Министерство просвещения Российской Федерации

Федеральное государственное бюджетное образовательное учреждение

высшего образования
«Московский педагогический государственный университет»

Т. В. Иванова, Э. М. Исаева,
И. В. Тараканова, М. Ю. Афанасьев

GREAT LITERARY WORKS IN ENGLISH

Reading and discussing
“The Happy Prince and Other Tales” by O. Wilde

ВЕЛИКИЕ ПРОИЗВЕДЕНИЯ ЛИТЕРАТУРЫ

НА АНГЛИЙСКОМ ЯЗЫКЕ
Читаем и обсуждаем
«Счастливый Принц и другие рассказы» О. Уайльда

Практикум по домашнему чтению

МПГУ
Москва • 2023
УДК 811.111(076.6) DOI: 10.31862/9785426311725 ОГЛАВЛЕНИЕ
ББК 81.432.1я73-5
И21

Рецензенты:
Евграфова Юлия Александровна, доктор филологических наук, доцент,
профессор кафедры рекламы, связей с общественностью и лингвистики
ФГБОУ ВО «Национальный исследовательский университет “МЭИ”»
Трешина Инга Валерьевна, кандидат педагогических наук,
заведующая кафедрой лингводидактики и современных технологий
иноязычного образования ИИЯ МПГУ
ВВЕДЕНИЕ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4
THE HAPPY PRINCE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5
THE NIGHTINGALE AND THE ROSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21
THE SELFISH GIANT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33
THE DEVOTED FRIEND . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45

THE REMARKABLE ROCKET. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .62

ПРИЛОЖЕНИЕ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .82

Иванова, Татьяна Валерьевна.

И21 Great Literary Works in English. Reading and discussing “The
Happy Prince and Other Tales” by O. Wilde = Великие произ-
ведения литературы на английском языке. Читаем и обсуж-
даем «Счастливый Принц и другие рассказы» О. Уайльда :
практикум по домашнему чтению / Т. В. Иванова, Э. М. Исае-
ва, И.  В.  Тараканова, М. Ю. Афанасьев. – Москва : МПГУ,
2023. – 88 с. : ил.
ISBN 978-5-4263-1172-5
Практикум по домашнему чтению содержит все сказки О. Уайльда из сбор-
ника «Счастливый Принц и другие рассказы» и задания к ним для контроля по-
нимания прочитанного и для обсуждения в аудитории. Приводятся сведения
о жизни и творчестве О. Уайльда.
Для студентов 1–2 курсов институтов и факультетов иностранных языков,
обучающихся по профилю «Иностранный язык (английский)», и для всех, кто на-
чинает читать английскую литературу в подлиннике.
УДК 811.111(076.6)
ББК 81.432.1я73-5
ISBN 978-5-4263-1172-5 © МПГУ, 2023
DOI: 10.31862/9785426311725 © Иванова Т. В.,
Исаева Э. М.,
Тараканова И. В.,
Афанасьев М. Ю., текст, 2022

ВВЕДЕНИЕ
Настоящее издание представляет собой практикум по домаш-
нему чтению, который входит в учебные дисциплины «Практика
устной и письменной английской речи», «Коммуникативный курс
английского языка», «Иностранный язык», «Практикум по чте-
нию художественной литературы». Практикум предназначен пре-
имущественно для студентов 1 курса, обучающихся по образова-
тельной программе 44.03.05 Педагогическое образование с двумя
профилями подготовки: «Английский язык» и «Немецкий язык»,
«Английский язык» и «Итальянский язык», «Английский язык»
и «Китайский язык».
Практикум включает тексты сказок О. Уайльда, которые соста-
вили сборник «Счастливый Принц и другие рассказы» (O. Wilde
“The Happy Prince and other tales”), и комплекс заданий к каждой
сказке.
Цель практикума – развитие навыков различных видов чте-
ния, умения интерпретировать и оценивать произведение худо-
жественной литературы, умения найти языковые особенности
произведения и определить, как они выражают замысел автора.
Красочный язык, неповторимый стиль сказок О. Уайльда, несо-
мненно, обеспечат заинтересованность и эмоциональное отноше-
ние читателей к сказкам, что является залогом успешного выпол-
нения учебных задач и расширения кругозора студентов.
Как дополнительное задание рекомендуется аудио- и видео-
контент в исполнении носителей английского языка, что позво-
ляет совершенствовать навыки аудирования английского текста.
Приложение содержит биографические сведения об авторе ска-
зок, объяснение основных терминов по структуре художественно-
го текста и стилистических приемов, использованных в текстах
сказок.
4 5
THE HAPPY PRINCE
Illustration 11 Illustration 22
Oscar Wilde (1854–1900)
Introduction3
Oscar Wilde was an Anglo-Irish playwright, novelist, poet, and
critic. He was born on October 16, 1854 in Westland, Westland Row,
Dublin, Ireland. In his lifetime he wrote nine plays, one novel, and
numerous poems, short stories, and essays. “The Happy Prince” is a
fairy tale Oscar Wilde wrote for his two sons, but its humane value goes
far beyond the fairy world of children. It was first published in the 1888
anthology The Happy Prince and Other Tales, which also contains “The
Nightingale and the Rose”, “The Selfish Giant”, “The Devoted Friend”
and “The Remarkable Rocket”. You can read about his life and writings
in Appendix 1.
I. General comprehension of the story
Read the parts of the following text, answer the questions and do
the tasks:
1
https://yandex.ru/images/search?text=%D1%81%D1%87%D0%B0
%D1%81%D1%82%D0%BB%D0%B8%D0%B2%D1%8B%D0%B9%20
%D0%BF%D1%80%D0%B8%D0%BD%D1%86%20%D0%BA%D0%B0%D1%80%D1%
82%D0%B8%D0%BD%D0%BA%D0%B8&stype=image&lr=213&source=serp&p=1&
pos=37&rpt=simage&img_url=http%3A%2F%2Fchristensonamber.files.wordpress.
com%2F2013%2F04%2Fthe_happy_prince_artwork1.jpg
2
https://www.history.com/topics/gay-rights/oscar-wilde-trial
3
https://www.wilde-online.info/oscar-wilde-biography.htm
GREAT LITERARY WORKS IN ENGLISH. READING AND DISCUSSING “THE HAPPY PRINCE AND OTHER TALES” BY O. WILDE
THE HAPPY PRINCE4
High above the city, on a tall column, stood the statue of the Happy
Prince. He was gilded all over with thin leaves of fine gold, for eyes
he had two bright sapphires, and a large red ruby glowed on his
sword-hilt. He was very much admired indeed. “He is as beautiful as a
weathercock,” remarked one of the Town Councillors who wished to
gain a reputation for having artistic tastes; “only not quite so useful,”
he added, fearing lest people should think him unpractical, which he
really was not. “Why can’t you be like the Happy Prince?” asked a
sensible mother of her little boy who was crying for the moon. “The
Happy Prince never dreams of crying for anything.” “I am glad there
is some one in the world who is quite happy,” muttered a disappointed
man as he gazed at the wonderful statue. “He looks just like an angel,”
said the Charity Children as they came out of the cathedral in their
bright scarlet cloaks and their clean white pinafores. “How do you
know?” said the Mathematical Master, “you have never seen one.”
“Ah! but we have, in our dreams,” answered the children; and the
Mathematical Master frowned and looked very severe, for he did not
approve of children dreaming.
• Where did the statue of the Happy Prince stand?
• How was the statue decorated?
One night there flew over the city a little Swallow. His friends had
gone away to Egypt six weeks before, but he had stayed behind, for he
was in love with the most beautiful Reed. He had met her early in the
spring as he was flying down the river after a big yellow moth, and had
been so attracted by her slender waist that he had stopped to talk to her.
“Shall I love you?” said the Swallow, who liked to come to the point at
once, and the Reed made him a low bow. So he flew round and round
her, touching the water with his wings, and making silver ripples. This
was his courtship, and it lasted all through the summer. “It is a ridiculous
4
https://www.gutenberg.org/files/902/902-h/902-h.htm
6 7
THE HAPPY PRINCE
attachment,” twittered the other Swallows; “she has no money, and far
too many relations”; and indeed the river was quite full of Reeds. Then,
when the autumn came they all flew away. After they had gone he felt
lonely, and began to tire of his lady-love. “She has no conversation”,
he said, “and I am afraid that she is a coquette, for she is always flirting
with the wind.” And certainly, whenever the wind blew, the Reed made
the most graceful curtseys. “I admit that she is domestic,” he continued,
“but I love travelling, and my wife, consequently, should love travelling
also.” “Will you come away with me?” he said finally to her; but the
Reed shook her head, she was so attached to her home. “You have been
trifling with me,” he cried. “I am off to the Pyramids. Good-bye!” and
he flew away.
• Who was the Swallow in love with?
• Where was the Swallow going?
All day long he flew, and at night-time he arrived at the
city. “Where shall I put up?” he said; “I hope the town has made
preparations.” Then he saw the statue on the tall column. “I will put
up there,” he cried; “it is a fine position, with plenty of fresh air.”
So he alighted just between the feet of the Happy Prince. “I have a
golden bedroom,” he said softly to himself as he looked round, and
he prepared to go to sleep; but just as he was putting his head under
his wing a large drop of water fell on him. “What a curious thing!” he
cried; “there is not a single cloud in the sky, the stars are quite clear
and bright, and yet it is raining. The climate in the north of Europe is
really dreadful. The Reed used to like the rain, but that was merely her
selfishness.” Then another drop fell. “What is the use of a statue if it
cannot keep the rain off?” he said; “I must look for a good chimney-
pot,” and he determined to fly away. But before he had opened his
wings, a third drop fell, and he looked up, and saw – Ah! What did
he see? The eyes of the Happy Prince were filled with tears, and tears
were running down his golden cheeks. His face was so beautiful in the
moonlight that the little Swallow was filled with pity.
GREAT LITERARY WORKS IN ENGLISH. READING AND DISCUSSING “THE HAPPY PRINCE AND OTHER TALES” BY O. WILDE
• Why did the Swallow put up between the feet of the Happy Prince?
• Where were the drops coming from?
“Who are you?” he said. “I am the Happy Prince.” “Why are you
weeping then?” asked the Swallow; “you have quite drenched me.”
“When I was alive and had a human heart,” answered the statue, “I
did not know what tears were, for I lived in the Palace of Sans-Souci,
where sorrow is not allowed to enter. In the daytime I played with
my companions in the garden, and in the evening I led the dance in
the Great Hall. Round the garden ran a very lofty wall, but I never
cared to ask what lay beyond it, everything about me was so beautiful.
My courtiers called me the Happy Prince, and happy indeed I was, if
pleasure be happiness. So I lived, and so I died. And now that I am dead
they have set me up here so high that I can see all the ugliness and all
the misery of my city, and though my heart is made of lead yet I cannot
chose but weep.”
• Why did the courtiers call the prince ‘the Happy Prince’? Is he
really happy? What does he see all around him?
• What kind of life did the Happy Prince lead when he was alive?
• Why was the Happy Prince crying?
“What! is he not solid gold?” said the Swallow to himself. He was too
polite to make any personal remarks out loud. “Far away,” continued the
statue in a low musical voice, “far away in a little street there is a poor
house. One of the windows is open, and through it I can see a woman
seated at a table. Her face is thin and worn, and she has coarse, red hands,
all pricked by the needle, for she is a seamstress. She is embroidering
passion-flowers on a satin gown for the loveliest of the Queen’s maids-of-
honour to wear at the next Court-ball. In a bed in the corner of the room
her little boy is lying ill. He has a fever, and is asking for oranges. His
mother has nothing to give him but river water, so he is crying. Swallow,
Swallow, little Swallow, will you not bring her the ruby out of my sword-
hilt? My feet are fastened to this pedestal and I cannot move.” “I am
8 9
THE HAPPY PRINCE
waited for in Egypt,” said the Swallow. “My friends are flying up and
down the Nile, and talking to the large lotus-flowers. Soon they will
go to sleep in the tomb of the great King. The King is there himself in
his painted coffin. He is wrapped in yellow linen, and embalmed with
spices. Round his neck is a chain of pale green jade, and his hands are like
withered leaves.” “Swallow, Swallow, little Swallow,” said the Prince,
“will you not stay with me for one night, and be my messenger? The boy
is so thirsty, and the mother so sad.”
“I don’t think I like boys,” answered the Swallow. “Last summer,
when I was staying on the river, there were two rude boys, the miller’s
sons, who were always throwing stones at me. They never hit me, of
course; we swallows fly far too well for that, and besides, I come of a
family famous for its agility; but still, it was a mark of disrespect.” But
the Happy Prince looked so sad that the little Swallow was sorry. “It is
very cold here,” he said; “but I will stay with you for one night, and be
your messenger.” “Thank you, little Swallow,” said the Prince. So the
Swallow picked out the great ruby from the Prince’s sword, and flew
away with it in his beak over the roofs of the town. He passed by the
cathedral tower, where the white marble angels were sculptured. He
passed by the palace and heard the sound of dancing. A beautiful girl
came out on the balcony with her lover. “How wonderful the stars are,”
he said to her, “and how wonderful is the power of love!” “I hope my
dress will be ready in time for the State-ball,” she answered; “I have
ordered passion-flowers to be embroidered on it; but the seamstresses
are so lazy.”
He passed over the river, and saw the lanterns hanging to the masts
of the ships. He passed over the Ghetto, and saw the old Jews bargaining
with each other, and weighing out money in copper scales. At last he
came to the poor house and looked in. The boy was tossing feverishly
on his bed, and the mother had fallen asleep, she was so tired. In he
hopped, and laid the great ruby on the table beside the woman’s thimble.
Then he flew gently round the bed, fanning the boy’s forehead with his
wings. “How cool I feel,” said the boy, “I must be getting better”; and
he sank into a delicious slumber.
GREAT LITERARY WORKS IN ENGLISH. READING AND DISCUSSING “THE HAPPY PRINCE AND OTHER TALES” BY O. WILDE
Then the Swallow flew back to the Happy Prince, and told him what
he had done. “It is curious,” he remarked, “but I feel quite warm now,
although it is so cold.” “That is because you have done a good action,”
said the Prince. And the little Swallow began to think, and then he fell
asleep. Thinking always made him sleepy.
• Why did the Happy Prince send a ruby for the seamstress? What
did the Swallow do in the seamstress’ house?
• The little boy was ill, and he was crying for
A) apples
B) grapes
C) oranges.
• Why did the Swallow feel warm?
When day broke he flew down to the river and had a bath. “What
a remarkable phenomenon,” said the Professor of Ornithology as he
was passing over the bridge. “A swallow in winter!” And he wrote a
long letter about it to the local newspaper. Every one quoted it, it was
full of so many words that they could not understand. “Tonight I go to
Egypt,” said the Swallow, and he was in high spirits at the prospect.
He visited all the public monuments, and sat a long time on top of the
church steeple. Wherever he went the Sparrows chirruped, and said
to each other, “What a distinguished stranger!” so he enjoyed himself
very much. When the moon rose he flew back to the Happy Prince.
“Have you any commissions for Egypt?” he cried; “I am just starting.”
“Swallow, Swallow, little Swallow,” said the Prince, “will you not stay
with me one night longer?” “I am waited for in Egypt,” answered the
Swallow. “Tomorrow my friends will fly up to the Second Cataract. The
river-horse couches there among the bulrushes, and on a great granite
throne sits the God Memnon. All night long he watches the stars, and
when the morning star shines he utters one cry of joy, and then he is
silent. At noon the yellow lions come down to the water’s edge to drink.
They have eyes like green beryls, and their roar is louder than the roar
of the cataract.”
10
THE HAPPY PRINCE
“Swallow, Swallow, little Swallow,” said the Prince, “far away
across the city I see a young man in a garret. He is leaning over a desk
covered with papers, and in a tumbler by his side there is a bunch of
withered violets. His hair is brown and crisp, and his lips are red as a
pomegranate, and he has large and dreamy eyes. He is trying to finish
a play for the Director of the Theatre, but he is too cold to write any
more. There is no fire in the grate, and hunger has made him faint.”
“I will wait with you one night longer,” said the Swallow, who really
had a good heart. “Shall I take him another ruby?” “Alas! I have no
ruby now,” said the Prince; “my eyes are all that I have left. They are
made of rare sapphires, which were brought out of India a thousand
years ago. Pluck out one of them and take it to him. He will sell it to
the jeweller, and buy food and firewood, and finish his play.” “Dear
Prince,” said the Swallow, “I cannot do that”; and he began to weep.
“Swallow, Swallow, little Swallow,” said the Prince, “do as I command
you.” So the Swallow plucked out the Prince’s eye, and flew away to
the student’s garret. It was easy enough to get in, as there was a hole in
the roof. Through this he darted, and came into the room. The young
man had his head buried in his hands, so he did not hear the flutter of
the bird’s wings, and when he looked up he found the beautiful sapphire
lying on the withered violets. “I am beginning to be appreciated,” he
cried; “this is from some great admirer. Now I can finish my play,” and
he looked quite happy.
The next day the Swallow flew down to the harbour. He sat on the
mast of a large vessel and watched the sailors hauling big chests out of
the hold with ropes. “Heave a-hoy!” they shouted as each chest came
up. “I am going to Egypt”! cried the Swallow, but nobody minded, and
when the moon rose he flew back to the Happy Prince. “I am come to
bid you good-bye,” he cried. “Swallow, Swallow, little Swallow,” said
the Prince, “will you not stay with me one night longer?” “It is winter,”
answered the Swallow, “and the chill snow will soon be here. In Egypt
the sun is warm on the green palm-trees, and the crocodiles lie in the
mud and look lazily about them. My companions are building a nest
in the Temple of Baalbec, and the pink and white doves are watching
11
GREAT LITERARY WORKS IN ENGLISH. READING AND DISCUSSING “THE HAPPY PRINCE AND OTHER TALES” BY O. WILDE
them, and cooing to each other. Dear Prince, I must leave you, but I will
never forget you, and next spring I will bring you back two beautiful
jewels in place of those you have given away. The ruby shall be redder
than a red rose, and the sapphire shall be as blue as the great sea.”
“In the square below,” said the Happy Prince, “there stands a little
match-girl. She has let her matches fall in the gutter, and they are
all spoiled. Her father will beat her if she does not bring home some
money, and she is crying. She has no shoes or stockings, and her little
head is bare. Pluck out my other eye, and give it to her, and her father
will not beat her.” “I will stay with you one night longer,” said the
Swallow, “but I cannot pluck out your eye. You would be quite blind
then.” “Swallow, Swallow, little Swallow,” said the Prince, “do as I
command you.” So he plucked out the Prince’s other eye, and darted
down with it. He swooped past the match-girl, and slipped the jewel
into the palm of her hand. “What a lovely bit of glass,” cried the
little girl; and she ran home, laughing. Then the Swallow came back
to the Prince. “You are blind now,” he said, “so I will stay with you
always.” “No, little Swallow,” said the poor Prince, “you must go
away to Egypt.” “I will stay with you always,” said the Swallow, and
he slept at the Prince’s feet.
• For whom did the Prince send the sapphires and why?
• The match girl was crying because …
A) she was cold
B) her matches had fallen into the gutter
C) she was afraid of the mayor.
All the next day he sat on the Prince’s shoulder, and told him
stories of what he had seen in strange lands. He told him of the red
ibises, who stand in long rows on the banks of the Nile, and catch
gold-fish in their beaks; of the Sphinx, who is as old as the world
itself, and lives in the desert, and knows everything; of the merchants,
who walk slowly by the side of their camels, and carry amber beads
in their hands; of the King of the Mountains of the Moon, who is as
12
THE HAPPY PRINCE
black as ebony, and worships a large crystal; of the great green snake
that sleeps in a palm-tree, and has twenty priests to feed it with honey-
cakes; and of the pygmies who sail over a big lake on large flat leaves,
and are always at war with the butterflies. “Dear little Swallow,” said
the Prince, “you tell me of marvellous things, but more marvellous
than anything is the suffering of men and of women. There is no
Mystery so great as Misery. Fly over my city, little Swallow, and tell
me what you see there.”
So the Swallow flew over the great city, and saw the rich making merry
in their beautiful houses, while the beggars were sitting at the gates. He
flew into dark lanes, and saw the white faces of starving children looking
out listlessly at the black streets. Under the archway of a bridge two little
boys were lying in one another’s arms to try and keep themselves warm.
“How hungry we are!” they said. “You must not lie here,” shouted the
Watchman, and they wandered out into the rain. Then he flew back and
told the Prince what he had seen. “I am covered with fine gold,” said
the Prince, “you must take it off, leaf by leaf, and give it to my poor; the
living always think that gold can make them happy.” Leaf after leaf of the
fine gold the Swallow picked off, till the Happy Prince looked quite dull
and grey. Leaf after leaf of the fine gold he brought to the poor, and the
children’s faces grew rosier, and they laughed and played games in the
street. “We have bread now!” they cried.
• What stories did the Swallow tell the Happy Prince?
• What was more marvellous than anything, according to the Happy
Prince?
• What did the Swallow see when he was flying over the city?
Then the snow came, and after the snow came the frost. The
streets looked as if they were made of silver, they were so bright and
glistening; long icicles like crystal daggers hung down from the eaves
of the houses, everybody went about in furs, and the little boys wore
scarlet caps and skated on the ice. The poor little Swallow grew colder
and colder, but he would not leave the Prince, he loved him too well.
13
GREAT LITERARY WORKS IN ENGLISH. READING AND DISCUSSING “THE HAPPY PRINCE AND OTHER TALES” BY O. WILDE
He picked up crumbs outside the baker’s door when the baker was
not looking and tried to keep himself warm by flapping his wings.
But at last he knew that he was going to die. He had just strength to
fly up to the Prince’s shoulder once more. “Good-bye, dear Prince!”
he murmured, “will you let me kiss your hand?” “I am glad that you
are going to Egypt at last, little Swallow,” said the Prince, “you have
stayed too long here; but you must kiss me on the lips, for I love you.”
“It is not to Egypt that I am going,” said the Swallow. “I am going to
the House of Death. Death is the brother of Sleep, is he not?” And he
kissed the Happy Prince on the lips, and fell down dead at his feet. At
that moment a curious crack sounded inside the statue, as if something
had broken. The fact is that the leaden heart had snapped right in two.
It certainly was a dreadfully hard frost.
Early the next morning the Mayor was walking in the square
below in company with the Town Councillors. As they passed
the column he looked up at the statue: “Dear me! how shabby the
Happy Prince looks!” he said. “How shabby indeed!” cried the Town
Councillors, who always agreed with the Mayor; and they went up
to look at it. “The ruby has fallen out of his sword, his eyes are
gone, and he is golden no longer,” said the Mayor in fact, “he is little
better than a beggar!” “Little better than a beggar,” said the Town
Councillors. “And here is actually a dead bird at his feet!” continued
the Mayor. “We must really issue a proclamation that birds are not
to be allowed to die here.” And the Town Clerk made a note of the
suggestion. So they pulled down the statue of the Happy Prince.
“As he is no longer beautiful he is no longer useful,” said the Art
Professor at the University. Then they melted the statue in a furnace,
and the Mayor held a meeting of the Corporation to decide what was
to be done with the metal. “We must have another statue, of course,”
he said, “and it shall be a statue of myself.” “Of myself,” said each
of the Town Councillors, and they quarrelled. When I last heard of
them they were quarrelling still.
“What a strange thing!” said the overseer of the workmen at the
foundry. “This broken lead heart will not melt in the furnace. We must
14
THE HAPPY PRINCE
throw it away.” So they threw it on a dust-heap where the dead Swallow
was also lying.
“Bring me the two most precious things in the city,” said God to
one of His Angels; and the Angel brought Him the leaden heart and the
dead bird. “You have rightly chosen,” said God, “for in my garden of
Paradise this little bird shall sing for evermore, and in my city of gold
the Happy Prince shall praise me.”
• The statue of the Happy Prince was pulled down because …
A) it looked ugly and dull without gold and rubies
B) a new statue of the mayor was built instead
C) the Swallow damaged it.
• What proclamation did the mayor make about the death of the birds?
• What were the two precious things the angel brought to God?
• Make the list of characters of the story. Are they all people? Are
they all animate?
THE END
II. Detailed comprehension of the story
Read the text thoroughly and do the tasks.
Focus on the vocabulary
1. Give the transcription and practice pronunciation of the
words: column, sapphires, ruby, sword, weathercock, Councillors, angel,
Mathematical, Swallow, Egypt, bow, courtship, ridiculous, coquette,
curtseys, consequently, Pyramids, curious, Europe, merely, courtiers,
misery, coarse, embroidering, gown, lanterns, phenomenon, blind,
murmured, Mayor
2. Active vocabulary – these are words and collocations you should
be able to use freely while talking about the story. Find them in the text,
look up their meanings in an English-English dictionary and mind the
context (the sentence) the word/collocation is used in. The words are
given in the order of their appearance in the text.
15
GREAT LITERARY WORKS IN ENGLISH. READING AND DISCUSSING “THE HAPPY PRINCE AND OTHER TALES” BY O. WILDE THE HAPPY PRINCE

