The Frog and the

Nightingale

by Vikram Seth
The frog and the Nightingale
 About the poet
 About the poem
 Summary of the Poem
 Explanation of the Poem
 Literary Devices used in the Poem
 Probable Questions
 About the Poet
Vikram Seth is an Indian novelist and poet.
He was born on June 20th, 1952, in Kolkata,
India. He is known for his verse novel The
Golden Gate and his epic novel A Suitable
Boy. The son of a judge and a businessman,
Seth was raised in London and India.
He has written several novels and poetry
books. He has received several awards
including Padma Shri, Sahitya Akademi
Award, Pravasi Bharatiya Samman, WH Smith
Literary Award and Crossword Book Award.
 About the Poem
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 themselves 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.
Summary of the
Poem
 Summary
A frog in Bingle Bog croaked his song at the base
of a sumac tree. The other creatures hated his
voice, but there was nothing they could do
because no matter how they expressed their
dislike, the frog just kept on singing.
One day a nightingale perched on the tree and
sang a beautiful song. The creatures of the bog,
including the frog, were delighted. They
encouraged her with their applause to continue
singing until the break of day.
 Summary
The next night the frog approaches the
nightingale and says that he owns the tree and
has been singing there for a long time. She asks
his opinion of her singing, and he tells her that
it isn't bad, but it lacks strength. She is
impressed with his criticism and tells him that it
may not be the best, but it is her song.
The frog then tells her that he can train her and
make her great. She is thrilled that she has
someone with so much knowledge and
experience to guide her. However, the frog tells
her that she will have to pay him for his
services. That night she sings, and the frog
charges admission to the other creatures of the
bog to listen to her
 Summary
The next morning it was raining, but the frog
insisted the nightingale practice anyway. He
practiced with her for six hours and when he
finished, she was exhausted and her voice
was hoarse. However, her voice came back
overnight, and the adoring crowd of creatures
returned.
Even though he was making money off her
songs by charging admission, the frog would
scold her and tell her she needed to practice
until her voice became strong because he was
also charging her for his advice.
 Summary
She wore herself out with the effort, and soon her
song was no longer beautiful, and the creatures
stayed away. She became very sad because she had
grown to enjoy the applause and adoration of the
other creatures. She didn't enjoy singing alone
anymore.
The frog got angry and told her she wasn't trying
hard enough. She was terrified of failing, and so she
tried one last time with all her heart to sing with
strength. She puffed up, burst a blood vessel, and
died.
The frog told the others that he tried to help her, but
she was stupid and too easily influenced by others.
She should have known that your song must be
personal and your own. Then he took his position
back at the base of the sumac tree and croaked out
his song with all his strength, once again the only
voice in the bog.
Explanation of
the Poem
 Explanation
Once upon a time a frog
Croaked away in Bingle Bog
Every night from dusk to dawn
He croaked awn and awn and awn
The poem begins on a narrative with the classical
stock phrase ‘Once upon a time’ to engage the
audience in the fairy tale of the poem from the very
start. We are introduced to a frog who is shown
croaking in a Bingle Bog. A Bingle Bog is a marshy
and muddy place around the roots of a tree. The frog
croaked without stopping from evening to the
morning, throughout the night. The poet says that the
creature croaked “awn and awn and awn”. On one
hand it suggests the croak of the frog, while on the
other hand the poet might suggest the simple
relentlessness of the frog’s croaking with sounds
similar to the words “on and on and on”. This can be
regarded as a clever word play.
Bog- a marshy and muddy place around the roots of a
tree.
 Explanation
Other creatures loathed his voice,
But, alas, they had no choice,
And the crass cacophony
Blared out from the sumac tree
At whose foot the frog each night
Minstrelled on till morning night
The other creatures did not like the frog’s
singing, though they had no choice but to listen
to him throughout the night. The frog’s ‘crass
cacophony’, that is, his rough unpleasant and
crude mixture of sounds were heard by all the
inhabitants of the sumac tree. And so, the frog
sang like a minstrel at the foot of the sumac tree
every night.
crass cacophony- rough unpleasant voice
Minstrelled- sang like a poet
 Explanation
Neither stones nor prayers nor sticks.
Insults or complaints or bricks
Stilled the frogs determination
To display his heart’s elation.
Nothing could stop the frog from singing. Even
when stones and sticks were thrown at him he
persisted. No pleading or insults or complaints
had any effect on him. The frog was full of
determination and keen on displaying his feeling
through his voice and so he sang without the
least care for the world. Although the frog is the
antagonist of the poem, a good quality we see
here is the quality of determination.
Elation-high spirits
 Explanation
But one night a nightingale
In the moonlight cold and pale
Perched upon the sumac tree
Casting forth her melody
Dumbstruck sat the gaping frog
And the whole admiring bog
Stared towards the sumac, rapt,
One night a nightingale perched on the sumac tree at
whose foot the frog used to sing night after night. In the
moonlight, sitting on the tree, she started singing in a
melodious voice. Nightingales are song-birds and their
voice is very melodious. This has inspired poets and
writers since antiquity to write songs and poem on the
beauty of their voice. The frog, in this scenario, sat gaping
at the nightingale completely amazed and dumbstruck.
Everyone in the bog (marsh land) around the sumac tree
were also likewise awed and they stared at the nightingale
in admiration.
Rapt-completely engrossed
 Explanation
And, when she had ended, clapped,
Ducks had swum and herons waded
To her as she serenaded
And a solitary loon
Wept, beneath the summer moon.

