Class 9 English - TAMILNADU
Supplementary: The Happy Prince
Supplementary: The Happy Prince by Oscar Wilde is a touching story prescribed for Class 9 Tamil Nadu Samacheer Kalvi students. It tells the tale of a golden statue of a prince and a little swallow who work together to help the poor and suffering people of the city. The chapter imparts valuable moral lessons on true love, self-sacrifice, and compassion. For board exams, this chapter is crucial for testing reading comprehension, paragraph writing, and character analysis skills, especially focusing on the transformation of the swallow and the ultimate sacrifice made by the Happy Prince.
Start Learning FreeKey Concepts
The Happy Prince
A magnificent golden statue adorned with jewels who weeps when he sees the misery of his city and gives away his riches to help the poor.
The Little Swallow
A migratory bird left behind by its flock who becomes the loyal messenger of the Happy Prince, delivering his ruby, sapphires, and gold leaf to the needy.
Selfless Sacrifice
The central theme where both the Prince and the swallow give up everything—their beauty, sight, and eventually life—to bring comfort to others.
True Love and Charity
The story emphasizes that true beauty lies in kindness and helping the suffering rather than in material wealth and outward appearance.
Important Formulas
Board Exam Info
In the Tamil Nadu (Samacheer Kalvi) Class 9 English board exams, supplementary reading questions from 'The Happy Prince' usually carry around 5 to 10 marks. Common question types include paragraph questions, identifying the speaker, character sketches of the Happy Prince or the Swallow, and matching or true/false exercises based on the story's events.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why was the statue called the Happy Prince?
He was called the Happy Prince because during his lifetime he lived in a palace where sorrow was not allowed to enter, and he only knew happiness.
Why did the swallow not go to Egypt with its friends?
The swallow delayed its journey because it fell in love with a beautiful reed and later stayed behind to help the weeping Happy Prince.
What two things did God's angels find most precious in the city at the end?
The two most precious things found by the angels were the dead swallow and the broken leaden heart of the Happy Prince.
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