1 gilded 13 a Jew 4. Some vocabulary is not very frequent in contemporary English but
2 sword-hilt 14 a pomegranate the items are important for the story, so you have to understand their
3 sensible 15 Alas! meaning:
4 to mutter 16 to dart 1) a pinafore /ˈpɪnəfɔːr/ (colloquially a pinny /ˈpɪni/ in British
5 to approve of sth 17 to coo English) is a sleeveless garment worn as an apron.
6 reed 18 gutter 2) a curtsy (also spelled curtsey or incorrectly as courtsey) is
7 a waist 19 to wander a traditional gendered gesture of greeting, in which a girl or
8 courtship 20 a dagger woman bends her knees while bowing her head.
9 to embroider 21 crumbs 3) a courtier (/ˈkɔːrtiər/) is a person who attends at the royal court
10 agility 22 to murmur of a monarch or other royalty.
11 a beak 23 Dear me! 4) a Maid of honour (plural: maids-of- honour) is a junior attendant
12 a seamstress 24 a dust-heap of a queen in royal households. The position was and is junior
to the lady-in-waiting.
3. Fill in the gaps in the collocations using the words in the box: 5) jade is a mineral, much used in some cultures as jewellery and
use, eaves, palm, disrespect, spirits, fine, strange, flutter, tears, for ornaments, mostly known for its green varieties, though it
good-bye, amber, proclamation, snap, copper, gain, spices appears naturally in other colors as well, notably yellow and
white. Jade is well known for its use in East Asian, South Asian,
1. thin leaves of … gold and Southeast Asian art.
2. to … a reputation 6) a River Horse is the literal English translation of the Greek
3. what is the … of word Hippopotamus (ἱπποπόταμος).
4. to be filled with … 7) Cataract (Falls) is a waterfall located in northern Owen County
5. a mark of … in the west central part of the U.S. state of Indiana.
6. to be in high … at the prospect 8) a garret is a habitable attic, a living space at the top of a house
7. the … of the bird’s wings or larger residential building, traditionally, small, dismal, and
8. to be embalmed with … cramped, with sloping ceilings.
9. to bid you … 9) a-hoy (/əˈhɔɪ/) (audio speaker iconlisten (help·info)) is a signal
10. … beads word used to call to a ship or boat. It’s derived from the Middle
11. to … right in two English cry, ‘Hoy!’. The word fell out of use at one time, but
12. to issue a … was revived when sailing became a popular sport. ‘Ahoy’ can
13. the … of (her) hand. also be used as a greeting, a warning, or a farewell.
14. in … scales 5. Oscar Wilde is very resourceful in using the vocabulary in want
15. in … lands to be precise. So, for example, he uses various verbs to describe the
16. the … of the houses Swallow’s motions.

16 17
GREAT LITERARY WORKS IN ENGLISH. READING AND DISCUSSING “THE HAPPY PRINCE AND OTHER TALES” BY O. WILDE THE HAPPY PRINCE

Match the verb in the right column to its definition in the 3) How does Oscar Wilde use satire in The Happy Prince?
left one. 4) Find in the text examples of comparisons and similes. What
effect is gained?
1 to fly a to extract by picking
Match the halves of famous similes:
2 to alight b to grasp and remove something very quickly
and abruptly 1 Nutty as a a charm
3 to look c to go past smth or near it on your way to an- 2 Slept like b a cucumber
round other place 3 Sly as c nails
4 to pick out d to land on something
4 Fits like d the sun
5 to pass by e to move quickly or suddenly
5 Cool as e sugar
6 to pluck out f of a bird moving wings quickly up and down
or from side to side 6 Blind as f cats and dogs
7 to dart g look at the different parts of the place 7 Light as g a clam
8 to flap wings h to travel by air 8 Works like h the devil
9 Hurts like i a feather
6. Find in the text the synonyms to the following words: 10 Strong as j a whip
1) to cry 11 Fight like k a log
2) to mutter 12 Sparkle like l a doorknob
3) to twitter
13 Cheeks like m a pancake
Focus on the syntax of the story 14 Flat as n a glove
1) Find comparisons in the text. Why do you think there are many 15 Eyes like o diamonds
of these? 16 Sweet as p roses
2) Find repetitions of sentences or their parts. Why do you think 17 Dull as q an ox
they are used in the text? 18 Bright as r glass
3) Find exclamatory sentences. Why do you think they are used 19 Tough as s a hatter
in the text? 20 Smart as t a fox
4) Find inverted word order in statements. Why do you think
21 Mad as u a bat
they are used in the text? Read the sentences aloud with the
appropriate intonation. 22 Happy as v a fruitcake

Focus on the figurative language Focus on the text

1) Find in the text examples of personification. What effect is Answer the questions:
gained? 1. What is the genre of “The Happy Prince”?
2) Find in the text examples of Symbolism. What do they 2. What is the conflict of the story “The Happy Prince”?
symbolize? 3. What are the themes of the story “The Happy Prince”?

18 19
GREAT LITERARY WORKS IN ENGLISH. READING AND DISCUSSING “THE HAPPY PRINCE AND OTHER TALES” BY O. WILDE THE NIGHTINGALE AND THE ROSE

4. The story presents a shocking contrast between external

appearance and the essence of things. How?
5. What is the climax of “The Happy Prince”?

III. Critical reading and thinking

1. Answer the questions:
1. What is real happiness, according to Oscar Wilde? What makes
you think so?
2. Do you agree that happiness from making others happy is far
greater and deeper than any other happiness?
3. Why is the prince called happy? Was he really happy? Why?
4. What happened to the prince ’s heart? What feelings does the
end of the story arouse in you?
5. Why did Oscar Wilde choose a swallow to help the Prince?
6. Why did the swallow refuse to leave the prince and go to Egypt?
7. What are the precious things mentioned in the story “The Happy
Prince”? In what way are they precious?
8. How did God reward the Happy Prince and the Swallow for
their sacrifice?
9. What obligations does the story teach us towards society?
10. What is the moral lesson of “The Happy Prince”?
2. Write a short note on the sufferings of the poor people in
the city.
IV. Extra task
Watch the cartoon and compare the video and the book versions:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3RZh1yaqxM&t=1s
Illustration 35
Introduction6
The story “The Nightingale and the Rose” is a children’s story but
it deals with philosophical and emotional issues that are beyond the
understanding of children. It is also enriched with the wealth of deep
meaning. It is full of indirect comments on life.
Moreover, in this story Oscar Wilde raises the most common issues
of materialism and idealism present in the conventional society he
lived in.
5
https://yandex.ru/images/search?text=the%20nightingale%20and%20the%20rose%20pict
ures&stype=image&lr=213&source=serp&pos=15&img_url=http%3A%2F%2Fetinkerbell.
files.wordpress.com%2F2014%2F03%2Fnightingale_and_the_rose_by_malimalia-
d4mn4y7.jpg&rpt=simage&rlt_url=https%3A%2F%2Fimg-fotki.yandex.ru%
2Fget%2F15597%2F122263170.290%2F0_2d2788_194e5431_XXL.jpg&ogl_
url=http%3A%2F%2Fetinkerbell.files.wordpress.com%2F2014%2F03%2Fnightingale_and_
the_rose_by_malimalia-d4mn4y7.jpg
6
h t t p s : / / l i t p r i e s t . c o m / s h o r t- s t o r i e s / t h e - n i g h t i n g a l e - a n d - t h e - r o s e -
summary/#:~:text=The%20red%20rose%20is%20a,thinking%20for%20its%20life%20
once.