When the nightingale concluded her singing,

everyone who had heard her clapped. Ducks
swam towards the nightingale enchanted by her
music and herons walked towards her as she
sang. The song of the nightingale was so
beautiful that it made a loon weep sitting by
himself in the moonlit sky. The nightingale’s
voice is glorified in the lines.
Serenaded-sang in her magical voice
 Explanation
Toads and teals and tiddlers, captured
By her voice, cheered on, enraptured:
“Bravo! ” “Too divine! ” “Encore! ”
So the nightingale once more,
Quite unused to such applause,
Sang till dawn without a pause.
Even the toads and teals and tiddlers were captured by the divine
melody of the nightingale. Ravished and enraptured by her song
they cheered for her with ‘Bravo!’ ‘Too divine!’ ‘Encore!’. The modest
nightingale was quite unused to such high praise. Seeing her art
being appreciated she sang on till the dawn.
Teals- which are a kind of freshwater ducks with bright colours on
their necks
Tiddlers- which are fishes of salty water
Enraptured- delighted
 Explanation
Next night when the Nightingale
Shook her head and twitched her tail,
Closed an eye and fluffed a wing
And had cleared her throat to sing
She was startled by a croak.

The nightingale had received a lot of

appreciation in the form of comments and
applause the preceding night and so she
decided to sing the next night as well. The next
night she shook her head and twitched her tail
to ready herself for her audience. She closed an
eye and fluffed a wing and was just about to
sing when she was startled by a croak.
 Explanation
“Sorry – was that you who spoke? ”
She enquired when the frog
Hopped towards her from the bog.
“Yes,” the frog replied. “You see,
I’m the frog who owns this tree
In this bog I’ve long been known
For my splendid baritone
And, of course, I wield my pen
For Bog Trumpet now and then”
It was the frog who had interrupted her. She asked the frog if it was him who
spoke and the frog hopped towards her and replied that it was he. He
introduced himself to the nightingale as the owner of the tree. He said that he’d
lived in the bog for a long time and was himself renowned for his singing. The
frog further flaunted that he also wrote music for Bog Trumpet. “Bog Trumpet”
can be interpreted here as the name of a magazine or newspaper circulated
throughout the bog where animals are human-like. Here we see the frog clearly
trying to establish his dominance by boasting about himself.
Baritone- voice
Wield- wrote music
 Explanation
“Did you… did you like my song? ”
“Not too bad – but far too long.
The technique was fine of course,
But it lacked a certain force”.

