The Nightingale and the Rose by Oscar Wilde

'She said that she would dance with me if I brought her red roses,' said the young Student, 'but in all my garden there is no red rose.' From her nest in the 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 lack 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 to 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 as red as the rose of his desire; but passion has made his face like pale ivory, and sorrow has marked his brow.'

'The Prince gives a ball tomorrow 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 in mine. But there is no red rose in my garden, so I shall sit lonely, and she will pass me by. She will take no notice 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 jewels.'

'The musicians will sit in their gallery,' said the young Student, 'and play upon their 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 noble lords in their gay dresses will crowd 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 running 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 silly!' and the little Lizard laughed.

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 rose into the air. She passed through the trees like a shadow and like a shadow she sailed across the garden.

In the centre of the grass was standing a beautiful Rose-tree, and when she saw it she flew over it, and stood upon a branch.

'Give me a red rose,' she cried, 'and I will sing you my sweetest song.'.

But the Tree shook its head.

'My roses are white,' it answered; 'as white as the waves of the sea, and whiter than the snow upon the mountains. But go to my brother who grows round the old sundial.

So the Nightingale flew over to the Rose-tree that was growing round the old sundial.

'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 mermaid who sits upon a throne, and yellower than the daffodil that blooms in the meadow before the cutter comes to cut. 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 coral that waves in the ocean. But the winter has chilled my veins, and the frost has killed 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 temble 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 enter 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 watch the Sun in his chariot of gold, and the Moon in her chariot of pearl. 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 rose into the air. She swept over the garden like a shadow, and like a shadow she sailed through the trees.

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 he 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 lonely when you are gone.'

So the Nightingale sang to the Oak-tree, and her voice was like water flowing from a silver jug.

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 trees - 'that cannot be denied 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 room, and lay down on his little bed.

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 shining Moon leaned down and listened. All night long she sang,and the thorn went deeper and deeper into her breast, and her life-blood flowed away from her.

She sang first of the birth of love in the heart of a boy and a girl. And on the top branch 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 top branch 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 grew her song, for she sang of the birth of passion in the soul of a man and a maid.

And a delicate glow of pink came into the leaves of the rose, like the glow 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 redden 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 the heart, and a fierce 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 grave.

And the marvellous rose became red, like the rose of the eastern sky. Red were its petals, and red as a ruby was the heart.

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 stopping her in her throat.

Then she gave one last burst of music. The White Moon heard it and she forgot the dawn, and stayed on in the sky. The red rose heard it, and it trembled all over with joy, and opened its petals to the cold morning air. Echo bore it to her purple cave 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.

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 cut 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 door-way winding blue silk, 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 tonight next to your heart, and as we dance together it will tell you how I love you.'

But the girl frowned.

'I am afraid it will not go with my dress,' she answered; 'and, besides, the Chamberlain's nephew has sent me some real jewels, and everybody knows that jewels cost far more than flowers.'

'Well, upon my word, you are very ungrateful,' said the Student angrily; and he threw the rose into the street, where it fell into the dirt, and a cartwheel went over it.

'Ungrateful,' said the girl. 'I will tell you what; you are very rude; and, after all, who are you? Only a student. Why, I don't believe you have even got silver buckles to your shoes as the Chamberlain's nephew has'; and she got up from her chair and went into the house.

'What a silly thing Love is!' said the Student as he walked away. 'It is not half as useful as Logic, for it does not prove anything, and it is always telling one of things that are not going to happen, and making one believe things that are not true. In fact, it is quite unpractical, and, as in this age to be practical is everything, I shall go back to Philosophy and study Metaphysics.'

So he returned to his room and pulled out a great dusty book, and began to read.

About the Author

Oscar Wilde (Fingal O'Flahertie Wills) 1854-1900, was an Irish writer and wit.

A wit is a person who can say things which are both clever and amusing.

