The poem tells the story of a frog and nightingale in Bingle Bog. The frog loudly croaks every night, annoying the other creatures, until the nightingale's beautiful singing captivates everyone. The cunning frog then convinces the nightingale he can train her singing, but he relentlessly criticizes her and overworks her for his own profit. Though the nightingale's singing brings crowds, her declining health and the loss of her original style leads to her death, which the frog dismisses as her own fault.

1. English Project Work
Session 2016-17

2. The Frog And The Nightingale
- Vikram Seth

3. The Frog The Nightingale

4. Introduction

5. Once upon a time a frog
Croaked away in Bingle Bog
Every night from dusk to dawn
He croaked awn and awn and awn
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
Poem

6. Neither stones nor prayers nor sticks.
Insults or complaints or bricks
Stilled the frogs determination
To display his heart's elation.
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,

7. 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.
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.

8. 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.
"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"

9. "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".
"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".

10. "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".
"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".

11. "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.
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".

12. "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.
Animals for miles around
Flocked towards the magic sound,
And the frog with great precision
Counted heads and charged admission.

13. 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! "
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.

14. 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,
Ladies with tiaras glittering
In the interval sat twittering -
And the frog observed them glitter
With a joy both sweet and bitter.

15. 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.
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."

16. 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
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.

17. 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."
Trembling, terrified to fail,
Blind with tears, the nightingale
Heard him out in silence, tried,
Puffed up, burst a vein, and died.

18. 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.
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.
------------X------------

19. About the Poet
Vikram Seth is an Indian poet, novelist, travel
writer, librettist, children's writer, biographer and
memoirist.
Vikram Seth was born to Leila and Prem Seth in
Calcutta (now Kolkata). His family lived in many
cities including the Bata Shoe Company town of
Batanagar, Danapur near Patna, and in London.
He has received several awards including
Padma Shri, Pravasi Bharatiya Samman, WH
Smith Literary Award and
Crossword Book Award.

20. Summary
Once upon a time there lived a frog under a Sumac tree in a
fictional place called the Bingle Bog. Under the false pretense
that he was a sensational and melodious singer, he “blessed” his
fellow creatures with his voice day after day. His crass
cacophony was despised by others. They tried very hard to get
rid of him, but all the sticks and the stones failed to shatter the
presumptuous frog’s illusion. He went on singing to his heart’s
content.
One fine moonlit night, a beautiful nightingale came and perched
on the sumac, casting forth her melody. Every single life form in
the Bog, including the frog, sat flabbergasted, amazed by the
sheer excellence of the bird’s talent.

21. Absolutely entranced by the song, all the creatures gazed at
her. Captivated and enthralled by the utterly divine melody, they
urged her to keep going on. They moved closer and applauded
and the flattered bird went on until dawn. The following night,
she perched on the sumac tree once more and was setting up
when right out of nowhere the cunning frog croaked.
He presented himself to be a fairly eminent personality. He
rolled his glib-tongue on and on. He claimed to own the sumac
tree, to be far-famed for his “splendid baritone” and a music
critic who wrote for the Bog Trumpet.

22. Blandished to be conversing with such a superior personality,
the nightingale asked him how he had liked her song. To answer
this, the frog put all his role-playing into effect and started
nitpicking. The simple-minded bird contended with just the fact
that a critic of such a note had discussed her singing, became
flustered and remarked that at least the song was her own. But
the harsh and envious frog ruthlessly discarded her. He offered
to train her and convinced that without his guidance, she
wouldn’t ever be anything more than a novice.
Hearing this, the nightingale became ecstatic and referred to the
frog as “Mozart in disguise”. But in reality, the crafty frog
couldn’t have cared less about her hopes and dreams. He
charged her a high fee for the training too .

23. The gullible nightingale, now flushed with confidence, sang with
all her heart and grew to be a sensation. Many creatures from
the vicinity of the bog constellated towards the charming
sound. The wily frog exploited her talent and minted money for
himself by charging admission.
The next morning, although the weather was unfavorable, the
wicked frog slyly convinced the bird to come out of her house
and made her practice vigorously up and down the musical
scale for six long hours.
Though the nightingale was incredibly fatigued, in the night, her
voice revived. A titled crowd flocked the sumac tree. The frog
watched them, joyously charging them money, but also with a
nagging feeling of envy, wishing that it was him they
appreciated.