After meeting the frog the nightingale is

convinced that the frog is someone of repute
and has an acute understanding of her art.
She asks the frog, rather hesitantly, if he liked
her song. To this the frog replied that it was
not too bad, but that it lacked a certain force.
Here we see an individual who has no
knowledge of the art acting as a critic and a
superior to the one who has genuine talent.
This happens quite often in the real world.
 Explanation
“Oh! ” the nightingale confessed.
Greatly flattered and impressed
That a critic of such note
Had discussed her art and throat:
“I don’t think the song’s divine.
But – oh, well – at least it’s mine”.
The nightingale on the other hand was quite
impressed and flattered. She even held the frog’s
baseless negative criticism with high esteem as
she believes him to be a noteworthy critic. She
undermines herself by saying that she knows her
song is not divine. But that it is her own is
enough satisfaction for her. We are witness here
to the nightingale’s complete lack of confidence
in herself and her art.
 Explanation
“That’s not much to boast about”.
Said the heartless frog. “Without
Proper training such as I
– And few others can supply.
You’ll remain a mere beginner.

While we already see the frog undervaluing the

nightingale’s song from the previous stanza, in
this stanza the frog is seen to resort to open
insult. He says in a very rude and heartless
manner to the nightingale that the fact that her
song is her own composition is not something to
boast about. He goes a step further and says that
the nightingale lacks proper training and that
without such a training which only he and a few
others can provide her with, she will remain a
mere beginner.
 Explanation
But with me you’ll be a winner”
“Dearest frog”, the nightingale
Breathed: “This is a fairy tale –
And you are Mozart in disguise
Come to earth before my eyes”.

Alternatively, if she were to train under him, she

would be a winner. Thus, the frog with his
cunningness not only succeeds in undermining
the nightingale, but also convinces her that it is in
her best interest to train under him as she lacks
proper training.
The nightingale unaware of the guileful scheme is
overwhelmed with joy that she would have the
chance to train under the frog. She further says
that it is quite like a fairy tale and she compares
the talentless frog with Mozart and says that he
has arrived at the most opportune moment to her
like a saviour.
 Explanation
“Well I charge a modest fee.”
“Oh! ” “But it won’t hurt, you’ll see”
Now the nightingale inspired,
Flushed with confidence, and fired
With both art and adoration,
Sang – and was a huge sensation.
The frog is bent on taking advantage of the innocent and
foolish nightingale. He proposes that he is happy to teach the
nightingale, but must have a modest fee in exchange for his
teaching. Suddenly the nightingale is sceptical about the
exchange with the fee involved. But the frog being a clever
salesman full of guile and cunningness assures that it won’t
hurt and that he is demanding nothing that the nightingale
can’t afford. The Nightingale is inspired by this and is flushed
with confidence instilled in her by the frog. She is excited with
both art and adoration and thus sings and consequently is a
huge sensation.
 Explanation
Animals for miles around
Flocked towards the magic sound,
And the frog with great precision
Counted heads and charged admission.