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GREAT LITERARY WORKS IN ENGLISH. READING AND DISCUSSING “THE HAPPY PRINCE AND OTHER TALES” BY O. WILDE
THE NIGHTINGALE AND THE ROSE7
I. General comprehension of the story
Read the parts of the story, answer the questions and do the tasks.
“She said that she would dance with me if I brought her red roses,”
cried the young Student, “but in all my garden there is no red rose.”
From her nest in the holm-oak tree the Nightingale heard him, and
she looked out through the leaves, and wondered.
“No red rose in all my garden!” he cried, and his beautiful eyes
filled with tears. “Ah, on what little things does happiness depend!
I have read all that the wise men have written, and all the secrets
of philosophy are mine, yet for want of a red rose is my life made
wretched.”
“Here at last is a true lover,” said the Nightingale. “Night after night
have I sung of him, though I knew him not: night after night have I
told his story to the stars, and now I see him. His hair is dark as the
hyacinth-blossom, and his lips are red as the rose of his desire; but
passion has made his face like pale ivory, and sorrow has set her seal
upon his brow.”
“The Prince gives a ball to-morrow night,” murmured the young
Student, “and my love will be of the company. If I bring her a red rose
she will dance with me till dawn. If I bring her a red rose, I shall hold
her in my arms, and she will lean her head upon my shoulder, and her
hand will be clasped in mine. But there is no red rose in my garden, so
I shall sit lonely, and she will pass me by. She will have no heed of me,
and my heart will break.”
“Here indeed is the true lover,” said the Nightingale. “What I
sing of, he suffers–what is joy to me, to him is pain. Surely Love is a
wonderful thing. It is more precious than emeralds, and dearer than fine
opals. Pearls and pomegranates cannot buy it, nor is it set forth in the
marketplace. It may not be purchased of the merchants, nor can it be
weighed out in the balance for gold.”
7
https://www.gutenberg.org/files/902/902-h/902-h.htm
22
THE NIGHTINGALE AND THE ROSE
“The musicians will sit in their gallery,” said the young Student,
“and play upon their stringed instruments, and my love will dance to
the sound of the harp and the violin. She will dance so lightly that her
feet will not touch the floor, and the courtiers in their gay dresses will
throng round her. But with me she will not dance, for I have no red rose
to give her”; and he flung himself down on the grass, and buried his face
in his hands, and wept.
“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 neighbour, in a soft, low
voice.
“He is weeping for a red rose,” said the Nightingale.
“For a red rose?” they cried; “how very ridiculous!” and the little
Lizard, who was something of a cynic, laughed outright.
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.
Suddenly she spread her brown wings for flight, and soared into the
air. She passed through the grove like a shadow, and like a shadow she
sailed across the garden.
In the centre of the grass-plot was standing a beautiful Rose-tree,
and when she saw it she flew over to it, and lit upon a spray.
“Give me a red rose,” she cried, “and I will sing you my sweetest song.”
• What did the Student study?
• Who wanted a red rose and what for?
• Were there rose trees in the Student’s garden? Why couldn’t he
have a rose?
• Why did the Nightingale decide to help the Student?
But the Tree shook its head.
“My roses are white,” it answered; “as white as the foam of the sea,
and whiter than the snow upon the mountain. But go to my brother
23
GREAT LITERARY WORKS IN ENGLISH. READING AND DISCUSSING “THE HAPPY PRINCE AND OTHER TALES” BY O. WILDE
who grows round the old sun-dial, and perhaps he will give you what
you want.”
So the Nightingale flew over to the Rose-tree that was growing
round the old sun-dial.
“Give me a red rose,” she cried, “and I will sing you my sweetest
song.”
But the Tree shook its head.
“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. But go to my brother who grows beneath the Student’s window,
and perhaps he will give you what you want.”
So the Nightingale flew over to the Rose-tree that was growing
beneath the Student’s window.
“Give me a red rose,” she cried, “and I will sing you my sweetest
song.”
But the Tree shook its head.
“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.”
“One red rose is all I want,” cried the Nightingale, “only one red
rose! Is there no way by which I can get it?”
“There is a way,” answered the Tree; “but it is so terrible that I dare
not tell it to you.”
“Tell it to me,” said the Nightingale, “I am not afraid.”
“If you want a red rose,” said the Tree, “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, and the thorn must pierce your heart, and your life-blood must
flow into my veins, and become mine.”
“Death is a great price to pay for a red rose,” cried the Nightingale,
“and Life is very dear to all. It is pleasant to sit in the green wood, and to
24
THE NIGHTINGALE AND THE ROSE
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. Yet Love is better than
Life, and what is the heart of a bird compared to the heart of a man?”
So she spread her brown wings for flight, and soared into the air.
She swept over the garden like a shadow, and like a shadow she sailed
through the grove.
The young Student was still lying on the grass, where she had left
him, and the tears were not yet dry in his beautiful eyes.
“Be happy,” cried the Nightingale, “be happy; you shall have your
red rose. I will build it out of music by moonlight, and stain it with
my own heart’s-blood. All that I ask of you in return is that you will
be a true lover, for Love is wiser than Philosophy, though she is wise,
and mightier than Power, though he is mighty. Flame-coloured are his
wings, and coloured like flame is his body. His lips are sweet as honey,
and his breath is like frankincense.”
The Student looked up from the grass, and listened, but he could not
understand what the Nightingale was saying to him, for he only knew
the things that are written down in books.
But the Oak-tree understood, and felt sad, for he was very fond of
the little Nightingale who had built her nest in his branches.
“Sing me one last song,” he whispered; “I shall feel very lonely
when you are gone.”
So the Nightingale sang to the Oak-tree, and her voice was like
water bubbling from a silver jar.
When she had finished her song the Student got up, and pulled a
note-book and a lead-pencil out of his pocket.
“She has form,” he said to himself, as he walked away through the
grove–“that cannot be denied to her; but has she got feeling? I am afraid
not. In fact, she is like most artists; she is all style, without any sincerity.
She would not sacrifice herself for others. She thinks merely of music,
and everybody knows that the arts are selfish. Still, it must be admitted
that she has some beautiful notes in her voice. What a pity it is that they
do not mean anything, or do any practical good.” And he went into his
25
GREAT LITERARY WORKS IN ENGLISH. READING AND DISCUSSING “THE HAPPY PRINCE AND OTHER TALES” BY O. WILDE
room, and lay down on his little pallet-bed, and began to think of his
love; and, after a time, he fell asleep.
And when the Moon shone in the heavens the Nightingale flew
to the Rose-tree, and set her breast against the thorn. All night long
she sang with her breast against the thorn, and the cold crystal Moon
leaned down and listened. All night long she sang, and the thorn
went deeper and deeper into her breast, and her life-blood ebbed
away from her.
She sang first of the birth of love in the heart of a boy and a girl. And
on the top-most spray of the Rose-tree there blossomed a marvellous
rose, petal following petal, as song followed song. Pale was it, at first,
as the mist that hangs over the river–pale as the feet of the morning,
and silver as the wings of the dawn. As the shadow of a rose in a mirror
of silver, as the shadow of a rose in a water-pool, so was the rose that
blossomed on the topmost spray of the Tree.
But the Tree cried to the Nightingale to press closer against the
thorn. “Press closer, little Nightingale,” cried the Tree, “or the Day will
come before the rose is finished.”
So the Nightingale pressed closer against the thorn, and louder and
louder grew her song, for she sang of the birth of passion in the soul of
a man and a maid.
And a delicate flush of pink came into the leaves of the rose, like the
flush in the face of the bridegroom when he kisses the lips of the bride. But
the thorn had not yet reached her heart, so the rose’s heart remained white,
for only a Nightingale’s heart’s-blood can crimson the heart of a rose.
And the Tree cried to the Nightingale to press closer against the
thorn. “Press closer, little Nightingale,” cried the Tree, “or the Day will
come before the rose is finished.”
So the Nightingale pressed closer against the thorn, and the thorn
touched her heart, and a fierce pang of pain shot through her. 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.
And the marvellous rose became crimson, like the rose of the eastern
sky. Crimson was the girdle of petals, and crimson as a ruby was the heart.
26
THE NIGHTINGALE AND THE ROSE
But the Nightingale’s voice grew fainter, and her little wings began
to beat, and a film came over her eyes. Fainter and fainter grew her
song, and she felt something choking her in her throat.
Then she gave one last burst of music. The white Moon heard it, and
she forgot the dawn, and lingered on in the sky. The red rose heard it,
and it trembled all over with ecstasy, and opened its petals to the cold
morning air. Echo bore it to her purple cavern in the hills, and woke the
sleeping shepherds from their dreams. It floated through the reeds of the
river, and they carried its message to the sea.
“Look, look!” cried the Tree, “the rose is finished now”; but the
Nightingale made no answer, for she was lying dead in the long grass,
with the thorn in her heart.
• How did the bird make the rose? Fill the missing verbs in the
correct form. Do notice that the Nightingale is “she” in the story.
She _____ the rose out of music and moonlight.
She _____ all night long.
The thorn _____ her heart.
Her blood _____ the rose crimson.
And at noon the Student opened his window and looked out.
“Why, what a wonderful piece of luck!” he cried; “here is a red
rose! I have never seen any rose like it in all my life. It is so beautiful
that I am sure it has a long Latin name”; and he leaned down and
plucked it.
Then he put on his hat, and ran up to the Professor’s house with the
rose in his hand.
The daughter of the Professor was sitting in the doorway winding
blue silk on a reel, and her little dog was lying at her feet.
“You said that you would dance with me if I brought you a red rose,”
cried the Student. “Here is the reddest rose in all the world. You will
wear it to-night next your heart, and as we dance together it will tell you
how I love you.”
But the girl frowned.
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GREAT LITERARY WORKS IN ENGLISH. READING AND DISCUSSING “THE HAPPY PRINCE AND OTHER TALES” BY O. WILDE THE NIGHTINGALE AND THE ROSE

“I am afraid it will not go with my dress,” she answered; “and, 2. Find this vocabulary in the text of the tale, look up their meanings
besides, the Chamberlain’s nephew has sent me some real jewels, and in an English-English dictionary if necessary and mind the context (the
everybody knows that jewels cost far more than flowers.” sentence) the vocabulary is used in. The items are given in the order of
“Well, upon my word, you are very ungrateful,” said the Student their appearance in the text.
angrily; and he threw the rose into the street, where it fell into the gutter,
1 sorrow (n)
and a cart-wheel went over it.
2 to murmur
“Ungrateful!” said the girl. “I tell you what, you are very rude; and,
3 to hold smb in one’s arms
after all, who are you? Only a Student. Why, I don’t believe you have
4 to clasp hands
even got silver buckles to your shoes as the Chamberlain’s nephew
5 stringed instruments
has”; and she got up from her chair and went into the house.
6 to throng round smb
“What a silly thing Love is,” said the Student as he walked away.
7 to bury one’s face in
“It is not half as useful as Logic, for it does not prove anything, and it
8 to light (lit, lit) upon a spray
is always telling one of things that are not going to happen, and making
9 to nip the buds
one believe things that are not true. In fact, it is quite unpractical, and,
10 dare not do smth
as in this age to be practical is everything, I shall go back to Philosophy
11 a thorn
and study Metaphysics.”
12 to be gone
So he returned to his room and pulled out a great dusty book, and
13 sincerity
began to read.
14 to sacrifice oneself for others
15 to do practical good
• What did the Student do with the red rose?
16 to ebb (away)
• Who did the Professor’s daughter prefer to the Student and why?
17 to blossom
18 a petal
THE END
19 to crimson
20 to linger (on)
II. Detailed comprehension of the story
22 a gutter
Read the text thoroughly and do the tasks.
23 a buckle
Focus on the vocabulary 3. Cross out one example in each group that does not collocate.
1. Give the transcription and practice pronunciation of the 1. wretched life/lover/sorrow
words: 2. a piece of luck/behavior/advice
sorrow, murmur, wretched, hyacinth, ivory, precious, emeralds, opal, 3. a pang of illness/pain/guilt
pearls, pomegranates, purchase, weighed, violin, sun-dial, mermaiden, 4. a true/lover/friend/yourself
daffodil, breast, pierce, veins, chariot, heather, crystal, delicate, crimson, 5. bitter voice/glide/pain
tomb, dawn, linger, echo, cavern, shepherd, nephew, jewels, chamberlain 6. faint smile/voice/happiness

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GREAT LITERARY WORKS IN ENGLISH. READING AND DISCUSSING “THE HAPPY PRINCE AND OTHER TALES” BY O. WILDE THE NIGHTINGALE AND THE ROSE

7. fierce voice/smile/pain 3. Find exclamatory sentences. Why do you think they are used
8. precious pain/love/emeralds in the text?
9. My heart breaks/sinks/measures 4. Find inverted word order in statements. Why do you think
10. It won’t go with my/dress/shirt/finger they are used in the text? Read the sentences aloud with the
11. To tell/to laugh/to frown outright appropriate intonation.
4. Some vocabulary is not very frequent in contemporary English but
the items are important for the story, so you have to understand their Focus on the figurative language
meaning: 1. In fairy-tales inanimate things become alive, and birds and
1. a brow – a face animals can communicate. It’s named personification. Can you
2. a scythe – a tool used for cutting long grass or grain find some examples in the text?
3. to wind silk on a reel – to wrap the silk thread 2. Find words written with the capitalized letter. Can you explain
4. a cartwheel – a wheel of a cart why they are written like that?
5. a chariot – a vehicle with two wheels and no roof, pulled by 3. Previously you found comparisons in the text. Some com-
horses used on the battlefield in ancient times. parisons are named similes. For example, She is as tall as
5. Oscar Wilde is very resourceful in using the vocabulary in want her sister is a comparison because the compared entitits be-
to be precise. So, for example, he uses various verbs to describe the long to the same class, in the example they are people, and
Nightingale’s motions over the garden. Match the verb in the right His lips are as red as the rose is a simile, because the ob-
column to its definition in the left one. jects compared belong to quite different classes. Can you see
1. to sail across a) to get ready to fly other similes in the text?
2. to soar into the air b) to move quickly and smoothly
through the air Focus on the text
3. to sweep over c) to fly very high up in the sky 1. Answer the questions:
4. to fling (flung, flung) down d) to move quickly with a lot of 1) Why did the young Student feel miserable at the beginning
force of the story?
6. Oscar Wilde is believed to be a master of incorporating various 2) Did he complain to the Nightingale?
colours, names of flowers and plants and precious stones. Do you 3) Did the Nightingale admire his sorrow? Why?
agree with this opinion? To prove this point, find as many examples as 4) What did the bird notice about his appearance?
possible. What are these names used in the text for? 5) What did the Student imagine? Were they sorrowful images
or delightful?
Focus on the syntax of the story 6) How did the Nightingale explain the student’s weeping to
1. Find comparisons in the text. Why do you think there are many those who noticed it?
of these? 7) What was their opinion of the Student’s behaviour?
2. Find repetitions of sentences or their parts. Why do you think 8) What did the Nightingale ask the Rose-Trees to give her?
they are used in the text? Did they want to help?

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GREAT LITERARY WORKS IN ENGLISH. READING AND DISCUSSING “THE HAPPY PRINCE AND OTHER TALES” BY O. WILDE THE SELFISH GIANT

9) What was the Student’s opinion about the Nightingale song?

10) Who admired the Nightingale’s singing?
11) What was the student’s opinion of the bird’s singing?
12) Was the Student interested to know why the red rose had
appeared on the rose-tree?
13) What made him feel disappointed of love?
14) Why does the author mock the Student?
2. Compare Nightingale’s and Student’s opinions of love and phi-
losophy.
3. Which statement best expresses the theme of the text?
a) True love can overcome any obstacles and bounds.
b) Don’t give your all to someone who won’t appreciate it.
c) To love is always rewarding.
d) The shortest distance between two points is a straight line.
Illustration 48
III. Critical reading and thinking
1. Do you think
the story is about love? Introduction9
the story is about ungratefulness?
“The Selfish Giant” is a short fantasy story for children written by
the story is about sacrifice?
Oscar Wilde. It was first published in the anthology The Happy Prince
2. It’s a fairytale, so there must be some magic in it. What is of
and Other Tales in 1888. This story is about a giant who learned an
magic and what belongs to reality?
important lesson about love and sharing and holds different meanings
3. Can you name any typical features of a fairytale used in the story?
for people of different age.
4. Did you take pleasure in reading it? Why or why not?
5. A common opinion is that O. Wilde’s fairytales are about beauty.
Is it right about “The nightingale and the Rose”? What makes I. General comprehension of the story
you think so? Read the parts of the following text of the tale, answer the questions
6. Another common point about this fairytale is that the Student and do the tasks.
was ungrateful. Do you agree? Why or why not?
7. What lesson, if any, does the text teach the reader and how does
it teach this lesson?

