The Nightingale and the Rose

Vocabulary:
1. wretched (adj): terrible
2. heed (v): to give attention to
3. grove (n): small wood or group of trees
4. frankincense (n): a gum resin obtained from various Arabian and African trees used in perfumes and as incense
5. pang (n): sudden, sharp, brief pain
6. girdle (n): something that surrounds or encircles
7. reeds (n): tall, slender grass
8. chamberlain (n): high official in certain royal courts
9. crimson (adj): deep red
10. reel (n): a frame on which you spool a material

Symbols
a) Student:
The student respresents naiveté and cynicism.
b) Nightingale:
The nightingale represents sacrifice, compassion, goodness, love and purity.
c) Oaktree:
The oaktree represents wisdom.
d) Girl:
The girl represents materialism and superficiality.
e) Red rose:
The red rose represents the price for love, hope, and an unimaginably precious gift.

Images
personification: "the red rose heard it"
simile: "as white as the foam of the sea"
metaphor: "the cold crystal Moon"
alliteration: "the secret of the Student's sorrow"
assonance: "Bitter and bitter was the pain; wilder and wilder grew her song"
consonance: "you must build it out of music by moonlight"

Two paragraphs about the Nightingale's story
"The Nightingale and the Rose" by Oscar Wilde is a very sad story, since it is not only dramatic, but also ironic. First, the fact that the story ends badly makes it dramatic. At the beginning, we really hope that the student, who seems such a passionate lover will find a red rose to give to the girl he loves, and dance with her. Unfortunatly, as the story goes on, we realize that it is the nightingale who looks for the rose, and that she is going to give her life to have it, while the student weeps alone, doing nothing. In the end, the passionate lover that we thought the student was turns out to be a young intellectual boy who was more in love with the idea of being in love than with the girl herself. At this point, we are disappointed with both the student and the selfish and materialistic girl. The only one we keep admiring is the nightingale who, in the end, sacrified her life for nothing.
Also, there is a lot of irony in "The Nightingale and the Rose". What makes this story so ironic is that the student thinks the nightingale is selfish because he doesn't know that she gave her life for his rose. What makes it even more ironic is that the girl says the rose is worth less than jewels. Of course, she doesn't know about the sacrifice of the little nightingale either. In conclusion, Oscar Wilde's story is really sad, because it is both dramatic and ironic.