English Summary
Oscar Wilde's 'The Happy Prince' is a poignant fairy tale about a magnificent statue of a prince and a little swallow. The statue, covered in gold leaf with sapphire eyes and a ruby on his sword-hilt, stands high above the city. From his perch, he can see all the misery and poverty of the people below, which makes him weep, though he had never known sorrow when he was alive and was called the 'Happy Prince.'
A little Swallow, delayed on his migration to Egypt, rests at the feet of the statue. When the prince's tears fall on him, the Swallow learns that the prince is crying for the suffering of his city. Moved by the prince's compassion, the Swallow agrees to be his messenger. The Happy Prince asks the Swallow to take the ruby from his sword to a poor seamstress whose son is sick. Next, he gives away one of his sapphire eyes to a struggling young playwright, and the other to a little match-girl. As the prince becomes blind, the Swallow decides to stay with him forever, describing the scenes of misery he sees in the city. The prince, now stripped of his beauty, asks the Swallow to take the gold leaf from his body, piece by piece, and give it to the poor.
Finally, the Swallow, having stayed through the cold winter, dies at the Happy Prince's feet out of frost and exhaustion. At that moment, the prince's lead heart breaks in two. The mayor and town councillors, seeing the shabby statue, decide to melt it down. The broken lead heart, however, does not melt in the furnace and is thrown onto a dust-heap along with the dead swallow. An angel of God brings these two "most precious things" to Heaven as offerings—the lead heart and the dead bird. God grants them eternal happiness in His garden of Paradise.
Chapter 5: The Happy Prince - Hindi Summary (हिंदी सारांश)
ऑस्कर वाइल्ड की 'द हैप्पी प्रिंस' एक राजकुमार की भव्य मूर्ति और एक छोटी अबाबील की मार्मिक परी कथा है। मूर्ति, जो सोने के पत्तर से ढकी हुई है और जिसकी आँखें नीलम की तथा तलवार की मूठ पर एक माणिक्य है, शहर के ऊपर ऊंची खड़ी है। अपने स्थान से, वह नीचे के लोगों के सभी दुःख और गरीबी देख सकता है, जिससे वह रोता है, हालांकि जब वह जीवित था तो उसे दुःख का कभी पता नहीं था और उसे 'हैप्पी प्रिंस' कहा जाता था।
एक छोटी अबाबील, जो मिस्र की ओर प्रवास में देरी से चल रही थी, मूर्ति के पैरों में आराम करने लगती है। जब राजकुमार के आंसू उस पर गिरते हैं, तो अबाबील को पता चलता है कि राजकुमार अपने शहर के दुखों के लिए रो रहा है। राजकुमार की दया से प्रभावित होकर, अबाबील उसका संदेशवाहक बनने को तैयार हो जाती है। हैप्पी प्रिंस अबाबील को अपनी तलवार से माणिक्य लेकर एक गरीब दर्जिन के पास ले जाने के लिए कहता है जिसका बेटा बीमार है। फिर, वह अपनी एक नीलम की आँख एक संघर्षरत युवा नाटककार को दे देता है, और दूसरी एक छोटी माचिस बेचने वाली लड़की को। जैसे-जैसे राजकुमार अंधा हो जाता है, अबाबील उसके साथ हमेशा रहने का फैसला करती है, और शहर में देखी जाने वाली दुखद दृश्यों का वर्णन करती है। राजकुमार, जो अब अपनी सुंदरता से वंचित हो चुका है, अबाबील को अपने शरीर से सोने का पत्तर, टुकड़े-टुकड़े करके, गरीबों को देने के लिए कहता है।
अंत में, अबाबील, ठंडी सर्दी में रुककर, ठंड और थकावट से हैप्पी प्रिंस के पैरों में मर जाती है। उसी क्षण, राजकुमार का सीसे का दिल दो टुकड़ों में टूट जाता है। महापौर और नगर पार्षद, जीर्ण मूर्ति को देखकर, उसे पिघलाने का फैसला करते हैं। हालांकि, टूटा हुआ सीसे का दिल भट्ठी में नहीं पिघलता और उसे मृत अबाबील के साथ कूड़े के ढेर पर फेंक दिया जाता है। ईश्वर का एक दूत इन दो "सबसे कीमती चीजों" को भेंट के रूप में स्वर्ग में ले जाता है—सीसे का दिल और मृत पक्षी। ईश्वर उन्हें अपने स्वर्ग के बाग में शाश्वत सुख प्रदान करता है।
Character Sketch
The Happy Prince (Statue): Though a statue, he possesses deep human emotions of compassion, empathy, and self-sacrifice. Having lived a sheltered, joyful life, death opens his eyes to the suffering of his people. He weeps for them and finds his purpose in alleviating their pain, even if it means giving away his own beauty (ruby, sapphires, gold) piece by piece until he is stripped bare and discarded. His lead heart symbolizes true, enduring love that cannot be destroyed. He represents selfless charity and the transformative power of empathy.