IV. Extra task

Listen to the audiobook paying attention to pronunciation and 8
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/e9/0f/72/e90f722a8a789f97db24ce7c521f7b22.jpg
intonation https://yandex.ru/video/preview/9469440125485465880 9
https://www.subodhbhattarai.com/2020/12/theselfishgiant.html

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GREAT LITERARY WORKS IN ENGLISH. READING AND DISCUSSING “THE HAPPY PRINCE AND OTHER TALES” BY O. WILDE
THE SELFISH GIANT10
Every afternoon, as they were coming from school, the children
used to go and play in the Giant’s garden.
It was a large lovely garden, with soft green grass. Here and
there over the grass stood beautiful flowers like stars, and there were
twelve peach-trees that in the springtime broke out into delicate
blossoms of pink and pearl, and in the autumn bore rich fruit. The
birds sat on the trees and sang so sweetly that the children used to
stop their games in order to listen to them. ‘How happy we are here!’
they cried to each other.
• Describe the garden.
• Why did the children go to the Giant’s garden? What did they like
about it?
One day the Giant came back. He had been to visit his friend the
Cornish ogre, and had stayed with him for seven years. After the seven
years were over he had said all that he had to say, for his conversation
was limited, and he determined to return to his own castle. When he
arrived he saw the children playing in the garden.
‘What are you doing here?’ he cried in a very gruff voice, and the
children ran away.
‘My own garden is my own garden,’ said the Giant; ‘anyone can
understand that, and I will allow nobody to play in it but myself.’ So he
built a high wall all round it, and put up a notice-board.
TRESPASSERS
WILL BE
PROSECUTED
He was a very selfish Giant.
10
https://www.gutenberg.org/files/902/902-h/902-h.htm
34
THE SELFISH GIANT
• Why was the Giant so angry about the children playing in his
garden?
• What did the Giant do to stop the entry of children?
The poor children had now nowhere to play. They tried to play on
the road, but the road was very dusty and full of hard stones, and they
did not like it. They used to wander round the high walls when their
lessons were over, and talk about the beautiful garden inside. ‘How
happy we were there!’ they said to each other.
Then the Spring came, and all over the country there were little
blossoms and little birds. Only in the garden of the Selfish Giant it was
still winter. The birds did not care to sing in it as there were no children,
and the trees forgot to blossom. Once a beautiful flower put its head
out from the grass, but when it saw the notice-board it was so sorry
for the children that it slipped back into the ground again, and went
off to sleep. The only people who were pleased were the Snow and the
Frost. ‘Spring has forgotten this garden,’ they cried, ‘so we will live
here all the year round.’ The Snow covered up the grass with her great
white cloak, and the Frost painted all the trees silver. Then they invited
the North Wind to stay with them, and he came. He was wrapped in
furs, and he roared all day about the garden, and blew the chimney-pots
down. ‘This is a delightful spot,’ he said, ‘we must ask the Hail on a
visit.’ So the Hail came. Every day for three hours he rattled on the roof
of the castle till he broke most of the slates, and then he ran round and
round the garden as fast as he could go. He was dressed in grey, and his
breath was like ice.
1. Why did the children say, ‘How happy we were there’?
2. Why didn’t spring enter the Giant’s Garden?
3. Why did the flower go back into the ground?
4. Who came to live in the garden? Why?
5. Why were the Snow and the Frost happy?
6. Describe the garden with the Snow, the Frost, the North wind
and the Hail living there?
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GREAT LITERARY WORKS IN ENGLISH. READING AND DISCUSSING “THE HAPPY PRINCE AND OTHER TALES” BY O. WILDE
‘I cannot understand why the Spring is so late in coming,’ said the
Selfish Giant, as he sat at the window and looked out at his cold, white
garden; ‘I hope there will be a change in the weather.’
But the Spring never came, nor the Summer. The Autumn gave
golden fruit to every garden, but to the Giant’s Garden she gave none.
‘He is too selfish,’ she said. So it was always winter there, and the North
Wind and the Hail, and the Frost, and the Snow danced about through
the trees.
One morning the Giant was lying awake in bed when he heard
some lovely music. It sounded so sweet to his ears that he thought
it must be the King’s musicians passing by. It was only a little
linnet singing outside his window, but it was so long since he had
heard a bird sing in his garden that it seemed to him to be the
most beautiful music in the world. Then the Hail stopped dancing
over his head, and the North Wind ceased roaring, and a delicious
perfume came to him through the open casement. ‘I believe the
Spring has come at last,’ said the Giant; and he jumped out of bed
and looked out.
What did he see?
He saw a most wonderful sight. Through a little hole in the wall
the children had crept in, and they were sitting in the branches of
the trees. In every tree that he could see there was a little child.
And the trees were so glad to have the children back again that they
had covered themselves with blossoms, and were waving their arms
gently above the children’s heads. The birds were flying about and
twittering with delight, and the flowers were looking up through the
green grass and laughing. It was a lovely scene, only in one corner
it was still winter. It was the farthest corner of the garden, and in it
was standing a little boy. He was so small that he could not reach up
to the branches of the tree, and he was wandering all round it, crying
bitterly. The poor tree was still covered with frost and snow, and the
North Wind was blowing and roaring above it. ‘Climb up! little boy,’
said the Tree, and it bent its branches down as low as it could but the
boy was too tiny.
36
THE SELFISH GIANT
• Why did the Spring, the Summer and the Autumn never come to
the Giant’s garden?
• What did the Giant hear one day? What was that? What happened
to the Hail and the North Wind?
• What did the Giant see in his garden? Was it a lovely scene? Why?
• How did the Giant realize that spring visited his garden?
And the Giant’s heart melted as he looked out. ‘How selfish I
have been!’ he said: ‘now I know why the Spring would not come
here. I will put that poor little boy on the top of the tree, and then
I will knock down the wall, and my garden shall be the children’s
playground for ever and ever.’ He was really very sorry for what he
had done.
So he crept downstairs and opened the front door quite softly and
went out into the garden. But when the children saw him, they were
so frightened that they all ran away, and the garden became winter
again. Only the little boy did not run for his eyes were so full of tears
that he did not see the Giant coming. And the Giant stole up behind
him and took him gently in his hand and put him up into the tree. And
the tree broke at once into blossom, and the birds came and sang on
it, and the little boy stretched out his two arms and flung them round
the Giant’s neck and kissed him. And the other children when they
saw that the Giant was not wicked any longer, came running back,
and with them came the Spring. ‘It is your garden now, little children,’
said the Giant, and he took a great axe and knocked down the wall.
And when the people were going to market at twelve o’clock, they
found the Giant playing with the children in the most beautiful garden
they had ever seen.
• How did the Giant react to the children crept into the garden?
• Who did he see in the corner of the garden?
All day long they played and in the evening they came to the Giant
to bid him good-bye.
37
GREAT LITERARY WORKS IN ENGLISH. READING AND DISCUSSING “THE HAPPY PRINCE AND OTHER TALES” BY O. WILDE THE SELFISH GIANT

‘But where is your little companion?’ he said: ‘the boy I put into the And the child smiled on the Giant, and said to him, ‘You let me
tree.’ The Giant loved him the best because he had kissed him. play once in your garden, today you shall come with me to my garden,
‘We don’t know,’ answered the children: ‘he has gone away.’ which is Paradise.’
‘You must tell him to be sure and come tomorrow,’ said the Giant. And when the children ran in that afternoon, they found the Giant
But the children said that they did not know where he lived and had lying dead under the tree, all covered with white blossoms.
never seen him before; and the Giant felt very sad.
Every afternoon, when school was over, the children came and
played with the Giant. But the little boy whom the Giant loved was
never seen again. The Giant was very kind to all the children, yet he
longed for his first little friend, and often spoke of him. ‘How I would
like to see him!’ he used to say.
Years went over, and the Giant grew very old and feeble. He could
not play about anymore, so he sat in a huge armchair, and watched
the children at their games, and admired his garden. ‘I have many
beautiful flowers,’ he said; ‘but the children are the most beautiful
flowers of all.’
One winter morning he looked out of his window as he was dressing.
He did not hate the Winter now, for he knew that it was merely the
Spring asleep, and that the flowers were resting.
Suddenly he rubbed his eyes in wonder and looked and looked. It
certainly was a marvellous sight. In the farthest corner of the garden
was a tree quite covered with lovely white blossoms. Its branches were
golden, and silver fruit hung down from them, and underneath it stood
the little boy he had loved. Illustration 511
Downstairs ran the Giant in great joy, and out into the garden. He
hastened across the grass and came near to the child. And when he came
quite close his face grew red with anger, and he said, ‘Who hath dared • Why did the Giant miss the little boy?
to wound thee?’ For on the palms of the child’s hands were the prints of • How did his attitude toward the children change?
two nails, and the prints of two nails were on the little feet. • Who did he see in the garden one day?
‘Who hath dared to wound thee?’ cried the Giant, ‘tell me, that I may • Why was the Giant angry when he finally met the little boy?
take my big sword and slay him.’
‘Nay,’ answered the child: ‘but these are the wounds of Love.’ THE END
‘Who art thou?’ said the Giant, and a strange awe fell on him, and he 11
https://i.pinimg.com/736x/4e/ae/18/4eae18ce13c81127d3c9e88ca222cc3f--easter-
knelt before the little child. stories-oscar-wilde.jpg

38 39
GREAT LITERARY WORKS IN ENGLISH. READING AND DISCUSSING “THE HAPPY PRINCE AND OTHER TALES” BY O. WILDE THE SELFISH GIANT

II. Detailed comprehension of the story 5. Years went over, and the Giant grew very old and … .
Read the text thoroughly and do the tasks. 6. The little boy stretched out his two arms and … them round the
Giant’s neck and kissed him.
Focus on the vocabulary 7. The birds were flying about and … with delight.
1. Give the transcription and practise the pronunciation of the 8. They used to … round the high walls when their lessons were over.
words from the story: delicate, giant, castle, gruff, wander, linnet, 9. He was … in furs.
perfume, chimney, wrap, scene, wound. 10. Trespassers will be … .
2. Active vocabulary – these are words and collocations you should 11. The North Wind … roaring, and a delicious perfume came to
be able to use freely while talking about the story. Find them in the him through the open casement.
text, look up their meanings in an English-English dictionary and 12. Then the Spring came, and all over the country there were little
mind the context (the sentence) the word/collocation is used in. The … and little birds.
words are given in the order of their appearance in the text. 13. Every day for three hours he … on the roof of the castle till he
broke most of the … .
1 delicate 12 A chimney-pot
14. ‘Who art thou?’ said the Giant, and a strange … fell on him, and
2 bear 13 rattle
he knelt before the little child.
3 gruff 14 a slate
4. There are some descriptive adjectives in the story: lovely,
4 a trespasser 15 cease doing
beautiful, delicate, delightful, delicious, wonderful, marvelous. What
5 prosecute 16 twitter
do they describe in the story? Find their collocations. Why does the
6 wander 17 steal up behind
author use them?
7 a blossom 18 fling
8 a notice-board 19 long
Focus on the figurative language
9 go off 20 feeble
Match the term and its definition. (Consult Appendix 2.)
10 A cloak 21 hasten
11 wrap 22 awe adding human characteristics
Alliteration
to an object
3. Fill in the gaps in the sentences with necessary grammar form
using the words in the box: mentioning the same thing
Personification
over again
wander prosecute go off long feeble fling awe slate
twitter wrap cease delicate blossom cloak rattle
Simile having inverted word order
1. The springtime broke out into … blossoms of pink and pearl.
2. It was so sorry for the children that it slipped back into the Repetition successive words sounding alike
ground again, and … to sleep.
3. He … for his first little friend. showing similarities between two
4. The Snow covered up the grass with her great white … , and the Inversion
objects
Frost painted all the trees silver.

40 41
GREAT LITERARY WORKS IN ENGLISH. READING AND DISCUSSING “THE HAPPY PRINCE AND OTHER TALES” BY O. WILDE THE SELFISH GIANT

1. Find the examples of alliteration in the story. Why does the III. Critical reading and thinking
author use it? 1. Make a list of characters in the story. Who are they? What do
2. Find the examples of personification in the story? Who is they symbolize? What is their role in the fairy tale?
personified and why? 2. Compare the selfish and selfless lives of the Giant. Find the
descriptions of the garden as a symbol of the world the Giant
Focus on the syntax of the story lives in and fill in the table.
1. Find comparisons in the text. Why do you think there are many
of these? Selfless Selfish
2. Find repetitions of sentences or their parts. Why do you think Loving The Giant Lonely
Caring Depressed
they are used in the text?
Weather
3. Find exclamatory sentences. Why do you think they are used
Nature
in the text?
4. Find inverted word order in statements. Why do you think Sound
they are used in the text? Read the sentences aloud with the Colours
appropriate intonation. Look at the table and think what idea the writer wants to share with the
readers? Share your opinion with other students.
Focus on the text (Ex: Being selfish means being isolated from the world.)
Answer the questions 3. Are there any biblical symbols in the story? Can you find some?
1. Why is the Giant called Selfish? 4. What do you think the main themes of the story are? Chоose 3
2. When spring came, it was still winter in the garden. What does
and prove your ideas.
winter stand for or indicate here? The Snow? The Wind?
Christian charity
3. Was the Giant happy or sad over the state of the garden? Why?
Salvation
4. The Giant saw a most wonderful sight. What did he see? What
Compassion
did he realize on seeing it?
Kindness
5. Describe the first meeting of the little boy and the Giant.
Arrogance
6. ‘The Giant’s heart melted’. How did he become a different
person, a changed one? Greed
7. Describe the second meeting of the Giant and the child. Loneliness
8. “The Giant lay dead, all covered with white blossoms”. What Love
does this sentence indicate about the Giant? What does white 5. Comment on the quotes. Express your opinion. Do you agree or
colour symbolize? disagree with the quotes12? Prove your ideas using the fairy tale
9. “The little child’s hands and feet had marks of nails”. Does the The good always wins over evil
child remind you of someone? Service for welfare of other should be the aim of human deeds
10. Why did the Giant say that the ‘children are the most beautiful Happiness is through true love and selflessness.
flowers of all’? 12
https://www.litcharts.com/lit/the-selfish-giant/quotes

42 43
GREAT LITERARY WORKS IN ENGLISH. READING AND DISCUSSING “THE HAPPY PRINCE AND OTHER TALES” BY O. WILDE THE DEVOTED FRIEND

6. A common opinion is that O. Wilde’s fairytales are about love.

Is it right about “The Selfish Giant”?
7. How did you like the story? What did you like most/less? What
impressed you most? What changed your attitude to the story?
8. Give the summary of the story in 3 sentences? 1 sentence?
1 word? 1 adjective? 1 noun? 1 interjection?

IV. Extra task

Watch the cartoon and compare the video and the book versions:
https://youtu.be/8jtLTS7T8cc

Illustration 613

Introduction
Oscar Wilde always seems to weave a moral beautifully into any of
his tales. Sometimes they are sweet and other tales are bittersweet. The
Devoted Friend is such a story.14

I. General comprehension of the story

Read the parts of the story, answer the questions and do the tasks.

13
https://linguabooster.com/en/en/books/devoted-friend-31
14
https://litpriest.com/short-stories/the-nightingale-and-the-rose-summary/
#:~:text=The%20red%20rose%20is%20a,thinking%20for%20its%20life%20once.

