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The Nightingale and the Rose

European folklore and fairy tales, including the work of Hans
INTR
INTRODUCTION
ODUCTION Christian Andersen. Its satirical take on contemporary society,
however, more closely resembles Wilde's later
BRIEF BIOGRAPHY OF OSCAR WILDE works—particularly comedies like The Importance of Being
Now famous as much for his personal life as for his literary Earnest. The story is also a defense of the artistic school of
contributions, Oscar Wilde was born in 1854 in Dublin to Sir "Aestheticism," which asserted that art and beauty are
William Wilde and Jane Francesca Elgee, who was herself a inherently valuable. In England, Wilde was the main
poet. Under her influence, Wilde developed an appreciation for spokesperson for this philosophy, but the movement also
art and won academic scholarships first to Trinity College and influenced writers like Algernon Swinburne; in his poem "A
later to Oxford. Wilde moved to London after completing his Ballad of Death," for instance, Swinburne refers to beauty as a
studies, where both his wit and his views on "art for art's sake" "good deed." Finally, by upending the reader’s expectations of
quickly attracted a following. His literary career began in 1881 what a fairy tale looks like, "The Nightingale and the Rose" is a
with the publication of a volume of poetry but did not gain precursor to many 20th-century re-workings of classic
traction until the late 1880s; it was during this period that tales—for instance, Angela Carter's The Bloody Chamber,
Wilde, drawing in part on the Irish folklore he had learned from which gives traditional stories a feminist twist.
his mother, wrote a collection of fairy tales that included "The
Nightingale and the Rose." Wilde's success peaked in the early KEY FACTS
1890s with works like The Picture of Dorian Gray, but scandal
soon overshadowed his writing. Though married since 1884 to • Full Title: "The Nightingale and the Rose"
Constance Lloyd, Wilde had pursued several affairs with men • When Written: 1880s
throughout the 1880s and 90s. An ill-fated romance with Lord • Where Written: London, England
Alfred Douglas culminated in charges of "gross indecency," and
• When Published: 1888
Wilde was sentenced to two years' hard labor in 1895. Wilde
left England following his release from prison but never truly • Literary Period: Aestheticism
recovered from the ordeal, dying in Paris in 1900. • Genre: Fairy tale, short story, satire
• Setting: A garden in an unspecified time and place
HISTORICAL CONTEXT • Climax: The Nightingale dies just as she creates the perfect
The 19th century was a time of rapid change in England. red rose
Building off the Enlightenment’s emphasis on reason and the • Antagonist: The Student, as well as the larger value systems
scientific method, thinkers like Charles Darwin challenged he embodies
traditional beliefs about the origins and purpose of human life. • Point of View: Third-person omniscient
Technological progress, meanwhile, sped up the Industrial
Revolution, which in turn transformed societal attitudes EXTRA CREDIT
toward wealth and consumption; the ability to mass produce
Cross-cultural Influences. Persian poetry and folklore tells a
goods, for instance, encouraged a culture of materialism. By the
similar story of a nightingale staining a rose with its blood, but
mid-to-late 1800s, philosophy and art arguably had begun to
in this tradition, the rose itself is the object of the nightingale's
mirror these broader social trends. Utilitarianism, for instance,
love. British fascination with the Middle East and Asia was
attempted to explain ethical problems in terms of function.
running high in the 19th century as a result of imperialism, and
According to thinkers like John Stuart Mill, something is "good"
writers and artists frequently borrowed from or depicted these
simply if it has a net positive effect, rather than because it has
regions in their work (often, unfortunately, in deeply biased
any inherently good properties. "The Nightingale and the Rose"
ways).
(as well as Wilde's broader embrace of Aestheticism) is in some
ways a reaction to all of these changes. Unlike many of his
contemporaries, Wilde held out for the importance of Literary Romance. During a 1982 tour of America, Wilde
intangible qualities like beauty in an increasingly rational and visited the American poet Walt Whitman at his home in
mechanized world. Camden, New Jersey. Whitman was also rumored to have had
relationships with men, and Wilde afterwards hinted that they
had hooked up during his stay.
RELATED LITERARY WORKS
In style, "The Nightingale and the Rose" draws heavily on

