the nightingale and the rose oscar wilde lesson four

The Nightingale and the RoseThe Nightingale and the Rose

Oscar Wilde

Lesson Four

Part One: Warm-up

Part Two: Background InformationPart

Three: Text Appreciation (Key Points)

Part Four: Language Study (Difficult Points)

Part Five: Resource Extension

Lesson Four

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Lesson 4—The Nightingale and the Rose

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Part onePart one Warm-upWarm-up

I. Fairy Tales

II.Love


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I.I. Fairy TalesFairy Tales

Suggested answers

Fairy Tales

—fairies play a part

—supernatural or magical elements

—children’s stories

—veiled comments on life


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Characteristics:

1) personification of birds, insects, animals

and trees

2) vivid, simple narration—typical of the oral

tradition of fairy tales

3) repetitive pattern

I.I. Fairy TalesFairy Tales


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I know beyond My heart will lead me there soon

We'll meet beyond the shore

We'll kiss just as before

Happy we'll be beyond the sea

And never again I'll go sailing

So long sailing NO more sailing

Good-bye Fare well my friend NO more sailing

So long sailing NO more sailing

the doubts

I. I. Love Love


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I. I. LoveLove

"Better to have loved and lost, than to have never loved at all."

—St. Augustine

"There is no remedy for love but to love more."

—Thoreau

"To love and win is the best thing. To love and lose, the next best."

—William M. Thackeray

One should always be in love. That is the reason one should never marry. —Oscar Wilde

To love oneself is the beginning of a life-long romance. —Oscar Wilde

A man can be happy with any woman as long as he does not love her. —Oscar Wilde

Comparative Study of Quotes on

Love

Optimism Pessimism


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I. Author

II. Art for Art’s Sake

Part two Part two BackgroundInformationBackgroundInformation


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Oscar Wilde, the son of the late Sir William Wilde, an eminent Irish surgeon. His mother was a graceful writer, both in prose and verse. He had a brilliant career at Oxford, where he won the Newdigate Prize for English verse for a poem on Ravenna.

I.I. AuthorAuthor


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Oscar Wilde’s works

On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to

Writing Nonfiction (now in its 25th

anniversary edition), as well as

Writing to Learn, How to Write a

Memoir, Speaking of Journalism, Writing

About Your Life: A Journey to the Past

and Inventing the Truth: The Art and

Craft of Memoir.

I.I. AuthorAuthor


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Associated with the aesthetic doctrine that art is self-sufficient and need serve no moral or political purpose

The only purpose of the artist is art,

not religion, or science, or interest. He who paints or writes only for financial return or to propagandize political and economic interests can only arouse feeling of disgust.

II.II. Art for Art’s SakeArt for Art’s Sake


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Criticism

I.I. AuthorAuthor

a man of far greater originality and

power of mind than many of the apostles

of aestheticism

undoubted talents in many directions

as a typical aesthete that he kept

himself before the notice of the public

a poet of graceful diction

a playwright of skill and subtle humor

a dramatist whose plays had all the

characteristics of his conversations


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Part three Part three Text AppreciationText Appreciation

I. Text Analysis 1. Theme 2. Structure 3. Further Discussion

I. Writing Devices 1. Genre and Symbols 2. Figurative Speeches a. Personification b. Simile & Metaphor c. Climax & Anticlimax

3. Syntactic Devices

III. Sentence Paraphrase


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I.I. Text AnalysisText Analysis

The nightingale is the true lover, if there is one. She, at least, is Romance, and the student and the girl are, like most of us, unworthy of Romance. Nightingale sacrifices its own life for pure love’s sake. A true love needs wholehearted devotion and passion.

Theme


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Part 1 (Paras. ):

Part 2 (Paras. ):

Part 3 (Paras. ):

Part 4 (Paras. ):


Structure

1-12

13-34

35-45

Nightingale struck by “the mystery of love”

Nightingale looking for a red rose to facilitate the love

Nightingale sacrificing her life for a red rose

Student discarding the red rose46-54


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Red rose—true love, which needs constant nourishment

of passions of the lovers. It can be divided into

three stages: love in the heart of a boy and a girl;

love in the soul of a man and a maid; and love

that is perfected by Death, that does not die in the

tomb.

Question: What are the symbolic meanings of

“Red rose”

“Lizard”, “Butterfly” “Nightingale”?