44 45
GREAT LITERARY WORKS IN ENGLISH. READING AND DISCUSSING “THE HAPPY PRINCE AND OTHER TALES” BY O. WILDE
THE DEVOTED FRIEND15
One morning the old Water-rat put his head out of his hole. He had
bright beady eyes and stiff grey whiskers and his tail was like a long
bit of black india-rubber. The little ducks were swimming about in the
pond, looking just like a lot of yellow canaries, and their mother, who
was pure white with real red legs, was trying to teach them how to stand
on their heads in the water.
“You will never be in the best society unless you can stand on your
heads,” she kept saying to them; and every now and then she showed
them how it was done. But the little ducks paid no attention to her. They
were so young that they did not know what an advantage it is to be in
society at all.
“What disobedient children!” cried the old Water-rat; “they really
deserve to be drowned.”
“Nothing of the kind,” answered the Duck, “every one must make a
beginning, and parents cannot be too patient.”
“Ah! I know nothing about the feelings of parents,” said the Water-
rat; “I am not a family man. In fact, I have never been married, and I
never intend to be. Love is all very well in its way, but friendship is
much higher. Indeed, I know of nothing in the world that is either nobler
or rarer than a devoted friendship.”
“And what, pray, is your idea of the duties of a devoted friend?”
asked a Green Linnet, who was sitting in a willow-tree hard by, and had
overheard the conversation.
“Yes, that is just what I want to know,” said the Duck; and she swam
away to the end of the pond, and stood upon her head, in order to give
her children a good example.
“What a silly question!” cried the Water-rat. “I should expect my
devoted friend to be devoted to me, of course.”
“And what would you do in return?” said the little bird, swinging
upon a silver spray, and flapping his tiny wings.
“I don’t understand you,” answered the Water-rat.
15
https://www.gutenberg.org/files/902/902-h/902-h.htm
46
THE DEVOTED FRIEND
“Let me tell you a story on the subject,” said the Linnet.
“Is the story about me?” asked the Water-rat. “If so, I will listen to it,
for I am extremely fond of fiction.”
“It is applicable to you,” answered the Linnet; and he flew down,
and alighting upon the bank, he told the story of The Devoted Friend.
“Once upon a time,” said the Linnet, “there was an honest little
fellow named Hans.”
“Was he very distinguished?” asked the Water-rat.
“No,” answered the Linnet, “I don’t think he was distinguished at
all, except for his kind heart, and his funny round good-humoured face.
He lived in a tiny cottage all by himself, and every day he worked in
his garden. In all the country-side there was no garden so lovely as his.
Sweet-william grew there, and Gilly-flowers, and Shepherds’-purses, and
Fair-maids of France. There were damask Roses, and yellow Roses, lilac
Crocuses, and gold, purple Violets and white. Columbine and Ladysmock,
Marjoram and Wild Basil, the Cowslip and the Flower-de-luce, the
Daffodil and the Clove-Pink bloomed or blossomed in their proper order
as the months went by, one flower taking another flower’s place, so that
there were always beautiful things to look at, and pleasant odours to smell.
“Little Hans had a great many friends, but the most devoted friend
of all was big Hugh the Miller. Indeed, so devoted was the rich Miller
to little Hans, that he would never go by his garden without leaning
over the wall and plucking a large nosegay, or a handful of sweet herbs,
or filling his pockets with plums and cherries if it was the fruit season.
“Real friends should have everything in common,’ the Miller used to
say, and little Hans nodded and smiled, and felt very proud of having a
friend with such noble ideas.
“Sometimes, indeed, the neighbours thought it strange that the
rich Miller never gave little Hans anything in return, though he had a
hundred sacks of flour stored away in his mill, and six milch cows, and
a large flock of woolly sheep; but Hans never troubled his head about
these things, and nothing gave him greater pleasure than to listen to all
the wonderful things the Miller used to say about the unselfishness of
true friendship.
47
GREAT LITERARY WORKS IN ENGLISH. READING AND DISCUSSING “THE HAPPY PRINCE AND OTHER TALES” BY O. WILDE
• “The Devoted friend” is a story within a story, isn’t it? Who tells
the “outer story” and who narrates the nested story?
• Name the characters of both inner and nested stories.
• Where did Little Hans and the Miller live and what did they do?
“So little Hans worked away in his garden. During the spring,
the summer, and the autumn he was very happy, but when the winter
came, and he had no fruit or flowers to bring to the market, he
suffered a good deal from cold and hunger, and often had to go to
bed without any supper but a few dried pears or some hard nuts. In
the winter, also, he was extremely lonely, as the Miller never came
to see him then.
“‘There is no good in my going to see little Hans as long as the
snow lasts,’ the Miller used to say to his wife, ‘for when people are
in trouble they should be left alone, and not be bothered by visitors.
That at least is my idea about friendship, and I am sure I am right.
So I shall wait till the spring comes, and then I shall pay him a visit,
and he will be able to give me a large basket of primroses and that
will make him so happy.’
“‘You are certainly very thoughtful about others,’ answered the Wife,
as she sat in her comfortable armchair by the big pinewood fire; ‘very
thoughtful indeed. It is quite a treat to hear you talk about friendship.
I am sure the clergyman himself could not say such beautiful things as
you do, though he does live in a three-storied house, and wear a gold
ring on his little finger.’
“‘But could we not ask little Hans up here?’ said the Miller’s youngest
son. ‘If poor Hans is in trouble I will give him half my porridge, and
show him my white rabbits.’
“‘What a silly boy you are!’ cried the Miller; ‘I really don’t know
what is the use of sending you to school. You seem not to learn
anything. Why, if little Hans came up here, and saw our warm fire,
and our good supper, and our great cask of red wine, he might get
envious, and envy is a most terrible thing, and would spoil anybody’s
nature. I certainly will not allow Hans’ nature to be spoiled. I am his
48
THE DEVOTED FRIEND
best friend, and I will always watch over him, and see that he is not
led into any temptations. Besides, if Hans came here, he might ask me
to let him have some flour on credit, and that I could not do. Flour is
one thing, and friendship is another, and they should not be confused.
Why, the words are spelt differently, and mean quite different things.
Everybody can see that.’
“‘How well you talk!’ said the Miller’s Wife, pouring herself out a
large glass of warm ale; ‘really I feel quite drowsy. It is just like being
in church.’
“‘Lots of people act well,’ answered the Miller; ‘but very few people
talk well, which shows that talking is much the more difficult thing of
the two, and much the finer thing also’; and he looked sternly across
the table at his little son, who felt so ashamed of himself that he hung
his head down, and grew quite scarlet, and began to cry into his tea.
However, he was so young that you must excuse him.”
“Is that the end of the story?” asked the Water-rat.
“Certainly not,” answered the Linnet, “that is the beginning.”
“Then you are quite behind the age,” said the Water-rat. “Every
good story-teller nowadays starts with the end, and then goes on to the
beginning, and concludes with the middle. That is the new method. I
heard all about it the other day from a critic who was walking round
the pond with a young man. He spoke of the matter at great length,
and I am sure he must have been right, for he had blue spectacles and a
bald head, and whenever the young man made any remark, he always
answered ‘Pooh!’ But pray go on with your story. I like the Miller
immensely. I have all kinds of beautiful sentiments myself, so there is a
great sympathy between us.”
“Well,” said the Linnet, hopping now on one leg and now on the
other, “as soon as the winter was over, and the primroses began to open
their pale yellow stars, the Miller said to his wife that he would go down
and see little Hans.
“‘Why, what a good heart you have!’ cried his Wife; ‘you are always
thinking of others. And mind you take the big basket with you for the
flowers.’
49
GREAT LITERARY WORKS IN ENGLISH. READING AND DISCUSSING “THE HAPPY PRINCE AND OTHER TALES” BY O. WILDE
• Did the Miller come to see Hans all the year round? Why?
• Did any in the Miller’s family pity Hans?
“So the Miller tied the sails of the windmill together with a strong
iron chain, and went down the hill with the basket on his arm.
“‘Good morning, little Hans,’ said the Miller.
“‘Good morning,’ said Hans, leaning on his spade, and smiling from
ear to ear.
“‘And how have you been all the winter?’ said the Miller.
“‘Well, really,’ cried Hans, ‘it is very good of you to ask, very good
indeed. I am afraid I had rather a hard time of it, but now the spring has
come, and I am quite happy, and all my flowers are doing well.’
“‘We often talked of you during the winter, Hans,’ said the Miller,
‘and wondered how you were getting on.’
“‘That was kind of you,’ said Hans; ‘I was half afraid you had
forgotten me.’
“‘Hans, I am surprised at you,’ said the Miller; ‘friendship never
forgets. That is the wonderful thing about it, but I am afraid you don’t
understand the poetry of life. How lovely your primroses are looking,
by-the-bye!”
“‘They are certainly very lovely,’ said Hans, ‘and it is a most lucky
thing for me that I have so many. I am going to bring them into the
market and sell them to the Burgomaster’s daughter, and buy back my
wheelbarrow with the money.’
“‘Buy back your wheelbarrow? You don’t mean to say you have sold
it? What a very stupid thing to do!’
“‘Well, the fact is,’ said Hans, ‘that I was obliged to. You see the
winter was a very bad time for me, and I really had no money at all to
buy bread with. So I first sold the silver buttons off my Sunday coat,
and then I sold my silver chain, and then I sold my big pipe, and at last I
sold my wheelbarrow. But I am going to buy them all back again now.’
“‘Hans,’ said the Miller, ‘I will give you my wheelbarrow. It is not
in very good repair; indeed, one side is gone, and there is something
wrong with the wheel-spokes; but in spite of that I will give it to you.
50
THE DEVOTED FRIEND
I know it is very generous of me, and a great many people would think
me extremely foolish for parting with it, but I am not like the rest of the
world. I think that generosity is the essence of friendship, and, besides,
I have got a new wheelbarrow for myself. Yes, you may set your mind
at ease, I will give you my wheelbarrow.’
“‘Well, really, that is generous of you,’ said little Hans, and his funny
round face glowed all over with pleasure. ‘I can easily put it in repair, as
I have a plank of wood in the house.’
“‘A plank of wood!’ said the Miller; ‘why, that is just what I want for
the roof of my barn. There is a very large hole in it, and the corn will all
get damp if I don’t stop it up. How lucky you mentioned it! It is quite
remarkable how one good action always breeds another. I have given
you my wheelbarrow, and now you are going to give me your plank.
Of course, the wheelbarrow is worth far more than the plank, but true,
friendship never notices things like that. Pray get it at once, and I will
set to work at my barn this very day.’
“‘Certainly,’ cried little Hans, and he ran into the shed and dragged
the plank out.
“‘It is not a very big plank,’ said the Miller, looking at it, ‘and I am
afraid that after I have mended my barn-roof there won’t be any left for
you to mend the wheelbarrow with; but, of course, that is not my fault.
And now, as I have given you my wheelbarrow, I am sure you would
like to give me some flowers in return. Here is the basket, and mind you
fill it quite full.’
“‘Quite full?’ said little Hans, rather sorrowfully, for it was really
a very big basket, and he knew that if he filled it he would have no
flowers left for the market and he was very anxious to get his silver
buttons back.
“‘Well, really,’ answered the Miller, ‘as I have given you my
wheelbarrow, I don’t think that it is much to ask you for a few flowers. I
may be wrong, but I should have thought that friendship, true friendship,
was quite free from selfishness of any kind.’
“‘My dear friend, my best friend,’ cried little Hans, ‘you are welcome
to all the flowers in my garden. I would much sooner have your good
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GREAT LITERARY WORKS IN ENGLISH. READING AND DISCUSSING “THE HAPPY PRINCE AND OTHER TALES” BY O. WILDE
opinion than my silver buttons, any day’; and he ran and plucked all his
pretty primroses, and filled the Miller’s basket.
“‘Good-bye, little Hans,’ said the Miller, as he went up the hill with
the plank on his shoulder, and the big basket in his hand.
“‘Good-bye,’ said little Hans, and he began to dig away quite merrily,
he was so pleased about the wheelbarrow.
• Was the two men’s relationship of a give-and-take type?
“The next day he was nailing up some honeysuckle against the
porch, when he heard the Miller’s voice calling to him from the road.
So he jumped off the ladder, and ran down the garden, and looked over
the wall.
“There was the Miller with a large sack of flour on his back.
“‘Dear little Hans,’ said the Miller, ‘would you mind carrying this
sack of flour for me to market?’
“‘Oh, I am so sorry,’ said Hans, ‘but I am really very busy to-day. I
have got all my creepers to nail up, and all my flowers to water, and all
my grass to roll.’
“‘Well, really,’ said the Miller, ‘I think that, considering that I am
going to give you my wheelbarrow, it is rather unfriendly of you to
refuse.’
“‘Oh, don’t say that,’ cried little Hans, ‘I wouldn’t be unfriendly for
the whole world’; and he ran in for his cap, and trudged off with the big
sack on his shoulders.
“It was a very hot day, and the road was terribly dusty, and before
Hans had reached the sixth milestone he was so tired that he had
to sit down and rest. However, he went on bravely, and as last he
reached the market. After he had waited there some time, he sold
the sack of flour for a very good price, and then he returned home
at once, for he was afraid that if he stopped too late he might meet
some robbers on the way.
“‘It has certainly been a hard day,’ said little Hans to himself as he
was going to bed, ‘but I am glad I did not refuse the Miller, for he is
52
THE DEVOTED FRIEND
my best friend, and, besides, he is going to give me his wheelbarrow.’
“Early the next morning the Miller came down to get the money for
his sack of flour, but little Hans was so tired that he was still in bed.
“‘Upon my word,’ said the Miller, ‘you are very lazy. Really,
considering that I am going to give you my wheelbarrow, I think you
might work harder. Idleness is a great sin, and I certainly don’t like any
of my friends to be idle or sluggish. You must not mind my speaking
quite plainly to you. Of course I should not dream of doing so if I were
not your friend. But what is the good of friendship if one cannot say
exactly what one means? Anybody can say charming things and try to
please and to flatter, but a true friend always says unpleasant things, and
does not mind giving pain. Indeed, if he is a really true friend he prefers
it, for he knows that then he is doing good.’
“I am very sorry,’ said little Hans, rubbing his eyes and pulling off
his night-cap, ‘but I was so tired that I thought I would lie in bed for a
little time, and listen to the birds singing. Do you know that I always
work better after hearing the birds sing?’
“‘Well, I am glad of that,’ said the Miller, clapping little Hans on the
back, ‘for I want you to come up to the mill as soon as you are dressed,
and mend my barn-roof for me.’
“Poor little Hans was very anxious to go and work in his garden, for
his flowers had not been watered for two days, but he did not like to
refuse the Miller, as he was such a good friend to him.
“‘Do you think it would be unfriendly of me if I said I was busy?’ he
inquired in a shy and timid voice.
“‘Well, really,’ answered the Miller, ‘I do not think it is much to ask
of you, considering that I am going to give you my wheelbarrow; but of
course if you refuse I will go and do it myself.’
“‘Oh! On no account,’ cried little Hans and he jumped out of bed,
and dressed himself, and went up to the barn.
“He worked there all day long, till sunset, and at sunset the Miller
came to see how he was getting on.
“‘Have you mended the hole in the roof yet, little Hans?’ cried the
Miller in a cheery voice.
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GREAT LITERARY WORKS IN ENGLISH. READING AND DISCUSSING “THE HAPPY PRINCE AND OTHER TALES” BY O. WILDE
“‘It is quite mended,’ answered little Hans, coming down the ladder.
“‘Ah!’ said the Miller, ‘there is no work so delightful as the work
one does for others.’
“‘It is certainly a great privilege to hear you talk,’ answered little
Hans, sitting down, and wiping his forehead, ‘a very great privilege.
But I am afraid I shall never have such beautiful ideas as you have.’
“‘Oh! They will come to you,’ said the Miller, ‘but you must take
more pains. At present you have only the practice of friendship; some
day you will have the theory also.’
“‘Do you really think I shall?’ asked little Hans.
“‘I have no doubt of it,’ answered the Miller, ‘but now that you have
mended the roof, you had better go home and rest, for I want you to
drive my sheep to the mountain to-morrow.’
“Poor little Hans was afraid to say anything to this, and early the
next morning the Miller brought his sheep round to the cottage, and
Hans started off with them to the mountain. It took him the whole day
to get there and back; and when he returned he was so tired that he went
off to sleep in his chair, and did not wake up till it was broad daylight.
“‘What a delightful time I shall have in my garden,’ he said, and he
went to work at once.
“But somehow he was never able to look after his flowers at all,
for his friend the Miller was always coming round and sending him
off on long errands, or getting him to help at the mill. Little Hans
was very much distressed at times, as he was afraid his flowers
would think he had forgotten them, but he consoled himself by the
reflection that the Miller was his best friend. ‘Besides,’ he used to
say, ‘he is going to give me his wheelbarrow, and that is an act of
pure generosity.’
“So little Hans worked away for the Miller, and the Miller said all
kinds of beautiful things about friendship, which Hans took down in
a note-book, and used to read over at night, for he was a very good
scholar.
“Now it happened that one evening little Hans was sitting by his
fireside when a loud rap came at the door. It was a very wild night, and
54
THE DEVOTED FRIEND
the wind was blowing and roaring round the house so terribly that at
first he thought it was merely the storm. But a second rap came, and
then a third, louder than any of the others.
“‘It is some poor traveller,’ said little Hans to himself, and he ran to
the door.
“There stood the Miller with a lantern in one hand and a big stick in
the other.
“‘Dear little Hans,’ cried the Miller, ‘I am in great trouble. My little
boy has fallen off a ladder and hurt himself, and I am going for the
Doctor. But he lives so far away, and it is such a bad night, that it has
just occurred to me that it would be much better if you went instead of
me. You know I am going to give you my wheelbarrow, and so, it is
only fair that you should do something for me in return.’
“‘Certainly,’ cried little Hans, ‘I take it quite as a compliment your
coming to me, and I will start off at once. But you must lend me your
lantern, as the night is so dark that I am afraid I might fall into the ditch.’
“‘I am very sorry,’ answered the Miller, ‘but it is my new lantern,
and it would be a great loss to me if anything happened to it.’
“‘Well, never mind, I will do without it,’ cried little Hans, and he
took down his great fur coat, and his warm scarlet cap, and tied a muffler
round his throat, and started off.
“What a dreadful storm it was! The night was so black that little Hans
could hardly see, and the wind was so strong that he could scarcely stand.
However, he was very courageous, and after he had been walking about
three hours, he arrived at the Doctor’s house, and knocked at the door.
“‘Who is there?’ cried the Doctor, putting his head out of his bedroom
window.
“‘Little Hans, Doctor.’
“’What do you want, little Hans?’
“‘The Miller’s son has fallen from a ladder, and has hurt himself,
and the Miller wants you to come at once.’
“‘All right!’ said the Doctor; and he ordered his horse, and his big
boots, and his lantern, and came downstairs, and rode off in the direction
of the Miller’s house, little Hans trudging behind him.
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GREAT LITERARY WORKS IN ENGLISH. READING AND DISCUSSING “THE HAPPY PRINCE AND OTHER TALES” BY O. WILDE
“But the storm grew worse and worse, and the rain fell in torrents,
and little Hans could not see where he was going, or keep up with the
horse. At last he lost his way, and wandered off on the moor, which
was a very dangerous place, as it was full of deep holes, and there poor
little Hans was drowned. His body was found the next day by some
goatherds, floating in a great pool of water, and was brought back by
them to the cottage.
• What did the Miller give to little Hans?
a) his care b) his old wheelbarrow
c) his lantern d) nothing
• What did little Hans give to the Miller?
a) his friendship b) his life
c) his plank d) his flowers
• What accident happened to the Miller’s son?
• Why did Hans die?
“Everybody went to little Hans’ funeral, as he was so popular, and
the Miller was the chief mourner.
“‘As I was his best friend,’ said the Miller, ‘it is only fair that I
should have the best place’; so he walked at the head of the procession
in a long black cloak, and every now and then he wiped his eyes with a
big pocket-handkerchief.
“‘Little Hans is certainly a great loss to every one,’ said the
Blacksmith, when the funeral was over, and they were all seated
comfortably in the inn, drinking spiced wine and eating sweet cakes.
“A great loss to me at any rate,’ answered the Miller; ‘why, I had as
good as given him my wheelbarrow, and now I really don’t know what to
do with it. It is very much in my way at home, and it is in such bad repair
that I could not get anything for it if I sold it. I will certainly take care
not to give away anything again. One always suffers for being generous.’
• Name five things little Hans and the Miller differed about (their
appearance, way of life, etc.).
56
THE DEVOTED FRIEND
• Who was present at the funeral and why?
• Did the Miller speak about Little Hans’s merits and his appreciation
of Hans?
“Well?” said the Water-rat, after a long pause.
“Well, that is the end,” said the Linnet.
“But what became of the Miller?” asked the Water-rat.
“Oh! I really don’t know,” replied the Linnet; “and I am sure that I
don’t care.”
“It is quite evident then that you have no sympathy in your nature,”
said the Water-rat.
“I am afraid you don’t quite see the moral of the story,” remarked
the Linnet.
“The what?” screamed the Water-rat.
“The moral.”
“Do you mean to say that the story has a moral?”
“Certainly,” said the Linnet.
“Well, really,” said the Water-rat, in a very angry manner, “I think you
should have told me that before you began. If you had done so, I certainly
would not have listened to you; in fact, I should have said ‘Pooh,’ like the
critic. However, I can say it now”; so he shouted out “Pooh” at the top of his
voice, gave a whisk with his tail, and went back into his hole.
“And how do you like the Water-rat?” asked the Duck, who came
paddling up some minutes afterwards. “He has a great many good
points, but for my own part I have a mother’s feelings, and I can never
look at a confirmed bachelor without the tears coming into my eyes.”
“I am rather afraid that I have annoyed him,” answered the Linnet.
“The fact is, that I told him a story with a moral.”
“Ah! that is always a very dangerous thing to do,” said the Duck.
And I quite agree with her.
• Why was the Water-rat displeased with the Linnet?
THE END
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II. Detailed comprehension of the story 3. to send smb on (long) errands – to send smb going to collect or
Read the text thoroughly and do the tasks. deliver smth;
4. to take pains to do smth – to do smth with a lot of care and
Focus on the vocabulary effort;
1. Give the transcription and practice pronunciation of the 5. a muffler – a long piece of cloth that you wrap around your neck
words: to keep it warm.
devoted, beady, whiskers, disobedient, canary, society, odour, noble – 4. Match the vocabulary items in the left column (in word combinations
nobler, drowsy, primrose, poetry, wheelbarrow, generous – generosity, the word you need is underlined) with their synonyms in the right one.
essence, privilege, forehead, a lantern, occur – occurred, scarcely, Find their contexts and think of your own examples.
courageous, knock, goatherd, mourner, whisk, confirmed bachelor vocabulary items synonymic words/word combinations
2. Find this vocabulary in the text of the tale, look up the meanings
in an English-English dictionary if necessary and mind the context (the to look sternly severely, seriously, strict
sentence) the vocabulary is used in. The items are given in the order of have beautiful sentiments smth special and pleasant
their appearance in the text. to have a good heart agreement with
1 in return 12 be confused to speak plainly be kind, generous and helpful
2 be applicable to 13 Mind you + verb (take) to go by to move at the same speed
3 be distinguished 14 to smile from ear to ear to work away to pass
4 except for 15 generous; generosity
to keep up with fix smth to wall
5 be good-humoured 16 to glow with pleasure
sympathy between to walk slowly and with difficulty
6 a cleryman 17 You are welcome to
(all the flowers) To trudge (off) beliefs or attitudes
7 be thoughtful about 18 be sluggish a treat clearly, honestly, directly
8 It’s (quite) a treat to do smth 19 timid (voice) to nail up to make a diligent and devoted effort
9 to get envious 20 On no account! to do smth
10 temptation 21 be distressed
Focus on the text
11 to have smth on credit 22 a ditch 1. Hugh the Miller said there are the practice of friendship and
3. Some vocabulary of the story is not as frequent as it used to be in the theory of it. Underline his “theory of friendship” statements
O. Wilde’s time. Here are some items. Read them and their explanation in the text.
and find their contexts. What do you think about his theory? Do you think his thoughts are
1. behind the age – behind the times; reasonable?
2. pray (adv.) – used for asking a question or for telling someone Give examples of his practice of friendship. Did he follow his own
to do smth; doʼs” and don′ts that his theory postulated?