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PL
PLO
OT SUMMARY CHARA
CHARACTERS
CTERS
While sitting in the branches of the Oak-tree, the Nightingale MAJOR CHARACTERS
overhears the Student lamenting the fact that his sweetheart The Nightingale – Although she dies before the story's
will not dance with him unless he brings her a red rose. The conclusion, the Nightingale is the protagonist of "The
Nightingale sees in the young man a real-world example of the Nightingale and the Rose." A romantic by nature, she has spent
romance she sings about, and she thinks to herself how awe- much of her life singing about love, waiting for the day she will
inspiring and powerful love is. Impressed by the apparent depth encounter it in real life. When she overhears the Student
of the Student's emotion, she decides to help him secure the lamenting his lovelorn state, she resolves to bring him the red
girl's affections.
rose he needs to secure the girl's affection, sacrificing her life
The Nightingale first flies to a White Rose-tree standing in the to stain its petals red with her blood. The other characters fail
center of a plot of grass and asks him for a red rose. He tells her to recognize this sacrifice, but the story as a whole vindicates
that all his roses are white, but advises her to find his brother, the Nightingale's actions. In particular, her selfless nature and
the Yellow Rose-tree standing next to a sun-dial. The beautiful voice link her to two of the story's themes: the selfless
Nightingale flies to him and is again disappointed. The Yellow nature of true love, and the intrinsic value of art. The
Rose-tree in turn suggests that she visit his brother Nightingale, in other words, is not only a character but also a
underneath the Student's window. This Rose-tree confirms symbol of the ideal lover and the ideal artist, both of whom give
that his roses are red, but adds that as it is wintertime, he without expecting anything in return.
cannot provide her with a blossom.
The Student – Initially a sympathetic character, the Student
In despair, the Nightingale wonders aloud whether there is any ultimately emerges as the antagonist of "The Nightingale and
way she can find a single red rose. Reluctantly, the Rose-tree the Rose." By claiming to be deeply in love with the girl, the
tells her that her only option is to spend the night singing with Student inspires the Nightingale to sacrifice her own life in a
one of his thorns in her heart. Her music will bring the flower quest to bring him a red rose. When the girl rejects the flower,
into existence, and her blood will dye its petals red, but the however, the Student carelessly tosses it into the road,
process of impaling herself on the thorn will kill her. Although concluding that love is a waste of time. This dishonors the one
the thought of losing life's pleasures saddens the Nightingale, request the Nightingale has made of him—to be a true
she concludes that the sacrifice will be worthwhile if done for lover—but it is in keeping with his personality. Throughout the
love. story, the Student reveals himself to be excessively
The Nightingale returns to the Student and attempts to tell him preoccupied with rationality and practicality, to the point that
her plan, asking that he repay her by always being a true lover. he is literally unable to understand the Nightingale's emotional
The Student cannot understand the Nightingale's words, but words to him. The Student, then, illustrates the pitfalls of
the Oak-tree, saddened, asks her to sing a final song for him. extreme intellectualism; his need to understand everything in
She agrees, and the Student complains that her song lacks terms of rules and results blinds him to "useless" qualities like
meaning and emotion before going home. selflessness or beauty.
That evening, the Nightingale flies to the Rose-tree and allows The Rose-tree – There are three rose-trees in "The Nightingale
the thorn to pierce her. She sings about love through the night, and the Rose," but only the one standing outside the Student's
gradually pressing herself further onto the thorn. As she does window plays a major role in the story. This is the tree that tells
so, a rose takes shape on the Tree, finally turning red when the the Nightingale he can produce a red rose, but only at the cost
thorn pierces the Nightingale's heart and kills her. of her own life. The Nightingale agrees, and spends the night
Later that day, the Student finds the red rose outside his singing with her breast pressed against one of the Rose-tree's
window, but does not realize where it came from. Nevertheless, thorns, slowly bringing life to a rose and dyeing it red with her
he picks it up and brings it to the girl, who is sitting outside her blood. Despite his role in killing the Nightingale, the Rose-tree
remains sympathetic, in part because he is one of the only
home spinning silk. The girl, though, rejects the gift, saying that
characters who recognizes the Nightingale's sacrifice for what
she prefers the jewels she has received from a wealthy suitor.
it is, speaking tenderly to her as she slowly impales herself on
Angry, the Student throws the rose into the road and storms
the thorn.
off, deciding that love is not worth the trouble. The story
concludes with him opening a book and returning to his The girl – The girl appears only briefly in "The Nightingale and
studies. the Rose," but she is vital to the story’s plot and themes. The
daughter of the Professor, she embodies unfeeling materialism.
Having told the Student that she will dance with him if he
brings her a red rose, she later goes back on her word because

