Poetry: The Frog and the Nightingale

By: Vikram Seth

Introduction
An allegory written by the Indian poet and novelist Vikram Seth, “The frog and the
Nightingale” is a poem focused towards young readers with the view of educating them to
beware of exploitation and to trust in their own selves in the recognition of their own
strengths.
The poem can be interpreted in many ways: it can be perceived as a piece shedding light on
the exploitation of talent and genius; or it can be said to be a lesson on the choice of
company; a discourse on self-confidence, or even a critique on trust. Beyond these
fundamental moral teachings, the poem also focuses on the nature of art and artist,
appreciation of genius and the struggle to maintain a set standard.
Theme:
There are a couple of themes that can be taken from Seth‘s poem. First one lies in how there are
individuals who benefit from another‘s downfall. In this light, the poem speaks to how individuals
have to be vigilant of the motivation of others. The self- interest of others is a theme in the poem. The
nightingale never conceives of the fact that the frog might just not have her interests at heart. She
does not contemplate that the frog might benefit from her excessive “training.“ She doesn’t see this
and because of her myopia, she ends up dying. The poem speaks to the fact that there are individuals
who benefit from others’ downfall and one has to be mindful of this.
Another theme that comes out of the poem is that the creation of art is a complex reality. The poem
articulates asks the question of why the artist creates their art. Certainly, there has to be a clear
analysis as to why the artist does what they do and in this, the poem raises some complex questions in
its theme regarding the creation of art.
Message:
The poet wishes to convey that one should not be naive or submissive. One should exercise
one’s individuality and reasoning without letting others lead one blindly. One should follow
practical approach and not fall for flattery. One should also realize one limitation and not let
other exploit them.One should have confidence in oneself and believe in one’s own talent
Character Sketches:
Frog:
He has been portrayed as arrogant, haughty, opportunist and boastful. He is used to his
position of the only singer of the Bingle Bog. The entry of the melodious nightingale is an
 Poetry: The Frog and the Nightingale
By: Vikram Seth

eye opener. Being practical and worldly wise he uses his position to influence her. He
impresses his superiority upon her by discussing her art without any respect. He manipulates
the situation to his advantage, starts making profit by charging admission fee.
His pride is evident when he doesn’t tolerate any slips on the nightingale’s part. He gradually
works on the nightingale‘s weakness of being rich and famous which leads to the downfall of
many. A smooth talker as he was, brushes away the blame of nightingale’s death by
philosophizing it that “your song must be your own”.
Nightingale:
She is portrayed as the innocent, naïve, gullible, polite, unsure, timid, shy and nervous type.
The taste of appreciation enhances her self-esteem making her gullible. The desire to impress
makes her blind to the faults of the frog. Her originality and piousness get shadowed by the
greed for status and commercial success. Trapped in the cruel circle of success, she pushes
herself to a point of exhaustion. She gets addicted to her status and is unable to get out of the
clutches of the frog. She tries to match the misguided criticism of the frog which results in
her death.

Irony:

The frog tells the nightingale that her song must be her own while he himself does not let her
use her skill and talent in this field. He has restricted her entire freedom. Here lies the irony
of the statement. In the beginning when the nightingale confesses that her song was original,
he immediately demeans her and tells her that it was nothing to boast about. Then after
killing the nightingale, the frog puts the blame on the nightingale saying that she should have
been original.

