Fostering Friendships - Enhancing Social Bonds in the Classroom
The Frog and Nightingale by Vikram Seth
1.
2. Vikram Seth was born on 20 June 1952. He spent part of his childhood
in Patna since his parents were posted there for a while. He attended St. Xavier's
High School. Seth spent part of his youth in London and returned to India in
1987. He received primary education at Welham Boys' School and then moved
to The Doon School. While at Doon, Seth was the editor-in-chief of The Doon
School Weekly After graduating from The Doon School in India, Seth went
to Tonbridge School, England to complete his A-levels, where he developed an
interest in poetry and learned Chinese. After obtaining a degree from Corpus
Christi College, Oxford, Seth moved to California to work on a graduate degree
in economics at Stanford University.
3. Vikram Seth, a sensational novelist and poet has written several novels and
poetry books which have won him awards including Padma Shri, Pravasi
Bharatiya Samman, WH Smith Literary Award and Crossword Book Award.
His achievements also include-
1983 – Thomas Cook Travel Book Award for From Heaven Lake: Travels Through
Sinkiang and Tibet
1985 – Commonwealth Poetry Prize (Asia) for The Humble Administrator's
Garden
1988 – Sahitya Akademi Award for The Golden Gate
1993 – Irish Times International Fiction Prize (shortlist) for A Suitable Boy
1994 – Commonwealth Writers Prize (Overall Winner, Best Book) for A Suitable
Boy
2013 - The 25 Greatest Global Living Legends In
India
4. This poem mainly revolves around the fact that many people in the human society
try to take advantage of the innocence or ignorance of the people.
The poem begins with the introduction of the frog's croaking. He was a frog full
of ego and joy because of which he was undaunted by people's ways of persuasion
to stop croaking. Nothing could diminish the determination with which he
croaked, neither insults nor complaints.
Next part of the poem introduces a nightingale and her melodious voice in the
bog. She left the frog awestruck and gaping with wonder. She received a lot of
compliments from everyone residing in the bog. She was easily influenced by
others. This weakness of her to be swayed away by what people said about her
proved fatal.
Angered by the praises she received the frog told the bird that he owned the
sumac tree. When she asked reviews on her singing, the frog commented that it
wasn’t bad but was too long and lacked force. Claiming himself to be the best
singer in the Bog he asked the nightingale to take lessons from him. The
nightingale agreed to this as she was already greatly overwhelmed that such a
critic had discussed her song. The frog misrepresented the entire fact saying that
alone the bird would remain just a mere “beginner” while under his guidance she
would become a “winner” for which he would charge her fees fairly.
5. All this inspired the nightingale a great deal and extremely pleased with
confidence she started singing for which the frog started charging
money from the animals who flocked towards the bog from far and
wide. The frog kept tempting her more and she, flattered by applause,
went on dawn till dusk and beyond. The frog kept provoking her to sing
more, even when the weather was unsuitable. Even after the denials of
the nightingale the frog forced her to sing.
Even after all this success, merely to subdue and torture the nightingale
the frog kept scolding her on petty things and told her to practice more.
He rebuked her for not earning good money, especially when she still
owed him sixty shillings. She became pale and sorrowful, sleep deprived
and uninspired. Her voice grew hoarse and she could sing no more.
This infuriated the frog. At last, the frog's anger gains momentum till
the point he tortures her to “puff out your lung with your passion.” This
frightened the bird a lot and she trembled and puffed up till the point
when she burst a vein and died. Even after her death, the attitude of the
frog didn't change. He remained proud and rather rebuked the
nightingale for being too nervous, stupid and prone to prone to
influence. He emphasises on how "one's beauty is one's own".
6. The poem is adapted from an Aesop's fable and concerns
a grasshopper that has spent the warm months singing while
the ant worked to store up food for winter. When that season
arrives, the grasshopper finds itself dying of hunger and begs the
ant for food. To its reply when asked that it had sung all summer, it
is rebuked for its idleness and advised to dance during the winter.
The story has been used to teach the virtues of hard work and the
perils of improvidence. Some versions state a moral at the end along
the lines of "Idleness brings want", "To work today is to eat
tomorrow", "Beware of winter before it comes". But the point of
view in the fable is supportive of the ant.
The moral of the fable is that it is easier to change in
appearance than to change one's moral nature.
7. Similarities:-
Both poems showcase animal characters which contradict each other in
character.
Both are fables.
Both teach us life lessons like self respect and hard
work.
Differences:-
They portray different life situations.
‘The Frog and the Nightingale’ has much more detail about the
situation of the nightingale when compared to
the situation of the grasshopper in the
‘The Ant and the Grasshopper’
8. • The Crocodile and the Monkey
• The Louse and the Mosquito
• The Mouse and the Snake
• The Rat and the Ox
• The Eagle and the Beetle
• The Hare and the Tortoise
• The Cat and the Cock
• The Goat and the Ram
• The Elephant and the Tragopan
9. 1. Where did Vikram Seth develop interest in poetry?
What else did he learn here? Did he receive the Padma
Shri Award for his work?
2. What are the main values we understand from the
poem ‘The Frog and The Nightingale’?
3. Who wrote the poem ‘The Grasshopper and The Ant’?
What is the main value we learn from this poem?
4. What are the differences between the characters of the
Ant and the Grasshopper?
5. Why does the frog kill the nightingale in the end even
though she was his main source of income?
10. 1. He developed interest in poetry at Tonbridge School in England where he also
learned Chinese. Yes, he did receive the Padma Shri Award for his work.
2. The main values we understand from this poem are that we should always be
self confident and should not be naïve.
3. ‘The Grasshopper and The Ant’ was written by Jean de La Fontaine. The main
values we understand from this poem is that nothing can be achieved without
hard work and also that the nature of a person can never change completely.
4. The Ant is extremely hardworking and foresighted. It knows that hard work
always pays off in the end while the Grasshopper is extremely careless and not
at all concerned about the future. It only cares about enjoying life without
plans for the future.
5. The frog kills the nightingale mainly because he did not want to have any
competition. He thought he was the best singer in Bingle Bog and did not
want anyone to take his place.
Also he was jealous of the nightingale’s melodious voice.
Due to heavy practice day and night the nightingale’s voice became coarse and
uninspired. People stopped coming to listen to her songs. She stopped
generating money. He tried to make her regain her previous glory by
instigating fear but in vain. Hence, he killed her.