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a wealthier suitor has provided her with jewels. The girl's extent of which only becomes clear at the end of the story;
surroundings further underscore her shallow nature, since the when the girl rejects his rose, he is quick to label her
silk she is spinning and the toy dog she owns are both luxury "ungrateful," and love in general "silly." In retrospect, however, it
commodities. is clear that the Student's love was self-absorbed all along.
The Lizard – Like the Nightingale, the Lizard overhears the While it is common for stylized literature (like fairy tales) to
Student lamenting his unrequited love for the girl. The Lizard, include dramatic monologues, the protestations of love that
however, is "a cynic," so he scoffs when he learns the Student is open "The Nightingale and the Rose" take on a stagey and
crying over a red rose. This foreshadows the ending of the attention-seeking quality in light of the story's ending. Wilde
story, when both the Student and the girl prove incapable of drops another similar hint when he describes the Student going
seeing the value of the rose as a symbol of sacrificial love. back to his room and "think[ing] of his love." The ambiguous
phrasing could simply mean that the Student is thinking about
the girl, but it could also imply that he is narcissistically poring
MINOR CHARACTERS over his own emotional state. The girl, meanwhile, reveals
The Oak-tree – The Oak-tree is both a friend of the herself to be equally self-centered when she exchanges the
Nightingale and the place where she makes her home. Like the Student for a wealthier lover, leaving only the Nightingale to
Rose-tree, the Oak-tree understands the seriousness of the symbolize true, deep love.
Nightingale's intended sacrifice, and he begs her to sing one
The Nightingale, of course, is undeniably selfless. She is
last song for him before she goes to her death.
outwardly focused from the beginning, singing not about her
The Professor – Although he never appears in the story, the own feelings, but about those of the "true lover" she dreams of
Professor is a symbolically important character. Like the meeting. Later, she flies from place to place attempting to find a
Student, the Professor has clear ties to academia and red rose on someone else's behalf, her persistence standing in
intellectualism. Interestingly, however, he is also the father of marked contrast to the Student's quickly-abandoned courtship.
the girl, suggesting a link between the Student's "rational" These small moments of altruism and self-denial culminate in
worldview and the girl's materialism. her decision to sacrifice her life; death—the complete loss of
The White Rose-tree – This is the first tree the Nightingale selfhood—is the ultimate expression of selflessness. In fact,
visits on her search for a red rose. He does not have one, so he Wilde suggests that "perfect" love can exist only in death for
sends her to his brother, the Yellow Rose-tree. precisely this reason. Because true love requires selflessness,
death is its logical endpoint.
The YYellow
ellow Rose-tree – This is the second tree the Nightingale
visits on her search for a red rose. He does not have one, so he Ultimately, then, the fact that the Nightingale's sacrifice is
sends her to his brother, the Red Rose-tree. based on a misreading of the Student's feelings doesn't alter
the story's defense of love itself. By dying, the Nightingale
herself proves the existence of true love, which the story
THEMES suggests will outlive her: as she dies, the Nightingale sings
about "Love that dies not in the tomb."
In LitCharts literature guides, each theme gets its own color-
coded icon. These icons make it easy to track where the themes
ART AND IDEALISM
occur most prominently throughout the work. If you don't have
a color printer, you can still use the icons to track themes in Oscar Wilde is likely the most famous British writer
black and white. associated with Aestheticism, a late 19th-century
movement that championed "art for art's sake." In
contrast to those who argued that the arts should address
LOVE AND SACRIFICE
social issues or impart moral lessons, the Aesthetics contended
From start to finish, "The Nightingale and the Rose" that art's sole purpose was to be beautiful. This question about
is a story about the nature of love. Love is what the the nature and role of art forms the backdrop to "The
Student claims to feel for the girl, and it is also what Nightingale and the Rose," with the Nightingale and the
inspires the Nightingale to sacrifice her life to create a red Student embodying opposite sides of the debate.
rose; doing so, she thinks, will help the Student win his
Other than perhaps her selflessness, the Nightingale's defining
sweetheart's affection. The fact that neither the Student nor
characteristic is her beautiful voice, which she uses largely as a
the girl appreciates the Nightingale's sacrifice, however,
means of bringing pleasure to others; when the Oak-tree, for
complicates the story's meaning. In the end, Wilde suggests
instance, requests one final song to remember the Nightingale
that true love is possible, but that much of what people
by, she willingly complies, with a "voice…like water bubbling
commonly call love is shallow and self-interested. from a silver jar." Furthermore, to the extent that the
The Student is a prime example of this self-absorption, the full Nightingale's songs are "about" anything, they are about ideals

