Analysing Oscar Wilde’s The Devoted Friend using lexical features by Leech and Short

This study aims to investigate how language is used in Oscar Wilde's short story The Devoted Friend (1888) to convey moral themes and irony. This story shows moral hypocrisy and the difference between pure friendship and taking advantage of others through the main character's experiences. Wilde critiques human nature and societal norms. Through his use of irony and symbolic motifs like the leech. The researcher examines linguistic patterns that influence the moral and thematic depth of the story using a systematic checklist. By highlighting the discrepancy between appearance and reality, Oscar Wilde uses particular linguistic elements and rhetorical methods to further the story's satirical tone. Textual analysis and critical interpretations were used to gather data for this qualitative study. The study concludes that Wilde reinforces the story's ironic moral teachings by skillfully using language to reveal the deception under the pretence of virtue. The purpose of this study is to increase the reader’s understanding of how language shapes meaning and affects moral perception in literature.