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GREAT LITERARY WORKS IN ENGLISH. READING AND DISCUSSING “THE HAPPY PRINCE AND OTHER TALES” BY O. WILDE THE DEVOTED FRIEND

2. Answer the questions: 2. What might be the moral of the story?

What did Hans think of the Miller’s “theory of friendship”? How did 1. Actions, not words are important.
he actually act? 2. A friend in need is a friend indeed (An English proverb).
1. Do you think the title of the story is true or ironical? (Read 3. Save us from our friends (An English proverb).
about irony as a stylistic device in Appendix 2) 4. Another.
2. Which character of the “outer” story also gave his opinion about 3. In the “outer” story O. Wilde describes a critic of his time. Do you
friendship? think the description is
3. In what ways were the Water-rat and the Miller similar? • neutral?
4. What did the Miller do before he went the hill to see Hans? Why • respectful?
did he act like that? • a mockery?
5. Why couldn’t the Miller fetch the doctor himself? Why do you think so? Prove your opinion by the text.
6. Do you think the Miller‘s mourning was sincere?

3. Explain the meaning of the sentences.

1. “You will never be in the best society unless you can stand on your
heads ”, she [the duck] kept saying to them [her children]. 2. “Every one
must make a beginning and parents cannot be too patient” [the Duck’s
words]. 3. “I am sure the clergyman himself could not say such beautiful
things as you do, though he does live in a three-storied house and wear a
gold ring on his little finger” [the Miller’s wife words to him]. 4. “How
well you talk!” said the Miller’s Wife, <…> “really I feel quite drowsy.
It’s just like being in church”.

Focus on the figurative language

1. A critic called Oscar Wilde a jeweler and florist of literature. Does
the text prove it? In what way?
2. Find epithets and similes in the 1st passage of the story (Read
about these stylistic devices in Appendix 1). What do they add to it?
What do colour adjectives add?

III. Critical reading and thinking

1. Which of these can be considered the theme(s) of the story?
selfishness, unselfishness, friendship, self-importance, sacrifice,
victimisation, devotion.

