English literature

1. THE HAPPY
PRINCE
DHARANEE
WEERASEKARA
Student Number C37750

2. SETTING OF THE HAPPY PRINCE
1. Time and Place
It is set in a city where the statue of the Happy Prince was set up on a tall column.
The atmosphere is calm and serene.
The description of the statue which was placed high above the city and built of thin leaves
of fine gold, two bright sapphires and a large ruby.
The admiration of many people to the statue of the Happy Prince.
2. Occupation and daily manner
• The Happy Prince: He is a statue. He was so happy and perfect.
• The Swallow: He is a bird and he just wants to travel and explore.
• Poverty faced by the commoners
3. Emotional Conditions and Attitudes
• The Happy Prince: Even though he was a statue, he still has good thought to help others,
so he asks the Swallow to become his messenger.
• The Swallow: He is a kind-hearted bird, he wants to be the messenger because he can’t
bear seeing the prince crying. Both of them are flat characters.

3. PLOT
Exposition
• There was a prince, he had everything in his life. He had not seen any sorrows. The Prince is
determined to help people in any way he could.
Complication/Rising Action
• There were so many miseries but the Prince couldn’t do anything because he was dead and now
he lived in a his statue.
• There was the Swallow that became his messenger to help people.
Climax
• After all the jewelries that came from the statue run out, its people thought that the statue is
no longer beautiful.
The climax of the story is when the swallow dies and the prince's heart breaks.
• The Swallow died because of the weather and the statue of the Happy Prince is melted down by
The Mayor and Councilor's people.
• The Happy Prince’s lead heart was thrown away by them.
Falling Action
• God asked The Angel to find them.
Resolution • The Angel brought back the dead Swallow and the lead heart of The Happy Prince,
God was happy and said that the Swallow now can sing in paradise garden forevermore and the
Happy Prince shall praise forever in the city of gold.

4. CHARACTERS
The Happy Prince:
the main character in this story - personified
He used to live in a palace until he dies.
Proof: “I lived in a palace where there was no sadness.”
A statue of himself is built and placed on a tall column high
above the city, where he can see all the ugliness and misery of his city.
Proof: 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.”
He is admired by people.
Proof: He was very much admired indeed. “He is as beautiful as a weathercock,” remarked one of the Town Councilors 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.
The Prince looking for humanity and sacrificing his life to alleviate their pain.
He sacrificed the ruby and his eyes for the sake of poor

5. THE SWALLOW
2nd protagonist of this story- personified
He is a bird on his way to Egypt for the winter. His trip is delayed because
of his temporary passion for a Reed, foreshadowing to the thematic
importance of love in this story.
Proof: 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.
He is a polite bird.
Proof: “What! is he not solid gold?” said the Swallow to himself. He was too
polite to make any personal remarks out loud.
He is the prince’s messenger and act as a companion for the good deeds.
Proof: “but I will stay with you for one night, and be your messenger.”

6. THE MINOR CHARACTERS IN THE STORY:
1. The Reed :
She decides not to accompany the swallow, who has been courting her, breaking his heart. She is too close to her
home and cannot bear the thought of leaving thus the swallows courtship was in vain.
2. The Town Councilors : They are greedy and obsessed with their public images they cannot understand the
humanity of dead prince and of a little bird but they are too busy in their daily pursuits to increase their money,
rank and power.
3. The Poor Woman : Her son is ill. She struggles as a seamstress to make enough money to take care of him.
She receives that ruby from the hit of the prince sword.
4. The Young Playwright : He is starving and struggling to complete a play but he is unable to concentrate
because his he is so hungry. He receives the frost sapphire eye.
5. Little Match Girl : She drops the matches that she is supposed to sell, and is crying because she knows that
she will be beaten by her father when she will return to home without the matches or any money. She receives
sapphire eye.
6. The Mayor: He orders that the statue must be turn down. He wants the metal to be made into the statue of
himself.

7. a. Love:
The compassion of the statue for other people and the bird’s swallow depicts great
sensitive feelings. The prince gives away everything to help people, and the swallow
and prince share a fantastic love bond
b. Sacrifice:
While the prince gives away his ruby, eyes and gold leaves, the little swallow sacrifices
his life to serve humanity. The bird did not reach Egypt to meet its companions,
instead stayed with the prince in harsh cold weather and at last died at the feet of the
statue.
c. Appearances can be deceptive: Outward beauty v Inner Beauty
This story has a great lesson to teach as it portrays a statue coated in gold but
basically it is made up of lead. The appearance was grand but when all gold coating
came off, the statue looked ugly. Another thing associated with it is that the prince was
happy when he was alive and enjoyed his wealth but the time he saw human beings
suffering, he was saddened by the poverty and pain around him
THEMES

8. THEMES
d. Exploitation and hypocrisy of the ruling class of society:
• This theme is vibrant in the story as the Mayor and his members of office judged
the statue and chose to pull it down as they thought it looked ugly. Also, the
happy prince lived in his palace not knowing the misery of human beings as he
never bothered to look beyond the huge walls of his palace. The rich live lavishly
and the poor are not treated well.
• Characters of poor seamstress and young play writer
e. True Friendship:
The prince in the story shares a great bond of friendship and respect with the little
swallow. Whatever the prince commands, the swallow follows the orders religiously.
The friendship they had was so true and loyal that they were put in heaven
together.

9. THANK YOU!