preview

Symbolism In The Nightingale And The Rose

Satisfactory Essays

People pursue romantic relationships for many reasons, whether it be for love, attention, or to hold power over someone. People often think that what they want is love, but what they truly seek is something more egocentric. Oscar Wilde demonstrates this in his short story, “The Nightingale and the Rose”, by showing how the main character, the Student, takes the Nightingale’s sacrifices for granted and holds his focus only within himself. Wilde uses extended metaphor, symbolism, and personification to demonstrate humanity’s selfish nature and desire of validation, and whether what humans really crave is love, or something more superficial. Wilde uses extended metaphor in his story to portray how humans, represented by the Student, are selfish and take for granted what is given to us. The Nightingale is a metaphor for the lover, who gives without ever asking for anything in return. The Nightingale saw the Student as “a true lover”, so she is willing to give her life so that he could have his love, but he not only misunderstood what she was doing for him, but he also took it for granted, just as humans take for granted the sacrifices people make for them and the love they are given by others simply because they are themselves. The Nightingale saw something in the Student: a sort of potential for true love and passion that he threw away because he was rejected. Humans will throw away true love, just as the Student threw away the rose, simply because they don’t receive the sort of validation they seek. Along with Wilde’s use of extended metaphor, he also uses symbolism to give the story a great depth. The Student’s symbolic search for a red rose shows his search for love, but once he gets love from someone who truly cares, he throws it away for someone who would rather have wealth. He does not want a yellow rose, which symbolizes friendship, or a white rose, which symbolizes innocence; he only wants that red rose, that romantic love. Once the Nightingale, a symbol of both love and death, explains that she is giving herself up for him to be with the girl he likes, he does not understand what she is saying, and even criticizes her singing and says she is “all style, without any sincerity”. The Student is naive and

Get Access