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Lizard — cynic, a person who sees little or no

good in anything and who has no belief

in human progress; person who shows this

by sneering and being contemptuous.

Nightingale—a truthful, devoted pursuer of love,

who dares to sacrifice his own

precious life


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For reference: The Nightingale is a small brown bird famous for its beautiful sad song. Throughout literary history there are many poems and stories dedicated to the nightingale, including John Keats’ poem Ode to a Nightingale and Oscar Wilde’s children’s story, The Nightingale and the Rose.


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I.I. Text AnalysisText AnalysisQuestion: What’s Oscar Wilde’s belief on love and art?

1. Self-comment on his own life 2.“Some said my life was a lie but I always knew it to be the truth; for like the truth was rarely pure and never simple.” 3. Paradoxical, contradictory, well-turned phrase

4. Wildean dichotomy

a figure of paradox

and contradictio

n


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Question: What do you think is the Wildean attitude toward love, romance, art and philosophy?

Form (The beauty of language)

Content (Three stages of love)


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I.I. Text AnalysisText Analysis For reference:

The nightingale is the true lover, if there is one. She, at least, is Romance, and the Student and the girl are, like most of us, unworthy of Romance. So, at least, it seems to me, but I like to fancy that there may be many meanings in the tale, for in writing it I did not start with an idea and clothe it in form.

Form Content


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I.I. Text AnalysisText Analysis For reference:

head vs. heart

The Student’s one-sided preference for word knowledge over emotions is clear from the moment he first sees the rose. “It is so beautiful,” he says, “that I am sure it has a long Latin name.”

The Student, the young woman, and their society are all one-sided psychically. They have devalued the “capacity to love”, here symbolized by both the Nightingale and the rose.


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Question: What are the types of sentences mainly found in this story?

simple short long complex


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For reference: head vs. heart

The relationship of head and heart is a central concern of Wilde's fairy tales. Promising to provide the red rose "out of music by moonlight" and to "stain it with my own heart’s blood," the Nightingale asks of the Student only that he "will be a true lover, for Love is wiser than Philosophy, though she is wise, and mightier than Power, though he is mighty.


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Question: The story is written in concrete style (mostly nouns and few adjectives) flowery style (very descriptive with adjectives)



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Why is it so important for the student to have a red rose?

Why is the Nightingale so determined to get the student a red rose?

Why is a rose so hard to get?

Why is the Nightingale so persistent in shedding its blood for the student?

Is love better than life as is believed by the Nightingale?

Do you believe in true love? Why or why not?

Comment on Wilde’s attitude to Love, Romance.


Further Discussion About the Text


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II. II. Writing DevicesWriting Devices

“ Death is a great price to pay for a red rose…”

“It is more precious than emeralds, and dearer than fine opals. Pearls and pomegranates cannot buy it, nor is it set forth in the market-place. It may not be purchased of the merchants, …”

alliteration: assonance

assonance alliteration

Assonance: the resemblance of sound between syllables in nearby words, arising from the rhyming of two or more stressed vowels, but not the consonants.Alliteration: the use of identical consonant with different vowels.


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II.II. Writing DevicesWriting Devices

Fairy tales are full of imagery and

symbols. Find imagery and symbols in

this text.

Genre and Symbols

jewels (gems, precious stones): emeralds, opal, ruby, sapphire, diamond, jade

plants: daisy, rose, oak-tree, daffodil

animals: nightingale, lizard, butterfly

subjects: philosophy, metaphysics, logic

stringed instruments: harp, violin


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Simile:

… her voice was like water bubbling from

a silver jar.

… as white as the foam of the sea…

Metaphor:

… and redder than the fans of coral

… and the cold crystal moon

Simile & Metaphor


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Climax: derived from the Greek word “ladder”, implying the progression of thought at a uniform

or almost uniform rate of significance or intensity


So the Nightingale pressed closer against the thorn, and the thorn touched her heart, and a fierce pang of pain shot through her. Bitter, bitter was the pain, and wilder and wilder grew her song, for she sung of the Love that is perfected by Death, of the Love that dies not in the tomb.

Climax & Anticlimax


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“She has form, that cannot be denied 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.” he said to himself, as he walked away through the grove. (Para. 34)

Personification:

give human forms or feelings to animals, or life and personal attributes to inanimate objects, or to ideas

and abstractions

Personification

What effect do you think it has here?