Animals not just from the bog but from far away
gathered towards the magical sound, and the
frog with clever precision counted the present
people and charge them with admission fee.
 Explanation
Though next morning it was raining,
He began her vocal training.
“But I can’t sing in this weather”
“Come my dear – we’ll sing together.
Just put on your scarf and sash,
Koo-oh-ah! ko-ash! ko-ash! ”
The next morning it was raining. The weather was
unsuitable for the nightingale to sing but the frog
began with her vocal training anyway.
Nightingales sing in the evening when the
weather is clear whereas frogs croak when it
rains. The Nightingale pleaded to the frog that
she could not sing in the rain, but the cunning
frog pushed and persuaded her to sing
regardless. He told her to put on her scarf and
sash and sing along with him.
 Explanation
So the frog and nightingale
Journeyed up and down the scale
For six hours, till she was shivering
and her voice was hoarse and quivering.
And so the frog and the nightingale practiced
singing for six hours straight in the adverse
rainy weather. The nightingale was shivering
with cold by the time, her voice became rough
and she trembled when she spoke.
Hoarse- rough
Quivering- trembled
 Explanation
Though subdued and sleep deprived,
In the night her throat revived,
And the sumac tree was bowed,
With a breathless, titled crowd:
Owl of Sandwich, Duck of Kent,
Mallard and Milady Trent,
Martin Cardinal Mephisto,
And the Coot of Monte Cristo,
Because of the so called ‘vocal training’, the nightingale was sleep
deprived and quite tired. However, in the night she regained
composure. Her throat revived and she could sing in front of the
bog. As always her audience was left overwhelmed and
breathless. Many a notable personalities from near and far had
come to hear her. The Owl of Sandwich, Duck of Kent, Mallard and
Milady Trent, Martin cardinal of Mephisto, and the coot of Monte
Cristo were some of these figures.
 Explanation
Ladies with tiaras glittering
In the interval sat twittering –
And the frog observed them glitter
With a joy both sweet and bitter.
We see a clever characterisation by the poet in
these lines. All the dignitaries from the poet’s
animal world are mentioned to draw our attention
to the widespread fame of the nightingale’s voice
and to convincingly portray the world. We see in
the last two lines of the stanza that the frog sees
this audience composed of dignitaries with a
bittersweet temperament. This is because he is
both happy to see such a turnout of people which
will culminate in money for him and sad with
jealousy to know that people are there for the
nightingale and not him.
 Explanation
Every day the frog who’d sold her
Songs for silver tried to scold her:
“You must practice even longer
Till your voice, like mine grows stronger.
In the second song last night
You got nervous in mid-flight.
We see that the frog has become abusive
towards the nightingale. He is seen at his most
exploitative in the lines of this stanza. The frog
collects the earnings from the show every night
and scolds the nightingale to practice harder. He
chides her saying she should practise longer for
her voice to grow as strong as his own and that
it’s a shame that she got nervous in the middle of
the second song from the previous night’s
performance.
 Explanation
And, my dear, lay on more trills:
Audiences enjoy such frills.
You must make your public happier:
Give them something sharper snappier.
We must aim for better billings.
You still owe me sixty shillings.”
The frog suggests bizarre things for her to do to impress the
gathering. He says that they must aim for better earnings as
the nightingale still owes him sixty shillings for his lessons.
We see the evil and cunning nature of the frog who even
when keeping the earnings from the nightingale’s show and
providing a misleading lesson wants to further exploit her
by demanding an undeserved fee.
Trills- sing with a quivering effect
Sharper- sharp tone snappier- crackling sound
 Explanation
Day by day the nightingale
Grew more sorrowful and pale.
Night on night her tired song
Zipped and trilled and bounced along,
Till the birds and beasts grew tired
At a voice so uninspired

In this manner, suffering at the hands of the cunning frog

the nightingale grew more sorrowful and pale day by day.
Night after night, forced by the frog, she kept on singing
until she grew tired of it and lost all inspiration. This
weariness of hers started reflecting in her song and the
quality of her performance gradually started degrading.
Zipped- making hissing sounds
Trilled- vibratory effect
 Explanation
And the ticket office gross
Crashed, and she grew more morose –
For her ears were now addicted
To applause quite unrestricted,
And to sing into the night
All alone gave no delight.
It worsened to such a point that her audience once so eager to
hear her sing reduced in number. The nightingale consequently
grew morose.
She was by now quite habitual to see a horde of listeners gathered
to hear her sing. And so, now singing alone in the night gave her
no pleasure. She had grown used to others applauding at her
song.
Morose- sad
 Explanation
Now the frog puffed up with rage.
“Brainless bird – you’re on the stage –
Use your wits and follow fashion.
Puff your lungs out with your passion.”

Seeing that the nightingale’s show now didn’t make him the
money it used to, the cruel frog puffed up with rage. We see
here that the frog has absolutely no compassion or
sympathy towards the nightingale. He again scolds her,
calling her a brainless bird. He tells her to use her wits, to
follow the trends with changing times and to puff her lungs
out to show her passion.
 Explanation
Trembling, terrified to fail,
Blind with tears, the nightingale
Heard him out in silence, tried,
Puffed up, burst a vein, and died.

The nightingale, too afraid to fail in front of her audience

and reduced to tears by the frog’s insult, followed what he
said. She puffed up causing a vein in her body to burst and
died. Thus, in this stanza, we see the nightingale following
one last ill advice from the frog which lead to a fatal
outcome.
 Explanation
Said the frog: “I tried to teach her,
But she was a stupid creature –
Far too nervous, far too tense.
Far too prone to influence.

