sees the city’s suffering for the first time.
- The Swallow
- The little bird who becomes the Prince’s messenger.
- The Selfish Giant
- A giant who learns that his garden is empty without children.
- The Nightingale
- A bird who gives everything for a student’s love.
Words worth knowing
- sapphire
- a deep blue gemstone.
- leaden
- made of lead; also heavy and dull gray.
- gilded
- covered with a thin layer of gold.
- compassion
- sympathy for others’ suffering, with a wish to help.
Questions to discuss
- What do the Prince and the Swallow each give up?
- Why does the town council tear down the statue, and what does that say about the town?
- What does Wilde suggest is truly valuable?
- Which of the tales is the saddest, and why do you think so?