0202 / مجلة ديالى
العدد الرابع و االربعون
The Bird as a Sacrificial Hero in Oscar Wilde’s “The Nightingale and the Rose” and “The Happy Prince”
BY ASST. INST. Shaima’ Fadhil Hassan UNIVERSITY OF KOYA/ COLLEGE OF LANGUAGES/ DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH
Heroism and sacrifice are not new concepts; they can be traced back to the early days of human life. These concepts developed throughout history as a result of the development of human thought. In literature, the idea of heroism appears on a large scale. It has been dealt with by different writers in different periods. As far as terminology is concerned, the terms of heroism and sacrifice are interchangeable. The hero must be a sacrificer and the one who sacrifices himself must be a hero, for this reason these two terms (hero and sacrificer) cannot be separated. Thus, both of them go hand in hand in so many works of literature. Heroism and sacrifice are not confined to human beings only. Some writers present their heroes as gods as in mythology, and some of them present animals as in fables.
809
0202 / مجلة ديالى
العدد الرابع و االربعون
The idea of having an animal as a sacrificial hero is shown in many of Oscar Wilde’s short stories. He developed this theme as a reaction towards his age which lacked, in his view, moral as well as human values. For this reason, he chooses a bird to be his tragic hero. He epitomizes this idea in such short stories like “The Nightingale and the Rose” and “The Happy Prince”. The heroes in these two short stories are birds: a swallow in “The Happy prince” and a nightingale in “The Nightingale and the Rose”. These creatures are usually known of their delicacy and frailty. But in these stories they function as sacrificial heroes for the sake of others and tolerate horrible conditions of death just to please people. “The Nightingale and the Rose” is one of Wilde’s best short stories. It was published in 1888 with some other short stories. The romantic story revolves...