Literary devices

Rhyme scheme-aa bb
Onomatopoeia- ‘Koo-oh-ah! ko-ash! ko-ash’ is the sound produced by the frog and the
nightingale , minorly ‘croaked too.
Repetition – awn and awn and awn
Alliteration – ‘Bingle bog’ – ‘b’ sound repeated, crass cacophony’ – ‘c’ sound is
repeated,‘Toads teals tiddlers’ – ‘t’ sound is repeated
Antithesis – ‘dusk’ ‘dawn’, morning’ ‘night’, ,up and down
Visual imagery- The poet constructs an image in the reader’s mind – The sky in moonlit and
a nightingale is sitting on a sumac tree, singing a melodious song.
Personification – The frog has been personified – ‘I wield my pen’
Metaphor –a comparison between two things without using like or as. – “This is a fairy tale
and you’re Mozart in disguise” The nightingale compares the frog to Mozart, indicating a
belief in his musical talent.
Allusion – The nightingale makes a reference to a famous classical composer, Wolfgang
Amadeus Mozart: “And you are Mozart in disguise / Come to earth before my eyes”. This
reference functions to highlight how innocent the nightingale is, that she genuinely believes
the frog possesses the same level of musical genius as Mozart.
Even in the titles provided for highly positioned gathering.

Extra Key Points:( Not to be done in n.b)

 Poetry: The Frog and the Nightingale
By: Vikram Seth

Their Meet
The next day she prepared herself for another marathon of songs. She breathed in and
adjusted her tail when suddenly she was interrupted by the frog. He asserted himself as a
fellow singer and a proprietor of the tree. He even claimed to have written some popular
songs.

Unaware of his reality, the nightingale expressed her desire for evaluation of her songs. The
frog praised her efforts but commented that it lacked real power. The bird believed every
word he uttered and accepts the uninformed criticism.

The Nightingale Entrance

Then the sumac tree was visited by a nightingale that serenades beautifully and transfixed all the
animals with her voice. The frog was stunned himself.
The animals were overwhelmed by the sweetness of her voice. Some came from far, swam and flew.
Some were brought to tears while others to winsome smiles.
They all were enamored and addicted to her songs. As soon she finished they demanded more and
appealed for repeat performances. The bird was humbled and granted their requests and sang till the
morning.

Frog’s Trick
The frog hinted that he is a master at teaching the art of vocals and the bird took his bait. She
implored him to teach her. He tries to belittle her talents and attack her confidence and she is none the
wiser.

She believes him to be a maestro like Mozart and her Messiah. The frog devised a plan to make a
profit out of the situation. He asked to pay him for his lessons which were not too exorbitant.The bird
accepted the proposal and then her fame and popularity rose through the ranks as animals flocked in
from far and wide to hear her sing. The frog even charged an admission fee from the enraptured
audience.

Nightingale’s Training
The training went ahead as well even in tumultuous rain. The bird was worried about her
throat but the frog insisted on relentless ambition and training.He asked her to cover herself
and force her body to respond even in adverse weather conditions. They sang for hours at a
stretch until the bird started quivering and shaking.Even though she had rested for the
adequate time she struggled on and put a riveting performance for the crowd at night gala.
The audience was fixated on her tunes, be it the rich or the poor, the big or the small.

Frog’s Jealousy
The frog counted his profits with a tinge of burning jealousy. He had mixed feelings of greed
and envy. But his greed was growing unfettered. He reprimanded the bird every day for not
giving her best.

He entreated her to sing better and try new ways to enthrall her audience. He kept her aware
of her debt to him as tuition and continuously critiqued her previous performances.This
started taking a toll on the little nightingale who kept on trying her hardest. She lost all the
joy in her singing and it was observed by her audience. They grew disenchanted with her
tired and melancholy strain.
This hampered her confidence even further as she had gotten hooked on their unending
applause and praise. She hated to sing in solitude devoid of teeming audiences.
 Poetry: The Frog and the Nightingale
By: Vikram Seth

Nightingale Death
The frog grew restless with plummeting ticket collections. He goaded her to puff out her
chest and sing her lungs out. Tired but unyielding, the bird drew one last breath and as she
sang, popped a blood vessel.
Unfazed and unashamed at his cruel intentions and misdeed, the frog called the departed a
lost cause. He claimed that he did his best but the bird lacked confidence, wits, and strength
of character to make it big as an artist.
He mocked at her impressionable nature and compared his own originality to her meekness.
Thus, the frog regained his spot in the bog, signing triumphantly his ‘cacophonous song’.