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GREAT LITERARY WORKS IN ENGLISH. READING AND DISCUSSING “THE HAPPY PRINCE AND OTHER TALES” BY O. WILDE
Illustration 716
Introduction18
“The Remarkable Rocket“ is a short fairytale that was first published
in 1888 in “The Happy Prince and Other Tales“ which is a collection of
five fairytales written by Oscar Wilde.
“The Remarkable Rocket“ is a parody of aristocratic vanity and
masculine conceit. Although the story is written in simple language, the
humour is directed at adults.
16
https://yandex.ru/images/search?text=the%20remarkable%20rocket%20%D0%BA%
D0%B0%D1%80%D1%82%D0%B8%D0%BD%D0%BA%D0%B8&stype=image&lr=21
3&source=serp&p=2&pos=71&rpt=simage&img_url=http%3A%2F%2Fi.pinimg.co
m%2F736x%2F6e%2F54%2Ffc%2F6e54fcc7aa583bed4e30dff35ae5d606--drawing-
machine-illustration-children.jpg
17
https://yandex.ru/images/search?text=%D0%BE%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B0%D1%80%20%D1
%83%D0%B0%D0%B9%D0%BB%D1%8C%D0%B4%20%D0%BA%D0%B0%D1%80%D1%8
2%D0%B8%D0%BD%D0%BA%D0%B8&stype=image&lr=213&source=serp&pos=16&img_
url=http%3A%2F%2Faforisma.ru%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2019%2F04%2F42dd4ba3a3
553e80fc340e4e3e5b84f4.jpg&rpt=simage
18
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Remarkable_Rocket
62
THE REMARKABLE ROCKET
I. General comprehension of the story
Read the parts of the following text, answer the questions and do
the tasks:
THE REMARKABLE ROCKET19
The King’s son was going to be married, so there were general
rejoicings. He had waited a whole year for his bride, and at last she had
arrived. She was a Russian Princess, and had driven all the way from
Finland in a sledge drawn by six reindeer. The sledge was shaped like a
great golden swan, and between the swan’s wings lay the little Princess
herself. Her long ermine-cloak reached right down to her feet, on her
head was a tiny cap of silver tissue, and she was as pale as the Snow
Palace in which she had always lived. So pale was she that as she drove
Illustration 817
through the streets all the people wondered. “She is like a white rose!”
they cried, and they threw down flowers on her from the balconies. At
the gate of the Castle the Prince was waiting to receive her. He had
dreamy violet eyes, and his hair was like fine gold. When he saw her, he
sank upon one knee, and kissed her hand. “Your picture was beautiful,”
he murmured, “but you are more beautiful than your picture”; and the
little Princess blushed. “She was like a white rose before,” said a young
Page to his neighbour, “but she is like a red rose now”; and the whole
Court was delighted. For the next three days everybody went about
saying, “White rose, Red rose, Red rose, White rose”; and the King
gave orders that the Page’s salary was to be doubled. As he received no
salary at all this was not of much use to him, but it was considered a
great honour, and was duly published in the Court Gazette.
• Describe the Princess.
• How did the Princess travel to the Palace?
• Why did the King double the salary of the little Page? Why was
this not of much use to him?
19
https://www.gutenberg.org/files/902/902-h/902-h.htm
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When the three days were over the marriage was celebrated. It was
a magnificent ceremony, and the bride and bridegroom walked hand in
hand under a canopy of purple velvet embroidered with little pearls.
Then there was a State Banquet, which lasted for five hours. The
Prince and Princess sat at the top of the Great Hall and drank out of a
cup of clear crystal. Only true lovers could drink out of this cup, for if
false lips touched it, it grew grey and dull and cloudy. “It’s quite clear
that they love each other,” said the little Page, “as clear as crystal!”
and the King doubled his salary a second time. “What an honour!”
cried all the courtiers. After the banquet there was to be a Ball. The
bride and bridegroom were to dance the Rose-dance together, and the
King had promised to play the flute. He played very badly, but no
one had ever dared to tell him so, because he was the King. Indeed,
he knew only two airs, and was never quite certain which one he was
playing; but it made no matter, for, whatever he did, everybody cried
out, “Charming! charming!” The last item on the programme was a
grand display of fireworks, to be let off exactly at midnight. The
little Princess had never seen a firework in her life, so the King had
given orders that the Royal Pyrotechnist should be in attendance on
the day of her marriage. “What are fireworks like?” she had asked the
Prince, one morning, as she was walking on the terrace. “They are like
the Aurora Borealis,” said the King, who always answered questions
that were addressed to other people, “only much more natural. I prefer
them to stars myself, as you always know when they are going to
appear, and they are as delightful as my own flute-playing. You must
certainly see them.”
• Describe the King.
• What happens when false lips touch the cup of clear crystal?
• What are the three stages of the wedding party?
• Why did the King prefer fireworks to stars?
So at the end of the King’s garden a great stand had been set up, and
as soon as the Royal Pyrotechnist had put everything in its proper place,
64
THE REMARKABLE ROCKET
the fireworks began to talk to each other. “The world is certainly very
beautiful,” cried a little Squib. “Just look at those yellow tulips. Why! if
they were real crackers they could not be lovelier. I am very glad I have
travelled. 1) Travel improves the mind wonderfully, and does away
with all one’s prejudices.” “The King’s garden is not the world, you
foolish squib,” said a big Roman Candle; 2) “the world is an enormous
place, and it would take you three days to see it thoroughly.” 3) “Any
place you love is the world to you,” exclaimed a pensive Catherine
Wheel, who had been attached to an old deal box in early life, and
prided herself on her broken heart; “but love is not fashionable any
more, the poets have killed it. They wrote so much about it that nobody
believed them, and I am not surprised. 4) True love suffers, and is silent.
I remember myself once – But it is no matter now. 5) Romance is a thing
of the past.” “Nonsense!” said the Roman Candle, 6) “Romance never
dies. It is like the moon, and lives for ever. The bride and bridegroom,
for instance, love each other very dearly. I heard all about them this
morning from a brown-paper cartridge, who happened to be staying
in the same drawer as myself, and knew the latest Court news.” But
the Catherine Wheel shook her head. “Romance is dead, Romance is
dead, Romance is dead,” she murmured. She was one of those people
who think that, 7) if you say the same thing over and over a great many
times, it becomes true in the end.
Suddenly, a sharp, dry cough was heard, and they all looked round. It
came from a tall, supercilious-looking Rocket, who was tied to the end
of a long stick. He always coughed before he made any observation, so
as to attract attention. “Ahem! ahem!” he said, and everybody listened
except the poor Catherine Wheel, who was still shaking her head, and
murmuring, “Romance is dead.” “Order! order!” cried out a Cracker. He
was something of a politician, and had always taken a prominent part
in the local elections, so he knew the proper Parliamentary expressions
to use. “Quite dead,” whispered the Catherine Wheel, and she went
off to sleep. As soon as there was perfect silence, the Rocket coughed
a third time and began. He spoke with a very slow, distinct voice, as if
he was dictating his memoirs, and always looked over the shoulder of
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GREAT LITERARY WORKS IN ENGLISH. READING AND DISCUSSING “THE HAPPY PRINCE AND OTHER TALES” BY O. WILDE
the person to whom he was talking. In fact, he had a most distinguished
manner. “How fortunate it is for the King’s son,” he remarked, “that he
is to be married on the very day on which I am to be let off. Really, if
it had been arranged beforehand, it could not have turned out better for
him; but, 8) Princes are always lucky.” “Dear me!” said the little Squib,
“I thought it was quite the other way, and that we were to be let off in
the Prince’s honour.” “It may be so with you,” he answered; “indeed, I
have no doubt that it is, but with me it is different.
• When did the fireworks begin to talk to each other?
• Which type of the talking fireworks was happy to have travelled
and why?
• Who knew the latest Court news?
• Why did the Remarkable Rocket always cough before he made any
observation?
• Describe the Remarkable Rocket.
I am a very remarkable Rocket, and come of remarkable parents. My
mother was the most celebrated Catherine Wheel of her day, and was
renowned for her graceful dancing. When she made her great public
appearance she spun round nineteen times before she went out, and
each time that she did so she threw into the air seven pink stars. She was
three feet and a half in diameter, and made of the very best gunpowder.
My father was a Rocket like myself, and of French extraction. He flew
so high that the people were afraid that he would never come down
again. He did, though, for he was of a kindly disposition, and he made a
most brilliant descent in a shower of golden rain. The newspapers wrote
about his performance in very flattering terms. Indeed, the Court Gazette
called him a triumph of Pylotechnic art.” “Pyrotechnic, Pyrotechnic,
you mean,” said a Bengal Light; “I know it is Pyrotechnic, for I saw it
written on my own canister.” “Well, I said Pylotechnic,” answered the
Rocket, in a severe tone of voice, and the Bengal Light felt so crushed
that he began at once to bully the little squibs, in order to show that he
was still a person of some importance.
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THE REMARKABLE ROCKET
• Describe the parents of the Remarkable Rocket.
• How did the Bengal Light learn the word “Pyrotechnic”?
• The Bengal Light began to bully the little squibs because …
А) he disliked them
В) he needed restore his dignity
С) the Remarkable Rocket told him to do so.
“I was saying,” continued the Rocket, “I was saying – What was
I saying?” “You were talking about yourself,” replied the Roman
Candle. “Of course; I knew I was discussing some interesting subject
when I was so rudely interrupted. I hate rudeness and bad manners of
every kind, for I am extremely sensitive. No one in the whole world
is so sensitive as I am, I am quite sure of that.” “What is a sensitive
person?” said the Cracker to the Roman Candle. “A person who,
because he has corns himself, always treads on other people’s toes,”
answered the Roman Candle in a low whisper; and the Cracker nearly
exploded with laughter. “Pray, what are you laughing at?” inquired
the Rocket; “I am not laughing.” “I am laughing because I am happy,”
replied the Cracker. “That is a very selfish reason,” said the Rocket
angrily. “What right have you to be happy? You should be thinking
about others. In fact, you should be thinking about me. I am always
thinking about myself, and I expect everybody else to do the same.
That is what is called sympathy. It is a beautiful virtue, and I possess
it in a high degree. Suppose, for instance, anything happened to me
tonight, what a misfortune that would be for every one! The Prince
and Princess would never be happy again, their whole married life
would be spoiled; and as for the King, I know he would not get over
it. Really, when I begin to reflect on the importance of my position, I
am almost moved to tears.”
• What is a sensitive person according to the Remarkable Rocket?
Do you share his point of view? Is the Remarkable Rocket a
sensitive person?
• When was the Remarkable Rocket almost moved to tears?
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“If you want to give pleasure to others,” cried the Roman Candle,
“you had better keep yourself dry.” “Certainly,” exclaimed the Bengal
Light, who was now in better spirits; “that is only common sense.”
“Common sense, indeed!” said the Rocket indignantly; “you forget
that I am very uncommon, and very remarkable. Why, anybody can
have common sense, provided that they have no imagination. But I
have imagination, for I never think of things as they really are; I always
think of them as being quite different. As for keeping myself dry, there
is evidently no one here who can at all appreciate an emotional nature.
Fortunately for myself, I don’t care. 9) The only thing that sustains
one through life is the consciousness of the immense inferiority of
everybody else, and this is a feeling that I have always cultivated. But
none of you have any hearts. Here you are laughing and making merry
just as if the Prince and Princess had not just been married.” “Well,
really,” exclaimed a small Fire-balloon, “why not? It is a most joyful
occasion, and when I soar up into the air I intend to tell the stars all
about it. You will see them twinkle when I talk to them about the pretty
bride.” “Ah! what a trivial view of life!” said the Rocket; “but it is only
what I expected. There is nothing in you; you are hollow and empty.
Why, perhaps the Prince and Princess may go to live in a country where
there is a deep river, and perhaps they may have one only son, a little
fair-haired boy with violet eyes like the Prince himself; and perhaps
some day he may go out to walk with his nurse; and perhaps the nurse
may go to sleep under a great elder-tree; and perhaps the little boy may
fall into the deep river and be drowned. What a terrible misfortune!
Poor people, to lose their only son! It is really too dreadful! I shall
never get over it.” “But they have not lost their only son,” said the
Roman Candle; “no misfortune has happened to them at all.” “I never
said that they had,” replied the Rocket; “I said that they might. If they
had lost their only son there would be no use in saying anything more
about the matter. I hate people who cry over spilt milk. But when I
think that they might lose their only son, I certainly am very much
affected.” “You certainly are!” cried the Bengal Light. “In fact, you
are the most affected person I ever met.” “You are the rudest person I
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THE REMARKABLE ROCKET
ever met,” said the Rocket, “and you cannot understand my friendship
for the Prince.” “Why, you don’t even know him,” growled the Roman
Candle. “I never said I knew him,” answered the Rocket. “I dare say
that if I knew him I should not be his friend at all. 10) It is a very
dangerous thing to know one’s friends.” “You had really better keep
yourself dry,” said the Fire-balloon. “That is the important thing.”
“Very important for you, I have no doubt,” answered the Rocket, “but
I shall weep if I choose”; and he actually burst into real tears, which
flowed down his stick like rain-drops, and nearly drowned two little
beetles, who were just thinking of setting up house together, and were
looking for a nice dry spot to live in. “He must have a truly romantic
nature,” said the Catherine Wheel, “for he weeps when there is nothing
at all to weep about”; and she heaved a deep sigh, and thought about
the deal box. But the Roman Candle and the Bengal Light were quite
indignant, and kept saying, “Humbug! humbug!” at the top of their
voices. 11) They were extremely practical, and whenever they objected
to anything they called it humbug.
• What sustains the Remarkable Rocket through life?
• Why did the Remarkable Rocket burst into real tears?
Then the moon rose like a wonderful silver shield; and the stars
began to shine, and a sound of music came from the palace. The Prince
and Princess were leading the dance. They danced so beautifully that
the tall white lilies peeped in at the window and watched them, and the
great red poppies nodded their heads and beat time. Then ten o’clock
struck, and then eleven, and then twelve, and at the last stroke of
midnight every one came out on the terrace, and the King sent for the
Royal Pyrotechnist. “Let the fireworks begin,” said the King; and the
Royal Pyrotechnist made a low bow, and marched down to the end of
the garden. He had six attendants with him, each of whom carried a
lighted torch at the end of a long pole. It was certainly a magnificent
display. Whizz! Whizz! went the Catherine Wheel, as she spun round
and round. Boom! Boom! went the Roman Candle. Then the Squibs
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danced all over the place, and the Bengal Lights made everything
look scarlet. “Good-bye,” cried the Fire-balloon, as he soared away,
dropping tiny blue sparks. Bang! Bang! answered the Crackers, who
were enjoying themselves immensely.
Every one was a great success except the Remarkable Rocket. He
was so damp with crying that he could not go off at all. The best thing
in him was the gunpowder, and that was so wet with tears that it was of
no use. All his poor relations, to whom he would never speak, except
with a sneer, shot up into the sky like wonderful golden flowers with
blossoms of fire. Huzza! Huzza! cried the Court; and the little Princess
laughed with pleasure. “I suppose they are reserving me for some grand
occasion,” said the Rocket; “no doubt that is what it means,” and he
looked more supercilious than ever.
• Did the Remarkable Rocket take part in the fireworks?
The next day the workmen came to put everything tidy. “This is
evidently a deputation”, said the Rocket; “I will receive them with
becoming dignity” so he put his nose in the air, and began to frown
severely as if he were thinking about some very important subject.
But they took no notice of him at all till they were just going away.
Then one of them caught sight of him. “Hallo!” he cried, “what a bad
rocket!” and he threw him over the wall into the ditch. “BAD Rocket?
BAD Rocket?” he said, as he whirled through the air; “impossible!
GRAND Rocket, that is what the man said. BAD and GRAND sound
very much the same, indeed they often are the same”; and he fell into
the mud. “It is not comfortable here,” he remarked, “but no doubt it
is some fashionable watering! place, and they have sent me away to
recruit my health. My nerves are certainly very much shattered, and
I require rest.”
Then a little Frog, with bright jewelled eyes, and a green mottled
coat, swam up to him. “A new arrival, I see!” said the Frog. “Well, after
all there is nothing like mud. Give me rainy weather and a ditch, and
I am quite happy. Do you think it will be a wet afternoon? I am sure I
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THE REMARKABLE ROCKET
hope so, but the sky is quite blue and cloudless. What a pity!” “Ahem!
ahem!” said the Rocket, and he began to cough. “What a delightful voice
you have!” cried the Frog. “Really it is quite like a croak, and croaking
is of course the most musical sound in the world. You will hear our
glee-club this evening. We sit in the old duck pond close by the farmer’s
house, and as soon as the moon rises we begin. It is so entrancing that
everybody lies awake to listen to us. In fact, it was only yesterday that I
heard the farmer’s wife say to her mother that she could not get a wink
of sleep at night on account of us. It is most gratifying to find oneself so
popular.” “Ahem! ahem!” said the Rocket angrily. He was very much
annoyed that he could not get a word in. “A delightful voice, certainly,”
continued the Frog; “I hope you will come over to the duck-pond. I am
off to look for my daughters. I have six beautiful daughters, and I am so
afraid the Pike may meet them. He is a perfect monster, and would have
no hesitation in breakfasting off them. Well, good-bye: I have enjoyed
our conversation very much, I assure you.” “Conversation, indeed!”
said the Rocket. “You have talked the whole time yourself. That is not
conversation.” “Somebody must listen,” answered the Frog, 12) “and I
like to do all the talking myself. It saves time, and prevents arguments.”
“But I like arguments,” said the Rocket. “I hope not,” said the Frog
complacently. “Arguments are extremely vulgar, for everybody in good
society holds exactly the same opinions. Good-bye a second time; I see
my daughters in the distance and the little Frog swam away.
“You are a very irritating person,” said the Rocket, “and very ill-
bred. I hate people who talk about themselves, as you do, when one
wants to talk about oneself, as I do. It is what I call selfishness, and
selfishness is a most detestable thing, especially to any one of my
temperament, for I am well known for my sympathetic nature. In
fact, you should take example by me; you could not possibly have
a better model. Now that you have the chance you had better avail
yourself of it, for I am going back to Court almost immediately. I am a
great favourite at Court; in fact, the Prince and Princess were married
yesterday in my honour. Of course you know nothing of these matters,
for you are a provincial.”
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• The Frog liked the voice of the Remarkable Rocket because …
А) the farmer’s wife liked it too
В) the Remarkable Rocket sang in the glee-club
С) it was quite like a croak.
“There is no good talking to him,” said a Dragon-fly, who was
sitting on the top of a large brown bulrush; “no good at all, for he
has gone away.” “Well, that is his loss, not mine,” answered the
Rocket. 13) “I am not going to stop talking to him merely because
he pays no attention. I like hearing myself talk. It is one of my
greatest pleasures. I often have long conversations all by myself, and
14) I am so clever that sometimes I don’t understand a single
word of what I am saying.” “Then you should certainly lecture on
Philosophy,” said the Dragon-fly; and he spread a pair of lovely
gauze wings and soared away into the sky. “How very silly of him
not to stay here!” said the Rocket. “I am sure that he has not often
got such a chance of improving his mind. However, I don’t care a
bit. Genius like mine is sure to be appreciated some day”; and he
sank down a little deeper into the mud.
• The Remarkable Rocket sometimes doesn’t understand a single
word of what he is saying because …
А) he is very smart
В) he is stupid
С) he has long conversations all by himself.
After some time a large White Duck swam up to him. She had
yellow legs, and webbed feet, and was considered a great beauty on
account of her waddle. “Quack, quack, quack,” she said. “What a
curious shape you are! May I ask were you born like that, or is it the
result of an accident?” “It is quite evident that you have always lived
in the country,” answered the Rocket, “otherwise you would know
who I am. However, I excuse your ignorance. It would be unfair to
expect other people to be as remarkable as oneself. You will no doubt
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THE REMARKABLE ROCKET
be surprised to hear that I can fly up into the sky, and come down
in a shower of golden rain.” “I don’t think much of that,” said the
Duck, “as I cannot see what use it is to any one. Now, if you could
plough the fields like the ox, or draw a cart like the horse, or look
after the sheep like the collie-dog, that would be something.” “My
good creature,” cried the Rocket in a very haughty tone of voice, “I
see that you belong to the lower orders. A person of my position is
never useful. We have certain accomplishments, and that is more than
sufficient. I have no sympathy myself with industry of any kind, least
of all with such industries as you seem to recommend. Indeed, I have
always been of opinion that hard work is simply the refuge of people
who have nothing whatever to do.” “Well, well,” said the Duck, who
was of a very peaceable disposition, and never quarrelled with any
one, “everybody has different tastes. I hope, at any rate, that you are
going to take up your residence here.”
“Oh! dear no,” cried the Rocket. “I am merely a visitor, a
distinguished visitor. The fact is that I find this place rather tedious.
There is neither society here, nor solitude. In fact, it is essentially
suburban. I shall probably go back to Court, for I know that I am
destined to make a sensation in the world.” “I had thoughts of entering
public life once myself,” remarked the Duck; “there are so many things
that need reforming. Indeed, I took the chair at a meeting some time
ago, and we passed resolutions condemning everything that we did
not like. However, they did not seem to have much effect. Now I go
in for domesticity, and look after my family.” “I am made for public
life,” said the Rocket, “and so are all my relations, even the humblest
of them. Whenever we appear we excite great attention. I have not
actually appeared myself, but when I do so it will be a magnificent
sight. As for domesticity, it ages one rapidly, and distracts one’s mind
from higher things.” “Ah! the higher things of life, how fine they are!”
said the Duck; “and that reminds me how hungry I feel“: and she
swam away down the stream, saying, “Quack, quack, quack.” “Come
back! come back!” screamed the Rocket, “I have a great deal to say to
you”; but the Duck paid no attention to him.
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• Who did the Remarkable Rocket meet in the ditch? into the water. “I knew I should create a great sensation,” gasped the
Rocket, and he went out.
“I am glad that she has gone,” he said to himself, “she has a decidedly
middle-class mind”; and he sank a little deeper still into the mud, and
began to think about the loneliness of genius, when suddenly two little
boys in white smocks came running down the bank, with a kettle and
some faggots. “This must be the deputation,” said the Rocket, and he
tried to look very dignified. “Hallo!” cried one of the boys, “look at
this old stick! I wonder how it came here”; and he picked the rocket
out of the ditch. “OLD Stick!” said the Rocket, “impossible! GOLD
Stick, that is what he said. Gold Stick is very complimentary. In fact,
he mistakes me for one of the Court dignitaries!” “Let us put it into the
fire!” said the other boy, “it will help to boil the kettle.” So they piled
the faggots together, and put the Rocket on top, and lit the fire. “This is
magnificent,” cried the Rocket, “they are going to let me off in broad
day! light, so that every one can see me.” “We will go to sleep now,”
they said, “and when we wake up the kettle will be boiled”; and they lay
down on the grass, and shut their eyes.
The Rocket was very damp, so he took a long time to burn. At last,
however, the fire caught him. “Now I am going off!” he cried, and he
Illustration by W. Crane in “The Happy Prince and Other Tales” (1888)20
made himself very stiff and straight. “I know I shall go much higher
than the stars, much higher than the moon, much higher than the sun. In
fact, I shall go so high that – “ Fizz! Fizz! Fizz! and he went straight up • Did the two boys like the Remarkable Rocket?
into the air. “Delightful!” he cried, “I shall go on like this for ever. What • Who let the Remarkable Rocket off:
a success I am!” But nobody saw him. Then he began to feel a curious А) the frog
tingling sensation all over him. В) the dragon-fly
“Now I am going to explode,” he cried. “I shall set the whole world С) the boys.
on fire, and make such a noise that nobody will talk about anything • Was the Remarkable Rocket finally a success?
else for a whole year.” And he certainly did explode. Bang! Bang!
Bang! went the gunpowder. There was no doubt about it. But nobody THE END
heard him, not even the two little boys, for they were sound asleep. 20
https://yandex.ru/images/search?pos=0&img_url=http%3A%2F%2Fupload.wikime-
Then all that was left of him was the stick, and this fell down on the dia.org%2Fwikipedia%2Fcommons%2F3%2F3d%2FPlate_3_of_The_Happy_Prince_
back of a Goose who was taking a walk by the side of the ditch. “Good and_Other_Tales_%25281888%2529.png&text=Crane%27s%20illustration%20in%20
%C2%ABThe%20Happy%20Prince%20and%20Other%20Tales%C2%BB%20(1888)&lr=2
heavens!” cried the Goose. “It is going to rain sticks”; and she rushed 13&rpt=simage&source=serp

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II. Detailed comprehension of the story 3. Fill in the gaps in the collocations using the words in the box:
Read the text thoroughly and do the tasks.
broad, sight, proper, fine, away, attention, loss, over, word, many,
burst, clear, tears, use, sense, disposition
Focus on the vocabulary
1. Give the transcription and practice pronunciation of the 1. that is his …, not mine
words: 2. … gold
rejoicings, Princess, swan, ermine-cloak, violet, neighbour, 3. this was not of much … to him
pearls, honour, Pyrotechnist, Aurora Borealis, Squib, prejudices, 4. a cup of … crystal
bridegroom, cough, doubt, Fire-balloon, sustain, sympathy, 5. to put everything in its … place
6. it does … with all one’s prejudices
virtue, success, occasion, jewelled, accomplishments, suburban,
7. over and over a great … times
distinguished, domesticity, magnificent, genius, dignitaries, Bang,
8. to attract …
heavens 9. to be of a kindly …
2. Active vocabulary – these are words and collocations you should 10. he would not get … it
be able to use freely while talking about the story. Find them in the 11. I am almost moved to …
text, look up their meanings in an English-English dictionary and 12. common …
mind the context (the sentence) the word/collocation is used in. The 13. he could not get a … in
words are given in the order of their appearance in the text. 14. caught … of
15. He … into real tears
1 ermine-cloak 13 joyful 16. in … day-light
2 a drawer 14 to soar up 4. In the story you read about different types of fireworks. Match
3 to murmur 15 an elder-tree the Russian equivalents to them:

