Frog & the Nightingale a Descrptive Summary
THE POEM "THE FROG AND THE NIGHTINGALE " - A DESCRIPTIVE SUMMARY
In the poem, “The Frog and The Nightingale” the poet Vikram Seth has adopted the features of modern poetry in following the pattern of mixed metre and free verse. It is a fable in the form of a poem- narrative, not longer than a short story, having a moral. In this poem, all the characters have been personified as human beings with thoughts and emotions. Throughout the poem the conversation between the two central characters, the Frog and the Nightingale, give the impression of two human beings talking to each other. Further it appears that the nightingale is a talented artist who is hardworking and very obliging while the frog that is her mentor, trains her, organizes her shows and critically reviews her work is a very cunning creature. He is money minded, greedy, and of a selfish nature. Besides the poem has a number of references to human emotions like, happiness, awe, appreciation, flattery, criticism, greed and fear which are inculcated by the two central characters, i.e., the frog and the nightingale. The poem is thus a powerful example of how people are deceived by others, because of the wrong self-image and lack of moral courage, also depicting the corrupt face of or modern developed society, where greed, fame, and competition take precedence over ethics and values, which tells us that the poem is symbolic of our modern society where the untalented but loud mouthed types like the frog, dominate over the truly gifted like the nightingale, who are often unsure of their talent. It also portrays the selfish
human nature- when a lesser talent, instead of trying to raise his/her own standard, tries to drag the other down to the base level in order to feel equal to him. It further highlights the commercialism and consumerism prevalent in our society where everything is weighed against monetary benefits. Therefore we
In the poem, “The Frog and The Nightingale” the poet Vikram Seth has adopted the features of modern poetry in following the pattern of mixed metre and free verse. It is a fable in the form of a poem- narrative, not longer than a short story, having a moral. In this poem, all the characters have been personified as human beings with thoughts and emotions. Throughout the poem the conversation between the two central characters, the Frog and the Nightingale, give the impression of two human beings talking to each other. Further it appears that the nightingale is a talented artist who is hardworking and very obliging while the frog that is her mentor, trains her, organizes her shows and critically reviews her work is a very cunning creature. He is money minded, greedy, and of a selfish nature. Besides the poem has a number of references to human emotions like, happiness, awe, appreciation, flattery, criticism, greed and fear which are inculcated by the two central characters, i.e., the frog and the nightingale. The poem is thus a powerful example of how people are deceived by others, because of the wrong self-image and lack of moral courage, also depicting the corrupt face of or modern developed society, where greed, fame, and competition take precedence over ethics and values, which tells us that the poem is symbolic of our modern society where the untalented but loud mouthed types like the frog, dominate over the truly gifted like the nightingale, who are often unsure of their talent. It also portrays the selfish
human nature- when a lesser talent, instead of trying to raise his/her own standard, tries to drag the other down to the base level in order to feel equal to him. It further highlights the commercialism and consumerism prevalent in our society where everything is weighed against monetary benefits. Therefore we