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And the marvelous rose became crimson. Crimson was the girdle of pedals, and crimson as ruby was the heart. But the Nightingale’s voice grew fainter and a film came over her eyes. Fainter and fainter grew her song, and she felt choking in her throat.And at noon the Student opened his window and looked out. … “What a wonderful piece of luck!” he cried… he leaned down and plucked it.

Anticlimax: stating one’s thoughts in a descending order of significance or intensity, often used to ridicule or satire

Climax & Anticlimax


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Syntactic Devices

Style or manner of expression

choice of words

grammatical structures

length of sentences


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Then she gave one last burst of

music. The Moon heard it, and she

forgot the dawn, and lingered on in

the sky. The Red Rose heard it, and

trembled all over with ecstasy, and

opened its petals in the cold morning

air.Concrete verbs

Concrete nouns

Diction


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high

SynonymPreciseness?

swiftly & smoothlyIn a stately &

confident manner

So she spread her brown wings for

flight, and soared into the air.

She swept over the garden like a

shadow, and like a shadow she

sailed through the grove.


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So the Nightingale pressed closer against the thorn, and the thorn touched her heart, and a fierce pang of pain shot through her. Bitter, bitter was the pain, and wilder and wilder grew her song, for she sung of the Love that is perfected by Death, of the Love that dies not in the tomb. And the marvelous rose became crimson. Crimson was the girdle of pedals, and crimson as ruby was the heart.

Descriptive adjectives


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Inversion… and louder and louder grew her song…

Rhetorical QuestionWhat is a heart of a bird compared to the heart of a man?

RepetitionAnd a delicate flush of pink came into leaves of the rose, like the flush in the face of the bridegroom where he kisses the lips of the bride.

Find more examples in

the text.

Syntactical Structures


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II.II. Writing DevicesWriting DevicesRepetition

She swept over the garden like a shadow, and like a shadow she sailed through the grove.

Bitter, bitter was the pain, and wilder and wilder grew her song.

And the marvelous rose became crimson. Crimson was the girdle of pedals, and crimson as ruby was the heart.

But the Nightingale’s voice grew fainter… Fainter and fainter grew her song…

Find more examples in

the text.


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III.III. Sentence Paraphrase 2Sentence Paraphrase 2

But the Nightingale understood the

student’s sorrow, and sat silent in the

Oak-tree. (Para. 12)

subject complement

go to 3


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III.III. Sentence Paraphrase 1Sentence Paraphrase 1I have read all that the wise men have written, and all the secrets of philosophy are mine, yet for want of a red rose my life is made wretched. (Para. 3)

his nature of taking instead of giving

go to 2

The use of “all” stresses perfect mentality the student claims he possesses.

The student possesses all the wisdom, yet understands nothing about love.


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III.III. Sentence ParaphraseSentence Paraphrase

back to 2

1.So I shall sit lonely and my heart will break. (Para. 5)

2.Ah, I have read all that the wise men have written… my life is made wretched. (Para. 3)


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III.III. Sentence Paraphrase 4Sentence Paraphrase 4“ She has form,” he said to himself, as he walked away. “That cannot be denied. But has she got feeling? I’m afraid not. In fact, like most artists, she is all style without any sincerity.”(Para. 34)

go to 5

The student’s ignorance of what true love is makes him conclude that Nightingale’s last singing is void of feeling and sincerity.

design, structure, or pattern of a work of art

capacity to experience the higher emotions

way in which something is said, done, expressed, or performednothing but


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III.III. Sentence Paraphrase 3Sentence Paraphrase 3What is the heart of a bird compared to the heart of a man? (Para. 28)

The heart of a bird is nothing compared to the heart of a man.

A question in form but a statement in meaning

go to 4


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III.III. Sentence Paraphrase 5Sentence Paraphrase 5

… the Love that is perfected by Death, of the Love that dies not in the tomb. (Para. 41)

the Love that never dies

that does not die in the

tomb

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I. Word Study

II. Phrases and Expressions

III. Word Building

IV. Grammar

Part four Part four Language StudyLanguage Study

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I.I. Word StudyWord StudyWord list:

1. fling

2. bloom

3. ebb

4. linger

5. pluck

6. frown

7. ungrateful

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I.I. Word StudyWord Study

1. fling

v. a. to throw violently, with force b. to move violently or quickly c. to devote to

Examples:

Don’t fling your clothes on the floor.