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rather than reality. Rather than singing about her own love (or It is no coincidence that the Student is a student. Although the
any particular pair of lovers), the Nightingale sings about love in story begins with the Student loudly professing the depth of his
wholly abstract terms, using stock figures like "a boy and a girl" feelings for the girl, it quickly becomes clear that he is more at
to trace a path from young love to passionate love to love that ease with his studies than he is with emotions. When the
survives death. This idealism further underscores the link Nightingale sings to the Oak-tree, for instance, the Student's
between the Nightingale's art and Aestheticism, since her response is one of cold rationalism; he jots down critical notes
songs have no obvious real-world application. on what he takes to be the Nightingale's lack of genuine feeling.
The Student, by contrast, believes that art should "do" In fact, his assessment of the Nightingale could not be further
something. In fact, he criticizes the Nightingale's song precisely from the truth, and it is the Student himself who lacks
because he sees it as useless and meaningless, saying that the emotional depth. The Student's intellectualism, however, has
Nightingale cares only about "style"—a common critique of distorted his ability to see the world clearly. Because he "only
Aestheticism. He even goes so far as to say her art is "selfish," knows the things that are written down in books," the Student
presumably because it has no tangible impact on the world is quite literally incapable of understanding anyone whose
around her. This, of course, is untrue in a literal sense, since the guiding light is not reason—most notably the Nightingale,
Nightingale's song produces the red rose the Student will whose insistence that "Love is wiser than Philosophy"
present to the girl. Still, it is tempting to agree with the prioritizes an "irrational" emotion.
Student's rejection of the Nightingale's song as doing no In this sense, "The Nightingale and the Rose" links the Student's
"practical good." The girl, after all, rejects the rose, and neither hyper-rationality to the girl's materialism. Because he
she nor the Student understand or appreciate the sacrifice the understands the world solely in terms of "practicality," the
Nightingale has made. At the very least, the Nightingale's Student can't make sense of selfless behavior, which by
philosophy of art would appear to be misguided. definition does not benefit the person (or bird) practicing it.
Digging deeper, however, it is clear that the Student's views on Significantly, the most obviously selfish and greedy character in
Aestheticism are being satirized. By the end of the story, Wilde the story—the girl—is the daughter of a professor; the
has revealed the Student's "love" to be shallow and self- implication is that rationality inevitably produces materialism if
involved, which casts doubt on his claims about being able to it is not tempered with emotion. Her rationale for rejecting the
recognize true "feeling" in art. Meanwhile, the description of Student's red rose is, after all, logical: "Everybody knows that
the Nightingale's death reveals the intrinsic value of her art and jewels cost far more than flowers."
actions. It is not simply that her songs are beautiful, but that, by Ultimately, however, Wilde suggests that the intertwined
sacrificing herself for love, the Nightingale makes the ideal love worldviews of intellectualism and materialism fail even on their
she sings about a reality in the world. Ultimately, then, the story own terms. While it is certainly the case that the Student and
suggests that art is self-justifying, because the artistic process the girl consistently misread the emotional significance of the
itself embodies the ideals of art. world around them (e.g. the rose and the Nightingale's song), it
is equally clear that they lack self-knowledge. The story ends
MATERIALISM, INTELLECTUALISM, AND with the Student rejecting love as "impractical" and resolving to
EMOTION study metaphysics instead. Metaphysics, however, is arguably
the branch of philosophy least concerned with practicality, since
Despite its fairy-tale setting, "The Nightingale and it involves abstract questions about mind vs. matter, the
the Rose" engages with the real-world debates purpose of existence, and the nature of identity. The Student,
taking place in the late 1800s. The Enlightenment of the then, does not appear to have a good grasp even on the
preceding century had inspired great confidence in humanity's philosophy he claims to support—a point further underscored
ability to solve scientific, practical, and even moral problems by the fact that the book he pulls down to study is "dusty,"
with reason. Rapid industrialization (and the wealth it implying that it does not see much use.
generated) lent further credence to these ideas by "proving"
the success of 18th-century scientific innovation and free-
market economics. Nevertheless, there was significant SYMBOLS
pushback against these trends throughout the 19th-century,
particularly from writers and artists. In "The Nightingale and Symbols appear in teal text throughout the Summary and
the Rose," Wilde develops his own critique of materialism and Analysis sections of this LitChart.
intellectualism, as these traits are embodied by the Student and
the girl. Far from promoting a realistic worldview, these
philosophies actually blind the story's characters to what is THE RED ROSE
happening within and around them. Red roses are traditionally associated with
romance, so it is not surprising that Wilde uses one

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to symbolize true love in "The Nightingale and the Rose." Its The Nightingale and the Rose Quotes
significance, however, shifts over the context of the story. At
Here at last is a true lover…Night after night have I sung of
first, the rose appears to represent the Student's love for the
him, though I knew him not: night after night have I told his
girl, since her refusal to dance with him unless he brings her the
story to the stars, and now I see him. His hair is as dark as the
flower makes the flower into a piece of evidence that his
hyacinth-blossom, and his lips are as red as the rose of his
feelings are genuine. By sacrificing her life to bring the Student
desire.
a rose, the Nightingale further underscores this idea that the
flower is an expression of true love; in fact, the Rose quite
literally comes from the Nightingale's heart, because she uses Related Characters: The Nightingale (speaker), The
her blood to stain it red. In the end, however, neither the Student
Student nor the girl is able to appreciate the rose's symbolic
significance. The girl, for instance, compares the rose Related Themes:
unfavorably to the jewels she has received from another suitor,
while the Student reacts angrily when the girl goes back on her Related Symbols:
promise to dance with him. This suggests that neither character
ever truly saw the rose as a symbol of love, but rather as a kind Page Number: 15
of currency to buy someone's affection.
Explanation and Analysis
When the Nightingale first overhears the Student talking
SILK about his need for a red rose, she sees him as the
The blue silk the girl is winding is a symbol of her embodiment of everything she sings about. Her remark that
shallowness and materialism. Silk is a luxury fabric, she sang about him even before meeting him even suggests
so its appearance foreshadows the girl's rejection of the rose in that her songs have created this real-world manifestation of
favor of more monetarily valuable jewels. The color of the idealized love. In the end, of course, the Student will prove
fabric is significant as well, because European artists have to be anything but a perfect lover, but this idea that art can
traditionally depicted the Virgin Mary draped in blue silk. In this make the ideal real is vindicated in the Nightingale's
case, however, the use of the color is ironic; Mary's blue robes creation of the rose. Her physical description of the
typically signify her heavenly nature, but the girl in "The Student, meanwhile, further emphasizes her affinity with
Nightingale and the Rose" is entirely worldly. the world of art and symbols; unlike the Student, who tends
to speak literally, the Nightingale frequently uses similes
and other forms of figurative language.
THE DUSTY BOOK
At the end of "The Nightingale and the Rose," the
Student rejects loves and returns to studying Surely Love is a wonderful thing. It is more precious than
metaphysics. The book he opens is dusty, which suggests that emeralds, and dearer than fine opals. Pearls and
no one has read it in a long time. This undercuts the Student's pomegranates cannot buy it, nor is it set forth in the market-
claim that in studying philosophy, he will be engaging directly place. It may not be purchased of the merchants, nor can it be
with practical, real-world matters (in fact, it is the Nightingale weighed out in the balance for gold.
who, in praising the joys of life, reveals herself to be deeply
immersed in the world around her). The book thus symbolizes
the hollowness of the intellectualism the Student espouses. Related Characters: The Nightingale (speaker), The girl

