Introduction - The Happy Prince | English Literature for Grade 9 PDF Download

INTRODUCTION

The Happy Prince was a beautiful statue. This statue was on a tall pillar. The prince was covered with gold. There were two sapphires in place of his eyes. He had a ruby in his sword hilt. He could see all around the city. When he was alive, he lived in a palace. He was always happy. He had not seen the miseries of life. But now he could see miseries around him. He saw the hungry and the homeless. He was very sad. He was filled with pity. One day, a swallow came there. He saw the prince in tears. The prince told him that he wanted to help the poor and sad people. He sent his ruby and the sapphires of his eyes to the poor people. Now he was blind. He sent his gold also. Now he looked ugly. The swallow began to love the prince. The winter came but the swallow did not go away. He lived with the prince. One day, the swallow died. This broke the leaden heart of the statue. The statue was no longer beautiful. It was melted in a furnace. But the leaden heart did not melt. It was thrown in the dust heap. The dead swallow was also lying there. God sent one of his angels to bring the two most precious things. He took the dead swallow and the leaden heart to God. Both these things were really fit for paradise.

Introduction(2):

“The Happy Prince” is the story about a beautifully decorated statue of a prince who lived a very happy life. He learnt about sorrow after his death, when his statue was placed at a high point from where the misery of the entire city could be seen. Moved by the plight of the poor, the Happy Prince gave away all his possessions to the needy with the help of a kind swallow. This compassionate bird sacrificed his life for the noble cause of the Prince.

TITLE

The title of the story, “The Happy Prince”, presents its elements in a symbolic manner. The story is about a prince who used to be happy when he was alive. However, he is very sad after he is placed atop a column as a statue. The prince appeared to be happy only because he knew nothing of life outside of his palace. Only after he died and became a statue did he learn of the people’s suffering and the disparity between the rich and the poor. He now sought happiness by sacrificing himself for the happiness of others. The title thus aptly suggests that the outward happiness of the prince is symbolic of the superficial joys in life. Real happiness lies in having a compassionate heart.

THEME

The story is an allegory. It is based on the theme that love and sacrifice are important values in human life and happiness comes to those who make others happy. Those who have compassion and concern get as much joy as those who receive their kindness and charity. Hence, one must try to live a life guided by the virtues of love, sacrifice, benevolence and joy.

Theme (2)

This story highlights the three themes. The first theme is that spiritual beauty or inner beauty is more important than outward beauty. The real beauty is love, compassionate heart and sacrifice. The prince and the swallow lost their outward beauty to attain inner beauty by helping the poor and needy. The second theme is the love, charity and sacrifices that make life going on in the world. The third theme os the story is that there is a huge gap between the rich and the poor. We should help the poor and needy people in society so that they are able to lead a happy life.

Justification of the Title

The statue of the Happy Prince is adorned with gold and precious stones. The Happy Prince gets happiness by distributing the jewellery to the poor of the city. The swallow helps him to carry out his task. The Prince who was crying when the swallow met him, now feels happy that he has been able to make a number of poor people happy around the city. So the title ‘Happy Prince’ is apt. It is about the inner or real happiness of the prince at the cost of his out happiness.

Vocabulary

Column—pillar; Statue—a sculpture representing a human or animal; Sapphire—a clear, bright blue precious stone; Ruby—a dark red precious stone; Position—place; Curious—strange; Determine—to decide; Drench—to make extremely wet; Ugliness—very unattractive; Misery—sufferings; Remark—to comment; Coarse—not smooth; Seamstress—female tailor; Pedestal—platform; Messenger—one who takes message; Cathedral—a church; Angels—good heavenly spirits; Sculptured—carved out; Mast—a tall pole of ship; Thimble—a cap worn in finger to protect it from needle; Forehead—the part of the face above the eyes; Slumber—sleep; Prospect—possibility; Monument—a structure erected to commemorate persons or events; Garret—small room at the top of roof; Wither—fade away, to become weak and dry; Violet—a flower; Crisp—hard; Pomegranate—a fruit; Director—a person who gives directions in play etc.; Grate—fireplace; Playwright—one who writes plays; Command—order; Flutter—to move; Appreciate-to praise; Admirer—fan; Harbour—a port; Vessel—ship; Palm—a tree; Spoil—destroy; Pluck—to remove; Swoop—to move very quickly; Marvellous—extremely good; Suffering—the state of undergoing pain; hardship; Misery—distress; Starve—to remain hungry; Dull—faded; Leaf—(here) thin coating of expensive metal; Scarlet—dark red; Crumb—piece of bread; Murmur—whisper; Death—the state of being dead; Crack—to break; Leaden—made of lead; Dreadfully—very badly; Frost—white powdery layer of ice; Shabby—ugly; Councillor—a member of council; Actually—in reality; Proclamation—official announcement.