She flung herself down on the sofa.

He flung himself into the task.

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2. bloom vi. to produce flowers; to yield flowers; to

come into flower or be in flower

blossom vi. a. (of a seed, plant, esp. a

tree or plant) to

produce or yield flowers; to bloom

b. to developExamples:• The roses are blooming.• The apple trees are blossoming.• Their friendship blossomed when they

found out how many interests they shared.


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I.I. Word StudyWord Study3. ebb

vi. a. to fall back from the flood stage

b. to fall away or back; to decline or

recedeExamples:

The tide will begin to ebb at 4 o’clock. The danger of conflict is not ebbing there.

The tide is on the ebb.

The financial resources have reached its

lowest ebb.

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I.I. Word StudyWord Study 4. linger

v. a. to be slow in leaving, esp. out of reluctance

b. to proceed slowly c. to persist d. to pass (time) in a leisurely or aimless

manner

Examples:The children lingered at the zoo until closing time. linger over one’s work (磨洋工 )Winter lingers.We lingered away the whole summer at the beach.

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v. to remove or detach by grasping and

pulling abruptly with the

fingers; to pick

Examples:

pluck a flower

pluck feathers from a chicken

pluck a rabbit from the hat

5. pluck

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6. frown

v. a. to wrinkle the brows to show you are

annoyed or worried b. to regard sth. with

disapproval or distaste

Examples:

• The teacher frowned at the class of noisy

children but it had no effect.

• frown on the use of so much salt in the food

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a. a. not feeling or exhibiting

gratitude,

thanks, or appreciation

b. not agreeable or pleasant

Examples:

“I will not perform the ungrateful

task of

comparing cases of failure.”

an ungrateful son

7. ungrateful

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List:

1.something of a(n

)

2.see phrases

3.go phrases

II.II. Phrases and ExpressionsPhrases and Expressions

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to some extent

Example:Our professor is something of an eccentric.

Compare:

something like: similar to but not exactly likeHe sounds something like his father when he

speaks on the phone.

1. something of a(n)


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see about doing to attend to; make arrangements

for; to deal withsee sth. out to last until the end of

Examples:• It is time for me to see about cooking

the dinner.• Will our supplies see the winter out?• It was such a bad play we couldn’t see

out the performance and we left early.

2. see phrases


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II.II. Phrases and ExpressionsPhrases and Expressions see through sb./sth.

a. to understand the true character or nature of

b. to provide unstinting support, cooperation, or

management in good times and bad

Examples:

• We saw through his superficial charm.

• We'll see you through until you finish your

college education. I saw the project through

and then resigned.

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go about sth.: to perform to do

go about one’s business

Don’t go about the job that way.

go by sth.: to use the information or

advice you get from a person, a book, a

set of rules, etc.

go by the rules

3. go phrases


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see to sth.

to attend to; to take care of

Example:

If I see to getting the car out, will you see to closing the windows?


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go into: to enter a profession or state

of life

go into business

go through sth.: a. to examine carefully

b. to

experience

go through the students' papers

The country has gone through too

many

wars.


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sunshinesunshadelifebloodlifeboatearphonesunflower lifecyclebookshelfnetworkfishermanhouseworkbusybody

阳光遮阳伞，帽遮开销，支出活力的源泉救生艇耳机向日葵生命周期书架网络渔夫家务爱管闲事的人

moonlightmoonlight N+N

III.III. Word BuildingWord Building

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List:

1. Noun+Noun

2. Prefix—out

3. Root—press

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outright outright prefix

out: a. to the fullest extent or degree b. outside c. in a way that surpasses or goes beyond

outrage

outbreak

outburst

outspoken

outskirts

outcome

outflow

outstanding

outlaw

outlet

愤怒，侮辱爆发，发作爆发，突发坦率直言的市郊结果流出杰出的歹徒出口，出路

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v. to exert steady weight or force against

Examples:

• impress (= press into)

• express (= press out)

root—press


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compress depress

oppress

suppress

repress

pressing

pressure

unpressed

downpress

overpress


压缩，摘要叙述使沮丧，使萧条压迫，压抑镇压，抑制压制紧迫的压力未压缩的压迫过大压力

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IV.IV. GrammarGrammar

Give me a red rose, and I will sing you Give me a red rose, and I will sing you

my sweetest song.my sweetest song.