Related Themes:
QUO
QUOTES
TES
Related Symbols:
Note: all page numbers for the quotes below refer to the Signet
edition of Complete Fairy Tales of Oscar Wilde published in Page Number: 16
2008.
Explanation and Analysis
In light of the story's ending, the Nightingale's claim that
love cannot be bought seems almost painfully ironic. In fact,
the girl will eventually reject the red rose—a symbol of

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love—in favor of one of the very objects the Nightingale lists

Related Symbols:
in this passage: jewels. What's more, the girl defends her
choice in explicitly monetary terms, saying that jewels are
Page Number: 17
better than flowers because they cost more. That said, the
capitalization in this passage implies that the Nightingale is Explanation and Analysis
thinking about love more as an abstract ideal rather than
Although the Nightingale eventually succeeds in finding a
love as it is actually practiced in the world. In that sense, her
tree who can provide her with a red rose, she quickly learns
claim is correct, as she herself will prove when she gives her
that creating the rose will require sacrificing her life. The
life without gaining anything in exchange.
passage, then, underscores the idea that true love is
selfless—primarily in the sense that it is centered on the
happiness of another, even at considerable cost to oneself.
"He is weeping for a red rose," said the Nightingale. The Rose-tree's description of taking the Nightingale's
"For a red rose?" they cried; "how very ridiculous!" and the little blood into his own "veins," however, implies another way of
Lizard, who was something of a cynic, laughed outright. thinking about love and self-sacrifice; if romantic love is a
union or merging of two people, the emotion itself
necessarily involves losing or giving up parts (or all) of
Related Characters: The Lizard , The Nightingale (speaker), oneself.
The Student
The process of creating the rose, however, is not only about
Related Themes: love—it is also about art. In particular, the idea of "building"
the rose from song reflects the story's broader ideas about
Related Symbols: the intrinsic value of art. By expressing an ideal, the
Nightingale is also giving it a real (and, in this case, physical)
Page Number: 16 presence in the world.

Explanation and Analysis

The Nightingale is not the only observer who notices the The Student looked up from the grass and listened, but he
Student's unhappiness, but the Lizard—along with a could not understand what the Nightingale was saying to
butterfly and a flower—can't understand why anyone would him, for he only knew the things that are written down in books.
cry over a rose. Wilde attributes this confusion to
"cynicism"; because the Lizard sees the rose simply as a
physical (and not very useful) object, he finds the Student's Related Characters: The Nightingale, The Student
emotion absurd. In this sense, however, he actually
Related Themes:
resembles the equally "rational" and "practical" Student, who
ultimately proves incapable of understanding the rose's
Related Symbols:
meaning as a symbol of love and sacrifice. Instead, he views
the rose as a tool, tossing it aside when he discovers that it
Page Number: 17
can't do anything for him.
Explanation and Analysis
When the Nightingale explains how she intends to get the
If you want a red rose…you must build it out of music by Student his rose, the Student responds with literal
moonlight, and stain it with your own heart's-blood. You incomprehension. Interestingly, Wilde attributes this to the
must sing to me with your breast against a thorn. All night long Student's learning, suggesting that his knowledge and
you must sing to me, and the thorn must pierce your heart, and rationality are preventing him from grasping deeper
your life-blood must flow into my veins, and become mine. emotional truths—most notably, the love that the
Nightingale has just been extolling. The Student's
intellectualism, in other words, is actually hindering his
Related Characters: The Rose-tree (speaker), The
ability to understand the world around him (and especially
Nightingale
the motivations of others). Relatedly, it is also impacting his
Related Themes: ability to experience life fully and richly: one of the things