In the final stanza of the poem, we are acquainted with the

frog’s true nature and objective in acquainting with the
nightingale. He has not a shred of remorse for what he has
done. He declares that he tried to teach the nightingale, but
she was a stupid creature. She was too nervous and tense
and could be easily tricked.
 Explanation
Well, poor bird – she should have known
That your song must be your own.
That’s why I sing with panache:
“Koo-oh-ah! ko-ash! ko-ash! ”
And the foghorn of the frog
Blared unrivalled through the bog.
Here we see the frog uttering perhaps the two singularly most
important lines in the entire poem. He says that the nightingale
should have known that ‘one’s song must be their own.’ She should
have been confident in herself and her abilities. Even the talentless
frog knows this lesson. In the ending lines of the poem, we see the
frog once again after removing good competition in the nightingale,
sing unrivalled through the bog.
Panache-flamboyant manner
Foghorn- deep loud voice
 Explanation

The moral of the poem “The Frog and the

Nightingale” is expressed in these lines and it
can be summed up as the following — while
each one of us are gifted intrinsically with
certain talents, each person differs from another,
and so one must have faith in one’s own
strengths.
Literary Devices used
in the poem
 Literary devices
Personification is a figure of speech where human
qualities are given to animals, objects or ideas. It means
representing a non-human thing as if it were human. The
poet personifies the frog and the nightingale as relatable
characters in the poem.

A metaphor is the comparison between two things without

using ‘like’ or ‘as’. The frog is compared to Mozart a
famous Austrian music composer.

Imagery has been used too. The poet has used words and
phrases that appeal to the senses and create vivid images
in the reader’s mind
 Literary devices
Onomatopoeia is the use of words that imitate sound.
‘awn’ and ‘awn’ and ‘awn’ mimics the sound of the frog
croaking.
Alliteration is the repetition of the initial consonant sound
in a group of words close together. For example, ‘Bingle
bog’, ‘crass cacophony’,. This poem is full of alliteration
with the poet using it in almost every line.

The rhythmic pattern and rhyme is steady throughout,

even as the exact number of syllables may vary from line
to line.
Probable Questions
 Probable Questions

How did the creatures of Bingle bog react to the

nightingale's singing?

Answer: When the creatures of Bingle bog heard

the nightingale for the first time, they were
enthralled. They clapped like never before and
gave their applause.
Which are the different ways in which the frog
asserts his importance?

Answer: The frog tries various tricks to assert his

importance. He first says that he is the owner of
the sumac tree. Then he boasts about his
baritone voice. He also says that he is a master of
music and is the only one who can properly train
the nightingale to make her a super star.
 Probable Questions

Why is the frog's joy both sweet and bitter?

Answer: The frog finally succeeds in killing the

competition to reclaim his monopoly over the
swamp. In this way, his joy can be termed sweet.
But the way he exploited an innocent creature
shows the bitterness hidden underneath.
Why was the frog angry?

Answer: After the audiences turned in thin

attendance, frog’s earnings dropped sharply.
Hence, the frog was angry.
 Probable Questions

How did the frog become the unrivalled king of the

bog again?
Answer: The nightingale was exhausted because of
all the labour and agony she was going through.
Finally, the nightingale died out of exhaustion.
Thus, the frog became the unrivalled king of the
bog again.
Bring out the irony in the frog's statement - 'Your
song must be your own'.
Answer: The frog was a horrible singer yet he was
boasting as if he was a maestro. On the other hand,
the nightingale used to sing from her heart. Yet the
frog tries to disapprove the singing of the
nightingale. This shows the irony of the frog’s
statement.
 Probable Questions
Do you think the end is justified?

Answer: This is indeed a sad end. That is how the

bad world functions. Many innocent people often
fall prey to scheming and heartless people who
are ever ready to exploit the raw talent; only to
dump them at their own convenience. If we see
from real life perspective then the end is justified;
otherwise it cannot be justified.
 Probable Questions

Do you think the nightingale is 'brainless'? Give

reasons for your answer.

Answer: The nightingale cannot be termed as brainless

because a brainless person cannot be a true artist. The
nightingale is innocent and is not familiar with the bad
world
How far is the nightingale responsible for her own
downfall?

Answer: The nightingale is responsible for her

downfall to a certain extent. She should not have easily
believed the frog. She should not have been carried
away by all the applause which she got when she sang
for the first time. Moreover, her poor sense of
judgment led her to fall into the frog’s trap.