In the introduction to the story (The Nightingale and the rose), the editors say:

The first 200 words of this essay...

THE NIGHTINGALE AND THE ROSE

"But the Tree cried to the Nightingale..." to the end of the story.

In the introduction to the story, the editors say: "Wilde uses the form of the fairy story to reflect upon modern life and debate ideas."

In what ways do you think this extract supports this view?

Oscar Wilde's story, "The Nightingale and the Rose", takes on the familiar fairytale form, however Wilde also incorporates modern issues in his writing. He uses the basic structure of a fairy story to communicate these issues with the reader.

In this extract we see the Nightingale pressing her breast against the thorn in an effort to create a red rose for the student. As she presses closer the rose grows deeper in colour, "louder and louder grew her song, for she sang of the birth of passion". The louder and more meaningful her song becomes, the deeper the crimson colour of the rose becomes. "And a delicate flush of pink came into the leaves of the rose, like the flush in the face of the bridegroom when he kisses the lips of the bride." Here Wilde uses a simile to describe