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the Student can't understand is the Nightingale telling him Page Number: 18
to "be happy."
Explanation and Analysis
As she sings the rose into existence, the Nightingale
She has form…but has she got feeling? I am afraid not. In describes several different types or stages of love,
fact, she is like most artists; she is all style, without any culminating in the sacrificial love mentioned here. This
sincerity. She would not sacrifice herself for others. She thinks process gives the symbolism of the rose an added layer:
merely of music, and everybody knows that the arts are selfish. while red roses in general are popularly associated with
Still, it must be admitted that she has some beautiful notes in romance, this particular rose is imbued with (and created by)
her voice. What a pity it is that they do not mean anything, or all the kinds of love the Nightingale celebrates in her songs.
do any practical good. That's nowhere clearer than in this passage, where the
subject of the Nightingale's song mirrors, in real time, the
sacrifice she herself is making.
Related Characters: The Student (speaker), The
Nightingale The Nightingale's love is therefore "perfected by Death"
partly in the sense that her death makes the perfect love
Related Themes: she is singing about a reality—not only in her actions, but
also in the symbol of the rose. In a broader sense, though,
Page Number: 18 death "perfects" love because it is the most extreme act of
selflessness possible—one that involves completely
Explanation and Analysis relinquishing selfhood. That said, the passage also suggests
The Student's response to the song the Nightingale sings that dying in this way gives the Nightingale a kind of
for the Oak-tree is ironic on multiple levels. First, and most immortality, since her love (and art) survive her—if only in
obviously, the Student's claim that the Nightingale is selfish Wilde's story.
runs counter to the entire plot of Wilde's story. The
Student's misinterpretation of the Nightingale's song is
therefore a fundamental misreading of her entire
What a wonderful piece of luck…here is a red rose! I have
character—not to mention, of course, his own, since the
never seen any rose like it in all my life. It is so beautiful
story's conclusion suggests that it is he himself who lacks
that I am sure it has a long Latin name.
emotional "sincerity." His criticisms, though, are in keeping
with those often leveled at Wilde himself (and other writers
associated with Aestheticism), since the emphasis on "art Related Characters: The Student (speaker)
for art's sake" seemed, to some people, to prioritize style
over meaning or "practical good." In "The Nightingale and Related Themes:
the Rose," however, Wilde suggests that this objection is
misguided, because the beauty of the Nightingale's song (i.e. Related Symbols:
its style) is inseparable from the love that inspires it and is
expressed within it. Page Number: 19

Explanation and Analysis

The morning after the Nightingale's death, the Student
Bitter, bitter was the pain, and wilder and wilder grew her wakes up to find the rose she has created on a branch
song, for she sang of the Love that is perfected by Death, outside his window. His response is disappointing.
of the Love that dies not in the tomb. Juxtaposed with the Nightingale's death, the Student's
words seem shallow and self-centered; given how miserable
Related Characters: The Nightingale he had claimed to be just a day earlier, he ought to be
overjoyed to find the rose, but he instead seems to take it as
Related Themes: a mildly pleasant surprise. He also, of course, mistakenly
attributes the appearance of the flower to "luck," further
Related Symbols: underscoring his inability to read the world around him.
Most frustratingly of all, he takes the rose's beauty as a sign

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that it must have a "long Latin name." This implies an

Related Themes:
inability to appreciate love (or art) on its own terms, since
the Student needs to "translate" his enjoyment into rational
Page Number: 19
and scientific language in order to justify it.
Explanation and Analysis
As the Student walks away from his argument with the girl,
The daughter of the Professor was sitting in the doorway he swears off love altogether, betraying the Nightingale's
winding blue silk on a reel, and her little dog was lying at request that he always be a "true lover." What's more, his
her feet. reasons for abandoning love imply that he never really
understood it in the first place, since he expects it to prove
"useful" to him. This flies in the face of Wilde's depiction of
Related Characters: The girl
love throughout the rest of the story, which suggests that
Related Themes: the purest form of love is—like the Nightingale's—one that
has no practical benefits to the person giving it.
Related Symbols: As this passage makes clear, however, it is not only the
Student who has failed to understand the meaning of love.
Page Number: 19 For the first time in the story, Wilde breaks with fairy-tale
convention by suggesting that "The Nightingale and the
Explanation and Analysis Rose" is set in a particular time period—namely, the modern
When the Student goes to see his sweetheart, he finds her era ("this age"). The Student's obsession with practicality is
spinning silk: a luxury good that hints at the girl's therefore a comment on all of society. Like many in late
materialism. Its color, meanwhile, is an ironic nod to 19th-century England, the Student believes in a form of
Christian iconography, where the Virgin Mary's blue silk logic that denies the possibility of anything that is not
robes evoke the sky (i.e. heaven). The girl's actions also bear tangible, practical, or rationally self-interested.
a slight resemblance to the Nightingale's, with the spindle
on the reel mirroring the thorn on the tree. Again, however,
the parallel is ironic, since the girl soon reveals herself to be
So he returned to his room and pulled out a great dusty
selfish and worldly.
book, and began to read.
This passage also reveals an unexpected link between the
girl and the academic world the Student inhabits: the girl's
Related Characters: The Student
father is a professor. Given that the girl rejects the Student
on the grounds that he is "only a Student," this may seem
Related Themes:
surprising or unlikely at first glance. The story, however,
seems to suggest that there is an underlying connection
Related Symbols:
between the Student's (and, presumably, the Professor's)
intellectualism and the girl's materialism. Perhaps, for
Page Number: 19
instance, the Student's desire to explain everything in terms
of usefulness and/or cause and effect tends to reduce love Explanation and Analysis
to a rational transaction where each person "gets"
"The Nightingale and the Rose" ends with the Student
something.
retreating to his studies and poring over the "great dusty
book." This is, first and foremost, a commentary on the
Student's hypocrisy (or, at least, lack of self-knowledge): the
What a silly thing Love is…It is not half as useful as Logic, Student claims to be interested only in what is "practical,"
for it does not prove anything, and it is always telling one but the material he is reading presumably can't be very
of things that are not going to happen, and making one believe practical, or it would have seen more recent use. The book's
things that are not true. In fact, it is quite unpractical, and…in dustiness, however, also evokes images of death and decay,
this age to be practical is everything. and therefore contrasts strongly with the Nightingale's
earlier description of the joys of life. Unlike the Nightingale,
who lovingly recalls watching the moon and smelling the
Related Characters: The Student (speaker)
flowers, the Student is completely isolated from everything

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going on outside his room. This again undercuts his claim world.
that he, rather than the Nightingale, is immersed in the real

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SUMMARY AND ANAL

ANALYSIS
YSIS
The color-coded icons under each analysis entry make it easy to track where the themes occur most prominently throughout the
work. Each icon corresponds to one of the themes explained in the Themes section of this LitChart.