24. Even after all this, the frog did not stop depreciating the
helpless bird. He incessantly scolded her harshly and insisted
on making her song fancier, jauntier. He provided all sorts of
destructive criticism and rendered her helpless by pointing out
how he was obliging her by his exclusive training. The
nightingale followed his words like quotes from the Bible and
turned her song and her singing into something so banal that it
could no longer involve the audience. This led to her meltdown
as she was now addicted to
applause.
The frog went berserk with rage now. He lashed out at the poor
bird. He asked her to renew her song. Terrified to fail, the
nightingale tried her best, but the training taking a toll on her,
burst a vein and died.

25. The evil frog turns out to be more vicious than we had once
thought. Even after the nightingale’s tragic death, just to throw
off the suspicion that had naturally landed on him, he dismissed
her as “Far too nervous, far too tense, far too prone to
influence”. He sarcastically remarks that she should have not
listened to him and should have known the power of originality
and goes on to blare his own pain of a voice unrivalled through
the bog.

26. Character Sketch
- The Nightingale
The nightingale is shown as an extremely simple-minded, gullible
and docile creature. She had a beautiful voice that enchanted all
the creatures of the Bingle Bog. Her talent was mesmerizing but
she severely lacked self-confidence. She did not believe in herself
and failed to realize, despite the various accolades she received,
the enormity of her talent. She was easily convinced by the glib
talks of the frog and stupidly let him exploit her singing for money.
She couldn’t see through the sweet exterior that the frog had put up
and was unable to see the pernicious effect he had on her. Owing
to her this very idiocy and the failure to take a stand for herself, she
lost the melodious and charming quality of her voice, and
eventually, her life.

27. Character Sketch
- The Frog
The frog is shown as a knavish and obdurate creature. He was under a
false impression that he was a splendid soloist and that every living soul in
the bog raved about his singing. He was an impervious creature for when
the animals hurled a volley of obscenities at him, he was entirely
unresponsive. He brimmed with confidence.
He was envious of the nightingale, because the creatures of the bog
appreciated her singing. He wanted to eliminate the bird as he saw her as
his rival. He lured her in with persuasive talks and pretended to her mentor
equivalent of Mozart, only to turn around and stab her in her back. He was
patronizing, abrasive and constantly belittled the bird. Even after her
demise, he dismissed her as a brainless creature, who was “far too prone
to influence.”The frog was crafty and shrewd, who shamelessly capitalized
both on the nightingale’s life and death.

28. Theme/Message
In the poem, the nightingale was a very melodious singer
She was immensely gifted but severely lacked self-
confidence. She was easily convinced by the crafty,
manipulative frog. He duped and exploited her. He was
envious and wanted to eliminate her. The gullible bird
walked right into the trap and lost her life.
This poem elegantly presents the bitter reality that in the
modern society, there are more number of snakes in the grass
and less well-wishers. We should not get influenced and take a
stand for ourselves and what we do.

29. The Poem As a Satire
Vikram Seth has presented the poem as a satire on
the modern society. He has mocked the so-called
civilized people of the society revealing how simple-
minded people always end up caught in the traps of
silver-tongued people. Satire is a strong vein of
irony, which through plain humor, points out the
follies of a corrupt human behavior .The nightingale
is personified as a naïve, innocent person who is
easily taken in by the seemingly charismatic
personality of the frog, who represents the devious
people in society that stop at nothing to get what
they desire.
The poem, like a fable, leaves us with the message
that in order to succeed in the harsh and uncaring
world, one must always have self- confidence in
their abilities and talents.

30. Poetic Device Used
ALLITERATION : “Crass cacophony”,
“Art and adoration”,
“Songs for silver”,
“Brainless bird”,
“Follow fashion”
IRONY : “You are Mozart in disguise”,
“Your song must be your own”

31. REPETITION : “Not too bad - but far too long”,
“Far too nervous, far too tense. far too prone to influence”
METAPHOR : “Night on night her tired song”,
“You are Mozart in disguise ”
PERSONIFICATION : “With a breathless, titled crowd”,
“Owl of Sandwich”,
“Duck of Kent”,
“Mallard and Milady Trent”,
“Martin Cardinal Mephisto”,
“And the Coot of Monte Cristo”,
“Ladies with tiaras glittering In the interval sat twittering”

32. Thank You
Adarsh Kaushik
Xth D
10202