"The Nightingale and the Rose" and "The Happy Prince" are written in the same lyrical style with highly stylized descriptions of beautiful environments. Both have a heroic bird at the center of the story, and in both stories, this bird dies in an act of self-sacrifice for the love of humanity; however, in "The Happy Prince," the Swallow has the friendship of the Prince to sustain him, whereas the Nightingale is entirely alone, and the Student fails to appreciate her sacrifice.

The Nightingale, moreover, is an artist, creating two great works of art as she dies: her song, and the red rose. The Swallow destroys a work of art, the statue of the Happy Prince, by distributing the gold and jewels with which it is decorated to the poor people of the city.

The atmosphere of the stories is the same, in that the Swallow, the Prince, and the Nightingale are surrounded by people too selfish and obtuse to understand the beauty of the sacrifices they make. In "The Happy Prince," however, God is watching, whereas he makes no appearance in "The Nightingale and the Rose."