Notes For All Chapters English Moments Class 9
About the Story
- This story is a fairy tale written by Oscar Wilde.
- It shows how a prince who was happy in life becomes sad after death when he sees the suffering of poor people.
- It also highlights kindness, sacrifice, and the victory of goodness over selfishness.
Main Characters
1. The Happy Prince – A beautiful statue covered in gold, with sapphire eyes and a ruby sword, who helps the poor by giving away his precious parts.
2.The Little Swallow – A bird on his way to Egypt, who becomes the Prince’s messenger and helps him, even though it means staying in the cold.
3.The Seamstress – A poor woman sewing a gown, with a sick son who has fever.
4.The Young Playwright – A poor man in a garret trying to finish a play but too cold and hungry.
5.The Little Matchgirl – A poor girl who drops her matches and cries because her father will beat her.
6.The Mayor and Town Councillors – Rich people who pull down the statue because it looks shabby without gold.
7. God and His Angel – They choose the Prince’s heart and the dead swallow as the most precious things.
Summary of the Story
1. The Statue and the Swallow
- The Happy Prince is a statue high above the city, covered in gold leaves, with sapphire eyes and a ruby on his sword hilt.
- A little swallow flies to the city on his way to Egypt, where his friends went six weeks before.
- He rests at the statue’s feet, but tears from the Prince fall on him.
- The Prince explains he was happy in life in his palace with no sorrow, but now he sees the city’s misery and weeps, even though his heart is lead.
2. Helping the Seamstress
- The Prince sees a seamstress with coarse red hands embroidering a gown for the Queen’s maid; her son is ill with fever and wants oranges, but she has only river water.
- He asks the swallow to take the ruby from his sword to her.
- The swallow wants to go to Egypt, where friends fly on the Nile with lotus flowers, but agrees to stay one night.
- He takes the ruby, puts it by her thimble, fans the boy’s forehead with his wings, making him feel better and sleep.
- Back with the Prince, the swallow feels warm from doing good, though it’s cold.
3. Helping the Young Playwright
- The swallow visits monuments and sits on a church steeple, planning for Egypt.
- The Prince asks him to stay one more night; he sees a young man in a garret with brown hair, red lips, and dreamy eyes, trying to finish a play but too cold and hungry, with withered violets.
- The Prince asks the swallow to pluck one sapphire eye and give it to him.
- The swallow does it; the man finds it on the violets, thinks it’s from an admirer, and feels happy to finish his play.
4. Helping the Little Matchgirl
- The Prince sees a matchgirl with no shoes or stockings whose matches fell in the gutter; she cries because her father will beat her.
- He asks the swallow to pluck his other eye.
- The swallow says the Prince will be blind, but does it and slips it into her hand; she thinks it’s glass and runs home laughing.
- Now blind, the Prince tells the swallow to go to Egypt, but the swallow stays always because the Prince is blind.
5.Helping the Poor in the City
- The swallow sits on the Prince’s shoulder and tells stories of strange lands.
- The Prince says misery is the greatest mystery; asks the swallow to fly over the city.
- The swallow sees rich making merry in houses, beggars at gates, starving children with white faces in dark lanes, two boys under a bridge trying to warm but chased by watchman.
- The Prince asks the swallow to take his gold leaves one by one to the poor.
- The swallow does this till the Prince looks dull and grey; children’s faces grow rosier, they play and have bread.
6. The Death of the Swallow and Prince
- Snow and frost come; streets like silver, people in furs, boys skate in scarlet caps.
- The swallow gets colder, eats crumbs outside baker’s door, flaps wings to warm, but knows he will die.
- He flies to Prince’s shoulder, says goodbye, kisses his lips because the Prince loves him.
- The swallow dies at his feet; the Prince’s lead heart breaks from the hard frost.
7. The Statue is Pulled Down
- Next morning, Mayor and Town Councillors see the shabby statue: no ruby, eyes, or gold; looks like a beggar with a dead bird.
- They pull it down because no longer beautiful or useful.
- In furnace, lead heart won’t melt, thrown on dust heap with dead swallow.
8. The End
- God asks Angel for two most precious things in the city.
- Angel brings lead heart and dead bird.
- God says right choice: bird will sing forever in Paradise garden, Prince will praise Him in city of gold.
Important Themes
- Kindness and Sacrifice – The Prince and swallow give everything to help the poor, showing true happiness in giving.
- Greed and Selfishness – Rich people like Mayor ignore misery; poor suffer while others are selfish.
- Justice and Beauty – Outer beauty (gold) is useless without inner goodness; God values heart and kindness over looks.
- Suffering and Misery – The story shows poverty and sadness in the city, and how helping others is important.
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