Text Analysis of "The Birthday of the Infanta" by O.Wilde

The Birthday of the Infanta is a 19th century fairytale by playwright, poet and essayist Oscar Wilde. It deals with the feelings of a misshapen Dwarf, who realises his true features of physical aspect after being found in the woods by courtiers of the King of Spain and brought to the court of the Infanta of Spain and Indies to amuse her. It is written in the third person narrative with some elements of dialogues and inner monologues of the Dwarf. Its register is semi-formal to create the illusion of the actions taking place in a royal court, yet it has to remain understandable for its main target audience – the children. Utterances in dialogues are polished, without any fill-ups characteristic to everyday speech and it stresses the fact that the characters knew exactly what to say (without faltering). …