Glossary

oak: a large tree with hard wood, common in northern countries
nightingale: a European thrush, a bird known for its beautiful song at night
wondered: was surprised and wanted to know
philosophy: the study of the nature and meaning of existence, reality, knowledge, goodness, etc.
wretched: very unhappy
hyacinth: a plant with a head of bell-shaped flowers and a sweet smell
blossom: the flower of a flowering tree or bush
ivory: a hard white substance, of which elephants' tusks are made
brow: forehead
ball: a large formal occasion for social dancing
murmured: made a soft sound to speak in a quiet voice
love: a person who is loved
harp: a large musical instrument with strings running from top to bottom of an open three-cornered frame, played by stroking or plucking the strings with the hand
violin: a four-stringed wooden musical instrument played by drawing a bow across the strings
gay: bright
daisy: a small flower, yellow in the centre and white round it
sundial: an apparatus which shows the time according to where the shadow of a pointer falls when the sun shines on it
mermaid: a young woman with the bottom half of her body like a fish's tail
daffodil: a yellow flower of early spring
meadow: a field of grass for animals to eat
dove: a type of pigeon
coral: a white, pink, or reddish stone like substance formed from the bones of very small sea animals
veins: tubes that carry blood from any part of the body to the heart
frost: weather at a temperature below the freezing point of water
bud: a young tightly rolled up flower before it opens
stain: colour
chariot: a two-wheeled horse-drawn vehicle without seats used in ancient times
frankincense: a sticky substance obtained from trees and burnt to give a sweet smell
sincerity: honesty
practical: concerned with action rather than with ideas
petal: leaf like division of a flower
passion: strong, deep feeling
ruby: a deep red precious stone
frowned: drew the eyebrows together to show disapproval
chamberlain: an important official appointed to direct the housekeeping affairs of a king
buckles: metal fasteners
logic: the science of reasoning by formal methods
Metaphysics: a branch of philosophy concerned with the science of being and knowing

Comprehension Questions

1. a) Why did the Student want a red rose? b) Why was he feeling 'wretched'?

a) He wanted to give it to a girl whom he loved. She had promised to dance with him if he gave her a red rose.

b) Because there was no red rose in the garden.

2. Why would the student's heart break?

Because the girl would take no notice of him.

3. The Nightingale called the Student a 'true lover'. Why?

i) Because he lived up to the Nightingale's notion of true love.

ii) Because he suffered a lot.

4. How could the Nightingale get a red rose?

By sitting on a rose bush by moonlight, singing loudly and letting a thorn pierce her heart. By sitting on a rose bush on a moonlit night, singing loudly and colouring the rose with her life's blood.

5. Why was life dear to the Nightingale?

Because it was pleasant to sit in the green wood and watch the sun and the moon.

6. a) What did the nightingale decide to do? b) What did she expect of the Student in return?

a) She decided to sacrifice herself. She decided to give him a red rose by building it out of music by moonlight.

b) She expected the student to be a true lover.

7. a) How did the Student describe the Nightingale's singing? b) Did she lack feelings?

a) As having form but lacking sincerity.

b) No

8. What did the Nightingale sing of as the thorn entered her heart?

She sang of the birth of love in the heart of a man and a woman.

9. What happened to the Nightingale as the rose became red?

She dropped down dead.

10. What was 'a wonderful piece of luck' for the Student?

He found a red rose.

11. What had the Chamberlain's nephew sent to the Professor's daughter?

Some real jewels.

12. Why did she decide to wear the jewels and not the red rose? Give two reasons.

Because they were precious and they matched her dress.

13. What happened to the rose which the Student had brought for the Professor's daughter?

He threw it into the street; it fell into the dirt and a cartwheel went over it.

14. Do you think the Professor's daughter was a) vain? or b) proud? or c) insincere? Give a reason in support of your choice.

She was vain, for she attached more importance to jewels than to a beautiful red rose.

15. What, according to the Student, is the key to happiness - being practical or being romantic?

Being practical.

General Questions

1. Was the Nightingale's supreme sacrifice in vain?

Yes

2. The Nightingale wanted to prove that love was immortal. Did she succeed in doing so?

3. Consult your dictionary and find out the meaning of 'irony'. Find an example of this in the story.

Irony is the use of words which are clearly opposite to one's meaning. It also refers to a course of events which has the opposite result from what is expected.

It was ironical that the student turned away from love, for which the Nightingale had sacrificed herself.

4. Use suitable words to describe the Nightingale and the Student as they appear at the end of the story: a) romantic b) tragic C) pathetic d) wasteful e) practical

The nightingale had a tragic and pathetic end; her sacrifice was wasteful. The student adopted a practical approach at the end.