4 the Aurora Borealis 16 Humbug! humbug! English Russian

5 gunpowder 17 to object to 1 a little Squib a Бенгальский Огонь
2 a big Roman Candle b длинная, высокомерная с виду
6 a canister 18 to peep Ракета
7 to bully 19 a sneer 3 a pensive Catherine Wheel c Большая Римская Свеча
8 rudeness 20 supercilious 4 a brown-paper cartridge d Меланхоличный Огненный
Фонтан
9 sensitive 21 a dragon-fly
5 a tall, supercilious-looking e бумажная гильза от патрона
10 corns 22 webbed feet Rocket
11 to tread 23 faggots 6 a Bengal Light f Петарда
7 a small Fire-balloon g маленькая Шутиха
12 indignantly 8 a Cracker h маленький Огненный Шар

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5. Oscar Wilde is very resourceful in using the vocabulary in want to be 3. Find exclamatory sentences. Why do you think they are used
precise. So, for example, he uses various verbs to describe movements in the text?
and manners. 4. Find inverted word order in statements. Why do you think
Match the verb in the right column to its definition in the left one21 they are used in the text? Read the sentences aloud with the
appropriate intonation.
1 to sink upon one knee a to rise very quickly to a high level
2 to go about the place b (usually of a person or animal with Focus on the figurative language
short legs and a fat body) to walk
1. Find in the text examples of personification. What effect is
with short steps, moving the body
from one side to the other gained?
3 to soar up c to (cause to) go or do something very 2. Find in the text examples of symbolism. What do they
quickly symbolize?
4 to peep in d to (cause something to) turn around 3. How does Oscar Wilde use satire in “The Remarkable Rocket”?
in circles 4. Previously you found comparisons in the text. Match their
5 to march e to fall (or drop, sink, etc.) to oneʼs halves:
knees assume a kneeling position 1 as pale a as my own flute-playing
6 to rush f to secretly look at something for a
short time, usually through a hole 2 She is like b fine gold
7 to whirl g to walk around 3 his hair was like c a wonderful silver shield
8 to waddle h to walk with regular steps and keep-
ing the body stiff, usually in a formal 4 as clear d as the Snow Palace in which
group of people who are all walking she had always lived
in the same way 5 as delightful e as crystal
6 the moon rose like f a white rose!
6. Find in the text the synonyms to the following words:
1. to cry
2. to mutter 7. Onomatopoeia Definition
3. wet Onomatopoeia indicates a word that sounds like what it refers
to or describes. The letter sounds combined in the word imitate
Focus on the syntax of the story the natural sound of the object or action. Onomatopoeia is used
1. Find comparisons in the text. Why do you think there are many by writers and poets as figurative language to create a heightened
of these? experience for the reader. Onomatopoetic words are descriptive
2. Find repetitions of sentences or their parts. Why do you think and provide a sensory effect and vivid imagery in terms of sight
they are used in the text? and sound22.
21
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/peep?q=to+peep 22
https://literarydevices.net/onomatopoeia/

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In the story you read a number of onomatopoetic words. Think 9. Epigrams are brief, interesting, memorable, and sometimes
of the Russian equivalents to them: surprising or satirical statements23. “The Remarkable Rocket”,
English Russian unlike the other stories in the collection, contains a large
number of Wildean epigrams including (in the text above they
1 Ahem! ahem! are numbered and underlined).
2 Whizz! Whizz! Analise the given epigrams and share your opinion about their
3 Boom! Boom! meanings:
1) “Travel improves the mind wonderfully, and does away
4 Fizz! Fizz! Fizz!
with all one’s prejudices”.
5 Bang! Bang! 2) “The world is an enormous place, and it would take you
6 Huzza! Huzza! three days to see it thoroughly”.
3) “Any place you love is the world to you”.
7 Quack, quack, quack
4) “True love suffers, and is silent”.
5) “Romance is a thing of the past”.
6) “Romance never dies. It is like the moon, and lives forever”.
Focus on the text
7) “If you say the same thing over and over a great many
Answer the questions:
times, it becomes true in the end”.
1. What is the genre of “The Remarkable Rocket”? 8) “Princes are always lucky”.
2. What is the conflict of the story “The Remarkable Rocket”? 9) “The only thing that sustains one through life is the
3. What are the themes of the story “The Remarkable Rocket”? consciousness of the immense inferiority of everybody
4. What is the climax of “The Remarkable Rocket”? else, and this is a feeling that I have always cultivated”.
10) “It is a very dangerous thing to know one’s friends”.
III. Critical reading and thinking 11) “They were extremely practical, and whenever they
1. What kind of people are really remarkable, according to Oscar objected to anything they called it humbug”.
Wilde? What makes you think so? 12) “I like to do all the talking myself. It saves time, and
2. Why is the Rocket called remarkable? Is he really remarkable? prevents arguments”.
Why? 13) “I am not going to stop talking to him merely because he
3. What features of the character does the Prince symbolize? pays no attention”.
4. Why does Oscar Wilde choose children to finally let the 14) “I am so clever that sometimes I don’t understand a single
Remarkable Rocket off? word of what I am saying”.
5. What obligations does the story teach us towards each other?
6. What is the moral lesson of “The Remarkable Rocket”? IV. Extra task
7. Make the list of characters of the story. Are they all people? Are Watch the cartoon and compare the video and the book versions:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NZ0-TrP06I
they all animate?
8. Oscar Wilde is known for his use of epigrams in his writing. 23
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epigram

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ПРИЛОЖЕНИЕ
Appendix 1
About Oscar Wilde
Text A24 (Intermediate level)
Oscar Wilde, in full Oscar Fingal O’Flahertie Wills Wilde, (born October
16, 1854, Dublin, Ireland–died November 30, 1900, Paris, France), Irish poet,
and dramatist whose reputation rests on his only novel, The Picture of Dorian
Gray (1891), and on his comic masterpieces Lady Windermere’s Fan (1892)
and The Importance of Being Earnest (1895).
Wilde was born of professional and literary parents. His father, Sir
William Wilde, was Ireland’s leading ear and eye surgeon, who also
published books on archaeology, folklore, and the satirist Jonathan Swift.
His mother, who wrote under the name Speranza, was a revolutionary poet
and an authority on Celtic myth and folklore.
After attending Portora Royal School, Enniskillen, Wilde went, on
successive scholarships, to Trinity College, Dublin, and Magdalen College,
Oxford, which awarded him a degree with honours.
In 1884 Wilde married Constance Lloyd, daughter of a prominent Irish
barrister; two children, Cyril and Vyvyan, were born, in 1885 and 1886.
Meanwhile, Wilde was a reviewer for the Pall Mall Gazette and then became
editor of Woman’s World. During this period he published The Happy Prince
and Other Tales (1888), which reveals his gift for romantic allegory in the form
of the fairy tale.
In the final decade of his life, Wilde wrote and published nearly all of his
major work.
He died suddenly of meningitis brought on by an ear infection.
Text B25 (Upper-Intermediate level)
Oscar Wilde was an Anglo-Irish playwright, novelist, essayist, poet, critic,
and epigrammatist as well as a celebrity in late 19th century London.
O. Wilde was born in Dublin on 16 October 1854 into a successful and
cultured Anglo-Irish family. His mother raised her children to love poetry and
24
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Oscar-Wilde
25
http://www.cmgww.com/historic/wilde/
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arts. Wilde was educated at Trinity College, Dublin and Magdalen College,
Oxford. After he graduated, he moved to London to pursue a literary career.
He made himself conspicuous by despising athleticism and espousing the
aesthetic movement. His famous quotation about the former is: “To get back
my youth I would do anything in the world, except take exercise, get up
early, or be respectable”.
The aesthetic movement’s slogan was “Art for Art’s sake” and it started as
a counterbalance to the realism and morality of the previous historic period.
As well as in Great Britain, aesthetic movement took over in philosophy, arts
and literature and architecture in France and in Russia, so Oscar Wilde was
by no means alone who proclaimed that the artist is the creator of beautiful
things and “All art is quite useless” meaning that art should not reveal or
condemn the evils of society. “There’s no such thing, wrote Wilde in Preface
to “The Picture of Dorian Gray”, as a moral or immoral book. Books are well
written or badly written. That is all.”
Oscar Wilde’s output was diverse. A first volume of his poetry was
published in 1881. Besides composing verse, he contributed to journalism,
wrote fairy stories and published a novel “The Picture of Dorian Gray”
(1891). But while alive his greatest talent was considered for writing
plays, and he produced a string of extremely popular comedies including
“Lady Windermere’s Fan” (1892), “An Ideal Husband” (1895) and “The
Importance of Being Earnest” (1895). The play “Salomé”, written in French,
was performed in Paris in 1896.
While O. Wilde was a larger-than-life figure in his time, due to his many
witticisms and social standing, he is now regarded as one of the greatest
producers of literature. You can read more about his life on many internet
websites and his official website is http://www.cmgww.com/historic/wilde/.
The fairy stories “The Happy Prince and Other Tales” you are going to
read and discuss were written by O. Wilde for his two sons and published in
1888. A critic named the tales, especially “The Happy Prince”, as Wilde’s
signature, as his definitive statement about the relationship between inner
and outer beauty.
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GREAT LITERARY WORKS IN ENGLISH. READING AND DISCUSSING “THE HAPPY PRINCE AND OTHER TALES” BY O. WILDE ПРИЛОЖЕНИЕ

Text C26 (Advanced level) Appendix 2

Oscar Wilde was an Anglo-Irish playwright, novelist, poet, and critic. Definitions and Examples of Literary Terms27
He is regarded as one of the greatest playwrights of the Victorian Era. In his Literary devices refer to the typical structures used by writers in their
lifetime he wrote nine plays, one novel, and numerous poems, short stories, works to convey his or her messages in a simple manner to the readers. When
and essays. employed properly, the different literary devices help readers to appreciate,
Wilde was a proponent of the Aesthetic movement, which emphasized interpret and analyze a literary work. Below is a list of literary terms and
aesthetic values more than moral or social themes. This doctrine is most devices with detailed definition and examples.
clearly summarized in the phrase ‘art for art’s sake’. Literary terms
Besides literary accomplishments, he is also famous, or perhaps Genre originates from the French word meaning “kind” or “type”. It
infamous, for his wit, flamboyance, and affairs with men. He was tried and denotes types of literature: comedy, tragedy, epic poetry, thriller, science
imprisoned for his homosexual relationship (then considered a crime) with fiction, romance.
the son of an aristocrat. Climax is a turning point in a storyline.
Oscar Wilde was born in Dublin on 16 October 1854 to Sir William Plot structures what happens in a story, a sequence of events. There are
Wilde and his wife Jane. Oscar’s mother, Lady Jane Francesca Wilde seven basic plot types: tragedy, comedy, rebirth, rags-to-riches, voyage/return,
(1820–1896), was a successful poet and journalist. She wrote patriotic Irish good versus evil, journey of the hero.
verse under the pseudonym “Speranza”. Oscar’s father, Sir William Wilde Conflict involves a struggle between two opposing forces.
(1815–1876), was a leading ear and eye surgeon, a renowned philanthropist Theme refers to the central, deeper meaning of a written work. Writers
and gifted writer, who wrote books on archaeology and folklore. Oscar had usually allow the reader to perceive and interpret the theme, rather than directly
an elder brother, Willie, and a younger sister, Isola Francesca, who died state it. Theme is often what creates a memorable experience of a literary work
at the early age of 10. He was educated at Portora Royal School, Trinity for the reader.
College, Dublin, and Magdalen College, Oxford. Literary devices
On May 29, 1884, Oscar married Constance Lloyd, daughter of wealthy Personification is a figure of speech in which an idea or thing is given
Queen’s Counsel Horace Lloyd. They had two sons, Cyril (1885) and Vyvyan human attributes and/or feelings or is spoken of as if it were human. Here are
(1886). To support his family, Oscar accepted a job as the editor of Woman’s some examples of personification:
World magazine, where he worked from 1887–1889. This advertisement speaks to me.
In 1888, he published The Happy Prince and Other Tales, fairy-stories The sunflowers hung their heads.
written for his two sons. His first and only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, Can you see that star winking at you?
was published in 1891 and received quite a negative response. My heart danced when he walked in the room.
He spent the rest of his life wandering Europe, staying with friends and Sarcasm: sarcastic comments often express feelings of frustration, anger,
living in cheap hotels. He died of cerebral meningitis on November 30, 1900, or distaste through stating one idea but meaning another. Here are some
penniless, in a cheap Paris hotel. common examples of sarcasm:
Zombies eat brains. You’re safe.
Ugliness can be fixed, stupidity is forever.
I’d agree with you, but then we’d both be wrong.
It’s better to keep your mouth shut and appear stupid than open it and
remove all doubt. (Mark Twain)
26
https://www.wilde-online.info/oscar-wilde-biography.htm 27
https://literarydevices.net/

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GREAT LITERARY WORKS IN ENGLISH. READING AND DISCUSSING “THE HAPPY PRINCE AND OTHER TALES” BY O. WILDE
Satire is a literary device that shows bad or vice things so to correct them.
Here are some common and familiar examples of satire:
“Alice in Wonderland” – the novel by Lewis Carroll that satirizes the
corrupt political and judicial system of Victorian England.
“The Importance of Being Earnest” – dramatic satire by Oscar Wilde of
love and marriage cultural norms during Victorian Age.
“Shrek” – the movie that satirizes fairy tales.
A simile is a figure of speech in which two essentially dissimilar objects or
concepts are expressly compared with one another through the use of “like” or
“as.” Here are some common examples of similie:
As old as the hills.
As pretty as a picture.
Symbolism is a literary device that refers to the use of symbols in a literary
work. A symbol may be a word, object, action, character, or concept that
something that stands for or suggests something else. Here are some common
examples of symbolism in everyday life:
rainbow – symbolizes hope and promise
red rose – symbolizes love and romance
four-leaf clover – symbolizes good luck or fortune
wedding ring – symbolizes commitment and matrimony
Appendix 3
Sample analysis of a literary text28
The story under the title “The Happy Prince” was written by an Irish
poet and dramatist whose reputation rests on his comic masterpieces Lady
Wintermere’s Fan and The Importance of Being Earnest – Oscar Wilde (1854–
1900), (Oscar Fingal O’Flahertie Wills Wilde). Among Wilde’s other best-
known works are his only novel The Picture of Dorian Gray, which deals
very similar theme as Robert Luis Stevenson’s Doctor Jekyll and Mister Hyde.
Wilde’s fairy tales are very popular – the motifs have been compared to those
of Hans Christian Andersen.
The plot of the story under analysis centers round a swallow, which
travels a lot and finally finds a statue of the Happy Prince. Being alive the
28
http://www.refolit-info.ru/Stylistica/analys_happy_prince.html
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Happy Prince didn’t know what the sorrow was, only after the death he being
set up as a statue could see “all the ugliness and all the misery of his city”. The
swallow who obeyed his commands in the sake of the good, finally died, and
they both were thrown in a dust-heap.
The core of the problem raised in the story is good and evil, wealth
and poverty. An important point is that the story resembles a fairy tale. While
reading we come across various things and objects, which usually don’t
possess emotions and feelings, the ability to speak, or aren’t alive at all. They
are speaking birds and the statue, alive reeds, etc.
We know the Swallow loved the Reed and offered to be his wife.
It’s obvious that only in fairy tales the ally of different kinds of things
is possible. “It is a ridiculous attachment,” twittered the other Swallows;
“she has no money, and far too many relations“ – this exact sentence is the
example of a fairy tale form, but at the same time it depicts in swallows
usual features of real life, such as greediness. So, it contributes to the
problem, and proves it is quite vital.
The main idea of the story is that we start appreciating what we possessed
only after losing it. The Happy Prince “lived in the Palace of Sans-Souci,
where sorrow was not allowed to enter”, but death let him see all the sorrows
of people living near him.
Moral Value of ‘The Happy Prince’ is really fine. Good rewards those
who feel for the poor and make sacrifices to remove miseries and sufferings
of other people. The Prince and the Little Swallow who helps him are
rewarded in Heaven for their kind deed on earth. The moral lesson of “The
Happy Prince” by Oscar Wilde is that the worst aspects of modern society
can be overcome by love and charity, which have the unique ability to unite
men and make them whole. Wilde wrote the fairy tale during the Victorian
era, when the East End of London was awash with the suffering and forced
labor of children, many of whom were forced into prostitution and almost all
of whom lived in abject poverty. This social context is generally accepted as
the inspiration for the story.
 Учебное издание

Иванова Татьяна Валерьевна

Исаева Элина Мурадовна
Тараканова Ирина Викторовна
Афанасьев Максим Юрьевич

GREAT LITERARY WORKS IN ENGLISH

Reading and discussing
“The Happy Prince and Other Tales” by O. Wilde
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НА АНГЛИЙСКОМ ЯЗЫКЕ
Читаем и обсуждаем
«Счастливый Принц и другие рассказы» О. Уайльда
Практикум по домашнему чтению

Редактор Дубовец В. В.
Оформление обложки Удовенко В. Г.
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