Structural Analysis of Oscar Wilde’s Fairy Tales

Abstract

The study's principal objective was to conduct a structural analysis of the fairy tales written by Oscar Wilde, taking into account the personal importance, Wilde attributed to them and his intention to educate his sons through them. Wilde's fairy stories exhibited a comparable blend of inventive underlying meaning and otherworldly atmosphere akin to those encountered in traditional oral fairy tales. The author skillfully developed character profiles and story trajectories that elicited a feeling of rivalry. Consistent with previous fairy tales, these stories also concluded with joyful endings accompanied by didactic lessons. The researcher employed the Propp’s Structural Model as a conceptual framework to categorize nearly all forms of structures. In addition, this investigation significantly enhanced the authenticity of Wilde's extraordinary stories and the oral heritage associated with them. They acquired the highest number of structures from Wilde's chosen fairy tales. The two chosen narratives were The Happy Prince and The Selfish Giant, fragments from the initial compilation of stories titled The Happy Prince and Other Tales. The Selfish Giant, the third narrative, was derived from The House of Pomegranates, a supplementary collection of traditional anecdotes.