Word-Meanings

column – स्तम्भ ; statue – बुत ;  gilded –  सोने की पत्तियों से ढका हुआ ; bright –   चमकीला ;   Sapphires – नीलम ;  ruby  –   माणिक ;  Sword- hilt  –  तलवार की मूठ ; Swallow –  अबाबील ; position –  स्थान ;  preparations –  तैयारियाँ ;  alighted –  नीचे उतर आया ;   golden  –   सुनहरी  ;   prepared –  तैयार हो गया ;  curious  –  विचित्र   determined  –  निश्चय किया ;  tears  –  आँसू ; moonlight  –  चाँदनी ;  Pity –  दया ;  drenched –  भिगो दिया ;  alive  –   जीवित ;   sorrow  –   दुःख ;  courtiers –  दरबारी ; ugliness –   भद्दापन ;  misery  –  दुःख ,विपत्ति ;   lead –  सीसा, सिक्का ;  choose  –  चुनना ;  Polite –  नम्र ;   continued  –  जारी रखा ;  voice  –  आवाज़ ;  street –  गली ;  worn –  थका – माँदा ;  coarse –  खुरदरा ;  pricked –  चुभा हुआ ;  seamstress –  दर्जिन ;  court  ball –  दरबारी नृत्य ;  fever –  बुखार ; 23. fastened –  बन्धे हुए । Curious = strange = अजीब ; bright = shining = चमकते हुए ; determined = decided = निश्चय करना ; tear = salty liquid which flows from the eyes –आँसू ;  cheek = a soft part of the face =गाल ; pity =feeling of sorrow for others = दया ; drenched = made wet = भिगो देना ; alive = living = जीवित ; human = of man = मानवीय ; courtier = companion of a king =दरबारी ; indeed = really = वास्तव में ;  ugliness = unattractive =कुरूपता ; misery = unfortunate condition = दुर्दशा ; lead = a kind of metal =सीसा (एक धातु ) ; solid = hard =ठोस ; polite = gentle = विनीत , विनम्र ; remark = comment = टिप्पणी ; worn = old, tired = वृद्ध या थका -मांदा; coarse= rough = रूखे ; seamstress =  maid tailor = दर्जिन ; made of honour = lady in attendance upon a queen or princess =रानी या राजकुमारी की परिचारिका Fastened = firmly fixed = मजबूती से जड़े हुए ; pedestal = column or base =आधार  Pedestal – आधार, चौक ी;  Egypt—मिस्र  ;  The Nile—नील नदी ;  Lotus –  कमल  ;  messenger—दूत  ;   thirsty—प्यासा ;  agreed—सहमत हो गया ;   beak— चोंच  ;  cathedral—गिरजाघर  ;  tower– मीनार  ;  balcony— छज्जा  ;  tossing—तड़प रहा ,करवटें ले रहा ;  hopped—फुदक कर गया  ;  thimble– अंगुस्ताना ;  slumber—नींद  ;  curious– अजीब  ;  good action—भला काम  ;  fell asleep—सो गया  ;  in high spirits– ऊँचे जोश में  ;  prospect– संभावना  ;  monuments—स्मृति – भवन  : Picked out = remove = उखाड़ना ; cathedral = church =गिरजाघर ; tower = a fall structure = बुर्ज या मीनार ; angel = messenger from God = देवदूत ; sculptured = carved = संगतराशी किए हुए  Lantern = lamp= लालटेन ; mast = a tall pole of wood or metal = मस्तूल ; toss = roll = करवटें बदलना ; feverishly = restlessly = बेचैनी से ; delicious slumber = sweet sleep = मधुर नींद ; action = deed = कार्य I  Garret = attic, small dark room near the roof = अटारी ; bunch = group = गुच्छा ; crisp = curly = घुंघराले ; pomegranate = a fruit = अनार ; grate = fireplace = अंगीठी ; faint = feeble = कमजोर ; playwright = dramatist =नाटककार ; rare = seldom =  दुर्लभ Pluck out = take out  = उखाड़ना ; jeweller =सुनार ; command = order = आदेश देना ; darted = rushed =झपटना ; bury = cover = ढाँपना ; flutter =  flapping  = फड़फड़ाहट ; appreciate = praise = प्रंशसा करना ; harbour = port = बंदरगाह ; vessel = utensil = पात्र ; bid = say = कहना ; goodbye = farewell =विदाई I match girl =  a girl who sells matchboxes = माचिस बेचने वाली लड़की ; spoiled = useless = बेकार  Stockings = socks = जुराब ; Jewel = precious stone = रत्न  ; slip =push off =  खिसका देना ; marvellous =wonderful = अदभुत ; suffering = misery = कष्ट ; lane = street = गली ; starving = hungry = भूखा ;  wandered = went = चले गए ; dull = not bright or clear = नीरस ; Scarlet = bright red = गहरा लाल ; skate = move on skates =बर्फ पर फिसलना ; crumbs = small bits of bread = रोटी के छोटे –छोटे टुकड़े  ; flap = move up and down = फड़फड़ाना ; murmur = mutter = बुड़बुड़ाना ;   certainly = without doubts = निस्संदेह ; dreadful = fearful = डरावना ; mayor = head of a municipal = महापौर ;  shabby = in bad condition =बुरी हालत में Clerk = official in charge of records = मुशी ; pulled down = demolished = गिरा दिया ;melt = flow =पिघलना ;  foundry =  place where metal is melted and moulded  = ढलाई खाना ; paradise = heaven = स्वर्ग;