THE NIGHTINGALE AND THE ROSE

As a Nightingale sits in her nest in an Oak-tree, she overhears a The Student's first appearance in the story relies heavily on fairy-
Student speaking mournfully about his sweetheart, who has tale conventions that Wilde will later upend. His physical
said she will not dance with him unless he brings her a red rose. attractiveness and tearful declarations of love suggest that he is a
While the Nightingale watches, the Student begins to cry, quintessential romantic hero, so it is not hard to see why the
lamenting the fact that all his learning is useless since it can't Nightingale considers him the answer to her songs. In fact, it's
win him the girl's love. His beauty and sorrow, however, almost as if her art has actually conjured an ideal lover into being. It
impress the Nightingale, who has spent all her life singing about is significant, however, that the Student also draws attention to his
an idealized "true lover." intellectualism, since this will ultimately prove to be more important
to him than his feelings for the girl.

The Student continues to bemoan his unrequited love, In retrospect, the Student's lavish descriptions of how heartbroken
imagining in great detail how the girl will pass him by at the he will be at the ball seem over-the-top. The Nightingale, however,
Prince's ball unless he finds a rose for her. Meanwhile, the sees the Student's self-absorption as an indication of how deep his
Nightingale reflects on how powerful and priceless a force love feelings run, contrasting his "real" love with her happy songs. She
is. The other animals and plants in the vicinity, however, do not also suggests that love is wonderful mostly because it has no
understand why the Student is crying over a rose. material value, which is an idea Wilde will play with throughout the
story; the girl's affections most definitely can be bought, but it is not
clear that those affections are what the Nightingale (or Wilde)
means by "love."

The Nightingale decides to help the Student, and flies to the Fairy tales often obey the "rule of three," and this one fits the
center of the garden to speak to the White Rose-tree. She asks pattern. In this case, however, the fact that the Nightingale strikes
him for a red rose, but he tells her that he has none, and directs out twice before finding a tree that can help her is also a way of
her to his brother by the sun-dial. Accordingly, the Nightingale demonstrating her persistence and dedication—both qualities the
visits the Yellow Rose-tree, but he also disappoints her, advising Student lacks.
her to try the Rose-tree underneath the Student's window.

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When the Nightingale states her case to the Red Rose-tree, he Red roses are symbolic of romantic love, so by having the
confirms that his roses are red, but says that he cannot grow Nightingale give up her own life to create one, Wilde begins to
one in winter. The Nightingale presses him, however, and he present an alternative to the Student's shallow feelings for the girl.
eventually admits that there is a possible solution: by singing as From her description of the sensual pleasures of nature, it is clear
she impales herself on one of his thorns, the Nightingale can that thee Nightingale enjoys life—much more, in fact, than the
bring a rose into bloom and dye it with her own blood. Student, who ends up shutting himself inside his room.
Although it pains the Nightingale to sacrifice the joys of life, she Nevertheless, she is willing to sacrifice all of this for love—and not
agrees to the Rose-tree's plan. even her own, but someone else's. The fact that it is her "heart's-
blood" that will dye the rose further underscores the connection
between love and sacrifice, since hearts are symbols of both
romance and life.

Her mind made up, the Nightingale flies back to the Student When the Nightingale asks the Student to be a true lover, she
and tells him the good news, asking simply that he honor her explicitly compares love to intellectual pursuits (i.e. "Philosophy"),
sacrifice by being a true lover. The Student cannot understand arguing that love is ultimately "wiser." The story immediately
what she is saying, but the Oak-tree asks her to sing one more doubles-down on this idea with the Student's response, which is one
song before she dies of total incomprehension. Because the Nightingale's emotional
language isn't in any of his books, he can't even hear her request,
much less honor it.

After the Nightingale sings, the Student criticizes her The Student's reaction to the Nightingale's song lends further
performance, saying that it is stylistically impressive but credence to the idea that his intellectualism is actually clouding his
emotionally shallow. He then returns to his home, where he ability to see the world clearly. In a nod to criticisms made of Wilde
falls into romantic reveries and, eventually, sleep. himself, the Student complains that the Nightingale only cares
about style, and that by not dealing with real-world issues or
emotions, she is being self-indulgent. Clearly, however, nothing
could be further from the truth: not only is the Nightingale singing to
bring the Oak-tree happiness, but she is preparing to sacrifice her
life for the Student's own benefit.