The Little Swallow: A kind-hearted, loyal bird initially focused on his own pleasure (migrating to warm Egypt). The Prince's tears touch him, awakening his own capacity for compassion. He evolves from a carefree traveller to a devoted friend and messenger, delaying his journey and eventually sacrificing his life to stay with the blind Prince and help the poor. His death symbolizes the ultimate sacrifice for love and duty. He represents loyalty, service, and the growth of a charitable heart.
The Mayor and Town Councillors: They represent worldly authority, vanity, and superficiality. They only value external beauty and material worth. They find the gem-less, dull statue ugly and an eyesore, ordering it to be melted down. They fail to recognize the profound beauty of the Prince's sacrifice and the Swallow's loyalty. They symbolize society's indifference to true virtue and its focus on appearances.
10 Previous Year Questions & Solutions
1. Why was the prince called the 'Happy Prince' when he was alive? Why was he not happy after his death? (2020)
Answer: When alive, the prince lived in a palace of pleasure, shielded from all sorrow. He was always happy, dancing and playing, hence called the 'Happy Prince'. After death, his statue was placed high above the city, from where he could see all the ugliness, misery, and poverty of his people for the first time. This sight filled him with profound sadness, making him unhappy.
2. Why did the Swallow decide to stay with the Happy Prince for one night? (2022)
Answer: Initially, the Swallow decided to stay for one night because the Happy Prince looked golden and beautiful, and he thought it would be a good shelter. Also, he was moved by the fact that the Prince, though made of gold, was crying. He agreed to be his messenger for the night out of pity and kindness.
3. Describe the three acts of charity performed by the Happy Prince with the help of the Swallow. (2019)
Answer: The three acts were: (1) The Swallow took the ruby from the Prince's sword-hilt to a poor seamstress whose son was sick and feverish. (2) He plucked out one of the Prince's sapphire eyes for a starving young playwright. (3) He plucked out the other sapphire eye for a little match-girl who had dropped her matches in the gutter.
4. Why did the Swallow not go to Egypt? What happened to him in the end? (2023)
Answer: The Swallow did not go to Egypt because he had grown to love the Happy Prince and decided to stay with him permanently as his companion and messenger, especially after the Prince became blind. In the end, he stayed through the cold winter. He died of cold and exhaustion at the feet of the Prince, his sacrifice completing his journey of love.
5. What happened to the statue of the Happy Prince in the end? (2018)
Answer: In the end, the mayor and councillors found the statue shabby, dull, and without its jewels. They called it no longer beautiful or even useful. They decided to pull it down and melt it in a furnace. The broken lead heart, however, did not melt and was thrown onto a dust-heap along with the dead Swallow.
6. Why were the lead heart and the dead bird the 'two most precious things' in the city? (2021)
Answer: The lead heart and the dead bird were the 'two most precious things' because they symbolized the highest virtues: selfless love, compassion, and sacrifice. While the city valued gold and jewels, God valued the Prince's charitable heart (lead) and the Swallow's loyal sacrifice (dead bird) as the truest forms of beauty and worth.
7. What is the central theme of the story 'The Happy Prince'? (2022)
Answer: The central theme is the value of selfless love, charity, and sacrifice. The story contrasts material beauty and wealth with spiritual beauty born of compassion. It criticizes the superficiality of society and promotes the idea that true happiness lies in alleviating the suffering of others, even at great personal cost.
8. How does Oscar Wilde criticize the society of his time through this story? (2020)
Answer: Wilde criticizes society's hypocrisy, materialism, and indifference to the poor. The mayor and councillors represent authorities who care only for appearances. The rich enjoy life while the poor suffer unseen. The story highlights the gap between the privileged and the deprived, showing how true goodness is often discarded (the dust-heap) by a blind society.
9. The Happy Prince and the Swallow are both tragic yet victorious. Comment. (2023)
Answer: They are tragic because they suffer and die—the Prince is destroyed, the Swallow freezes. They are rejected by the world. Yet, they are victorious in a spiritual sense. Their acts of charity bring relief to the poor. God recognizes their sacrifice as "most precious," granting them eternal joy in Paradise. Their victory is moral and divine, not worldly.
10. What lesson does the story teach us about true happiness? (2019)
Answer: The story teaches that true happiness does not come from a life of isolated pleasure and ignorance (like the Prince's life). Real happiness is found in empathy, compassion, and active service to those in need. It is achieved through love and sacrifice, which may bring earthly suffering but lead to eternal spiritual joy and fulfillment.