(Para. 14) (Para. 14)

Press closer, or the Day will come Press closer, or the Day will come

before the rose is finished. (Para. 37)before the rose is finished. (Para. 37)

“ and” here means “as a

result of this”

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But go to my brother who grows round

the old sun—dial, and perhaps he will

give you what you want. (Para. 19)

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Predicative +link verb +subject

… yet for want of a red rose is my

life made wretched. (Para. 3)

… Crimson was the girdle of petals,

and crimson as ruby was the heart.

(Para. 42)

Inversion Inversion


for emphasis

Adverbial + predicate +subject

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She passed through the grove like a

shadow and like a shadow she sailed

across the garden. (Para. 13)

And on the topmost spray of the rose—tree

there blossomed a marvelous rose… (Para.

36)

Night after night have I sung of him...

(Para. 4)

Here at last is a true lover. (Para. 4)

Adverbial + subject + predicate

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as+adj.+as+n.

adj.+er/est +than+n.


My roses are yellow, it answered, as yellow as th

e hair of the mermaiden, and yellower than the da

ffodil that blossoms in the meadow. (Para. 19)


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Part five Part five Resource Resource Extension Extension

• Quiz

• Writing


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I. QuizI. Quiz

List

1. Quiz 1

2. Quiz 2


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I. Quiz 1I. Quiz 1

1. He has won the first place, ___ is

clear from

the expressions on his face.

a. that b. as

c. what d. when

2. His response was __ that we all burst

into

laughing.

a. so b. what

c. such d. that

b c


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3. This candidate has far more chances of

winning the election than __

recommended by

the organizer.

a. that b. the one

c. whom d. one

4. Fool _____Jane is, she could not have

done

such a thing.

a. who b. as c.

that d. like

b b

I.Quiz 1I.Quiz 1


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5. He is quite worn out from years of

hard work.

He is not the man ______ he was

twenty

years ago.

a. which

b. that

c. who

d. whom

6. John is ___ hardworking than his

sister, but

he failed in the exam.

a. no less

b. no more

c. not less

d. no so

b a

I. Quiz 1I. Quiz 1


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7. If your car ___ any attention during the first 12 months, take it to an authorized dealer. a. shall need b. should need c. would need d. will need

8. ____the two, Bob is ____ student. a. Of, more diligent b. In, more diligent c. Of, the more diligent d. In, the more diligent

9. She has taken great pains to conceal her emotions, and thereby made them ___ conspicuous. a. all the more b. all the much c. all more d. all much

b c a

I. Quiz 1I. Quiz 1


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10. ___ is often the case with a new idea,

much

preliminary activity and optimistic

discussion

produced no concrete proposals.

a. That

b. It

c. This

d. As

11. Only take such clothes ___ really

necessary.

a. as were b.

as they are

c. as they were d.

as are

d d

I. Quiz 1I. Quiz 1


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I. Quiz 2I. Quiz 2

1. The only thing that I’m sure of is

that life is full of __________.

2. Even if a ceasefire can be agreed,

how can you make ______ that

neither side breaks it?

3. There are few absolute ________ in

life.

certain

uncertainties

certain

certainties


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1. She always behaves with great

_______.

2. Weather-forecasters have extremely

______ equipment which helps them

predict what the weather is going to

be like.

3. Teachers need to strike a ______

balance between instructing their

pupils and letting them discover

things for themselves.

delicate

delicacy

delicate

delicate

I. Quiz 2I. Quiz 2


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1. The police fired tear gas to ____

out the terrorists.

2. I tend to ____ the old medicines

down the toilet.

3. “Man is the only animal that

______. Or needs to.”

flush blush flush

flush

blushes

I. Quiz 2I. Quiz 2


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1. She was _____ along on her bike,

singing at the top of her voice.

2. Housing prices had ______ a

further twenty percent.

3. The flood waters _____ away

everything in their path.

sail soar sweep

sailing

soared

swept

I. Quiz 2I. Quiz 2


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II. WritingII. Writing 1.Research the life and works of

Oscar Wilde. Do a short presentation on your research findings.

2.Write an essay comparing the ending of The Nightingale and the Rose and another fairytale's ending.

3.Write a fairy tale. Pay attention to the diction and syntactic structure.

the nightingale and the rose oscar wilde lesson four

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