Oscar_Wilde_the_happy_prince.ppt

1、,Oscar Wilde later, he would name him the only blot on my tutorship.,Alfred Douglas,His tragedy opened by his involvement with Alfred Douglas. In 1895, the father of Alfred accused Wilde of sodomy（好男色者). While in prison he wrote The Ballad of Reading Gaol, 瑞丁监狱之歌and De profundis 深渊书简 which recorded

2、his humiliation and despair. Released from prison in 1897 and penniless, he went to France and die within three years; he was forty-six.,The tomb & Statue of Oscar Wilde, Dublin.,“我们都在阴沟里，但仍有人仰望星空。” (We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.),Scene 2,Aestheticism,Wildes cont

3、ribution,Aestheticism is a cultural phenomenon prevailed in Europe in the middle of the 19th century. Its basic theory is art for arts sake. Aestheticism placed art above life and held that life should imitate art, not art imitate life. It believes that art should sever no religious, moral or social

4、 end, nor any end except itself . Wilde is generally regarded as the representative writer of the Aesthetic Movement.,In Victorian England, popular belief held that art could be used as a tool for social education and moral enlightenment (Charles Dickenss works). The Aestheticism Movement sought to

5、free art from this social purpose and find the meaning of art in itself. Oscar Wilde believes that art possesses an intrinsic value that it is beautiful and therefore valuable, and thus needs serve no other purpose. His attitude was revolutionary at his time.,“my life is like a work of art”. The art

6、ist = the creator of beautiful things. Art used only to celebrate beauty and the sensorial pleasures. Virtue and vice employed by the artist as raw material in his art: “No artist has ethicalsympathies. An ethical sympathy in an artist is an unpardonable mannerism of style”. (“The Preface” to The Pi

7、cture of Dorian Gray). 艺术家没有伦理上的好恶。艺术家如在伦理上有所臧否，那就是不可原谅的矫揉造作。,Scene 3,Scene 4 The Happy Prince,Although the story is unreal, yet the situations given in it apply perfectly to the conditions prevailing in that society. So, it has been rightly commented that these stories were written to mirror modern

8、 life in a form remote from reality. However, the story teaches a good moral lesson to the readers.,Discuss the questions: Who are the characters? What is the theme of the story? What are the symbols? How many images are there? What are them? How did the swallow and the Prince destroy themselves in

9、the service of others? What is the function of God in this fairy tale? What if God did not show up?,Plot Characters Setting point of view Theme symbol,“The Happy Prince” is the story of a typical ruler who lived a life of luxury and happiness. He was completely detached from common people and knew n

10、othing about their sorrows and misfortunes. After his death his statue was fixed high on a tower. He was decorated with gold and jewels and looked very beautiful. Looking at the city he could see the poor, the needy and the handicapped suffering from disease and poverty. When he saw their miserable

11、plight, his heart was moved and he decided to help them. So, he requested the little swallow to take his gold and jewels to them.,Plot,the happy prince the little swallow the reed town mayor town councilor the seamstress the playwright the match girl,Characters,Setting,High above the city, on a tall

12、 column.,point of view,the third person point of view as the author is narrating the story as a viewer of all incidents.,love and sacrifice Helping others brings happiness and peace of mind,theme,the happy prince: love, beauty and virtues the swallow: the deliverer of love, the helper town mayor, co

13、uncilors: greed and jealous, pursuit the fame in the 19th century,Symbol,Images,The image of broken heart The image of the lips The image of the religion/ God The image of the foreign land The image of death,What do we learn from,The Happy Prince,Scene 5,1. the divine love 2. A pure heart endures fo

14、rever 3. Sacrifice and redemption,It is full of sadness and end up with dead. The happy prince is not really happy. Form the story children will develops the sense of childrens compassion and sympathy for the poor and makes adults look back on their attitude toward the unfortunate people around them

15、. Oscar Wildes fairy tale is not only for children but for adult.,“Keep love in your heart. A life without it is like a sunless garden when the flowers are dead. The consciousness of loving and being loved brings a warmth and richness to life that nothing else can bring.” -Oscar Wilde,He is such a person who is a combination of several features of