When evening falls, the Nightingale flies to the Rose-tree and Significantly, it is not enough for the Nightingale simply to give her
perches against the thorn. As the Moon listens, she begins to life: to create the rose, she also has to sing. The fact that her song
sing about young love, causing a few indistinct petals to appear (i.e. her art) has a tangible effect on the real world is in one sense a
on the Tree. very literal rejection of the Student's claims that art is useless. It is
also, however, a statement about the intrinsic value of art, since
Wilde depicts singing about love and the actual act of loving as one
in the same thing.

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Warning that day is fast approaching, the Rose-tree tells the As the Nightingale continues to sing, it becomes clearer and clearer
Nightingale to press herself further onto the thorn. The that she is dying not so much for any particular pair of lovers, but
Nightingale continues to sing, this time about mature, romantic more for love as an ideal. Her songs trace a kind of hierarchy of love,
love, and the rose begins to turn pink. moving from youthful infatuation through marriage to sacrificial
love. Appropriately, it is only this last, highest form of love that can
put the finishing touches on the rose.

The Rose-tree encourages the Nightingale to press closer one The sexual imagery Wilde uses throughout the Nightingale's death
last time. Although rapidly weakening, she sings about scene culminates in this passage, with the rose "trembl[ing] in
sacrificial and undying love as all of nature listens on. The rose ecstasy" as the song reaches its conclusion. Ultimately, this
reddens, and the Rose-tree tries to tell the Nightingale that she underscores the idea that the Nightingale's sacrifice is an act of
has succeeded. Sadly, however, she is already dead. love—in fact, the act of love, since her death is a total sacrifice of
selfhood, and therefore "selfless" in a very literal sense.
Furthermore, the response of the world around her confirms the
meaningfulness of her sacrifice, with even her "killer"—the Rose-
tree—appreciating the beauty of her song and actions.

Hours later, the Student looks outside his window and sees the The Student's response to finding the rose, like his response to the
rose. Delighted, he says that it is the most beautiful flower he Nightingale's song, foreshadows his ultimate shallowness. For one,
has ever seen, and that it must therefore have a complicated he does not realize where the rose has come from, and he attributes
scientific name. finding it to a stroke of luck. Even more importantly, he proves
incapable of recognizing the rose's beauty, either as a symbol of
sacrifice or even simply as an aesthetically pleasing object; for the
Student, this beauty only counts if it reflects a complex, intellectual
concept.

The Student plucks the rose and takes it to the girl at her The girl's callous rejection of the rose marks the major turning point
father's (the Professor's) house. When he arrives, the girl is in the story. Her preference for costly jewels blinds her to the
sitting outside spinning silk, and the Student presents her with symbolic significance of the rose, while her comment about
the flower, saying she will wear it that evening at the ball. The matching the flower to her dress suggests that it is she—not the
girl, however, objects that the rose does not match her dress, Nightingale—who is only concerned with surface appearance. The
and that she in any case prefers the jewels she recently fact that the girl is spinning silk—a luxury good—further associates
received from the Chamberlain's nephew. her with greed and consumerism. All in all, Wilde suggests that
materialism (aided by extreme rationalism, in the form of the girl's
father) has made fairy-tale happy endings impossible.

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In response, the Student huffs that the girl is "ungrateful," and When the girl rejects him, the Student shows his true colors. Far
throws the rose into the street to be run over by a cart. The girl from being the true lover the Nightingale hoped he would be, he
retorts that the Student is "rude," making fun of his relative quickly turns on the girl and calls her "ungrateful"—a comment that
poverty before storming into her house. suggests he saw the rose not as a symbol of love, but as a way of
"buying" his sweetheart. He therefore casually discards the flower
once it is clear that it will not be useful to him. Meanwhile, the girl's
reactions further emphasize the materialism underlying the entire
interaction.

As the Student walks away, he thinks about how irrational and The Student's complaints about love get to the heart of Wilde's
impractical love is and concludes that he would be better off critique of rationalism and materialism. He rejects love on the
devoting his time to studying philosophy. He therefore returns grounds that it is impractical, arguing that it "make[s] one believe
to his room and begins to read from an old book. things that are not true." His decision to embrace abstract
philosophy, however, implies that he is either not interested in
practicality after all, or that he does not even understand the
rationalism he himself is praising. Either way, the final image of the
Student reading from a dusty (i.e. seldom used) book reveals the
hollowness of the Student's worldview; far from being engaged with
real-world matters, he is shut up alone in a room reading obscure
theory.

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To cite any of the quotes from The Nightingale and the Rose covered
HOW T
TO
O CITE in the Quotes section of this LitChart:
To cite this LitChart: MLA
MLA Wilde, Oscar. The Nightingale and the Rose. Signet. 2008.
Beaumont, Lily. "The Nightingale and the Rose." LitCharts. LitCharts CHICA
CHICAGO
GO MANU
MANUAL
AL
LLC, 27 Feb 2018. Web. 21 Apr 2020.
Wilde, Oscar. The Nightingale and the Rose. New York: Signet.
CHICA
CHICAGO
GO MANU
MANUAL
AL 2008.
Beaumont, Lily. "The Nightingale and the Rose." LitCharts LLC,
February 27, 2018. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
https://www.litcharts.com/lit/the-nightingale-and-the-rose.

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