Language and symbolism
In what follows, you can read useful information as concerns the language and symbolism of “The Nightingale and the Rose” by Oscar Wilde.
Language
The language of the story is very descriptive and full of figures of speech, yet the choice of words is fairly simple, related to feelings and natural elements, so the overall understanding of the text is not a problem. This should be connected to the fact that the story is part of the collection “The Happy Prince and Other Tales”, which was intended by the author to target the children readership.
An interesting aspect which strikes the eye in terms of language is that the author has capitalised common nouns such as the Student, the Professor, Love, Power, Life, the Nightingale, the Tree, etc. in order to further emphasise their typology (in the case of the student) or their personification (in the case of natural elements, feelings, and concepts).
The author does not employ dialogue lines but uses quotations when characters speak. This direct speech is mixed with descriptive and narrative passages, which make the story more dynamic and complex.
As we have mentioned, the story abounds in figures of speech which embellish the text, so we recommend that you also pay attention to some of them:
- Imagery
- Similes
- Metaphors and personifications
- Repetition
Imagery
Imagery is created through the use of descriptive words with the aim of conveying certain general images in fiction. In this case, most of the imagery is related to natural elements. One such example is the imagery created in connection to the Rose-trees or to the creation of the red rose: ““My roses are white,” it answered; “as white as the foam of the sea, and whiter than the snow upon the mountain.”
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Metaphors and personifications
The text abounds in personifications of natural elements, which also form metaphors at times. Basically, all the natural elements are personified in one way or another. Personification is first suggested through capitalisation of the names of the natural elements, feelings and concepts, such as in the following example: “Love is wiser than Philosophy, though she is wise, and mightier than Power, though he is mighty.”
But natural elements and concepts are also personified by attributing them human traits: they speak, they feel, they think, they are wise or in some other humanly way. Given that all these elements are personified, you will not find it hard to identify numerous examples of personification in each page of the story.
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