The Frog and the Nightingale



The frog and the nightingale is poetic fable with a satire on the human behavior. The poem starts with the frog that sat under a Sumac tree and croaked all night in a loud and unpleasant voice right from dusk to dawn. All the creatures hated his voice. Their complaints, insults and brickbats couldn't stop him from croaking stubbornly. Nothing could shatter his determination.Then, one night a nightingale came flying and sat on the branch of Sumac tree. She started singing in her melodious voice. They all got completely engrossed in the nightingales' song and kept on looking at the sumac tree where the nightingale was sitting. Ducks and herons swam towards the Sumac tree to hear the nightingale serenade. 


Some lonely creature even wept hearing her song.The entire event left the frog very jealous and he decided to get rid of this new rival, the nightingale. The next night, when the modest bird prepared to sing, the plotting frog interrupted. He posed as a music critic and said that the technique was fine, of course, but it lacked a certain force. The dominating frog told the nightingale she must not boast about her talent. He also said that he could give her training to make her winner else she would always remain a beginner. The nightingale said the frog that she could not believe her luck. 

The frog said that she would train her and also charge her nominal fee. That night the nightingale sang melodiously and the frog charged admission fee from all the animals that came to hear the song.The next morning there was a heavy downpour. Despite the bad weather the frog forced the nightingale to sing though she was unwilling. Probably, the nightingale was not feeling well. The frog and the nightingale sang continuously six hours still she was shivering and her voice had become rough and unclear. Meanwhile, the frog made the nightingale rehearse hard and constantly criticized and abused her, with an intention to break herspirit. The disappointed nightingale sings, burst her veins and dies. The unsympathetic frog dismissed her off - calling her 'stupid'. He summed up the nightingale was too nervous and prone to influence, hence bringing her own downfall. Now, the frog once again sings at night in his bog.
The poet Vikram Seth, very cleverly gives us a message of the importance of self-confidence and moral courage in his poem, 'Frog and the Nightingale'



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Tughlaq By Girish Karnad

Image
 Plot: ‘Tughlaq’ is Karnad’s second play written in 1964 ; the play was originally written in Kannada and then translated in Kannada by Karnad himself. It is all about the life of Sultan Muhammad bin Tughlaq who has ruled in India in 14 th  century. There is a lot of controversy among the historians about the character of Tughlaq but Karnad has presented this man as a man of opposites. The central theme of the play is the complexity in the character of Sultan Tughlaq, who has both the elements good as well as evil. He is a visionary man as well as man of action. Other characters also present Tughlaq’s dual personality; his close associates Barani and the scholarly historian Najib are practical politician like him.                 From the very first scene we come to know about the complex personality of Tughlaq, he can be considered as a learnt and an intelligent man. He has abilities to learn and curiosity to know and he is master in playing chess, he has the knowledge
Read more

The Old Woman- Joseph Campbell

Image
As a white candle In a holy place,  So is the beauty Of an aged face. As the spent radience Of the winter sun,  So is a woman With her travail done. Her brood gone from her, And her thoughts as still  As the waters Under a ruined mill.                   The poem 'The Old Woman' is written by Joseph Campbell. The poem is divided into 3 stanza. The meaning of the  poem is deeper than any romantic poem. The poem is very simple, realistic poem. The poet has given  the description  of old lady by different comparisons . It s very natural to see beauty in young women , but t is very understanding to describe the beauty of old woman.  It requires great imaginative power to see beauty in old age.                 In  the first stanza , the poet compares the old lady with the white candle . As the white candle in the holy place gives light and guided  the person who comes there. It is the symbol  of holy figure. Likewise the old lady's face  compared with the white c
Read more

The Hunt by Mahashweta Devi

Image
‘The Hunt’ forms part of a collection published as  Imaginary Maps: Three Stories by Mahasweta Devi in 1995. The other two stories in the collection are namely ‘ Douloti the Bountiful’ and ‘Pterodactyl, Puran Sahay, and Pirtha. ’ All three stories describe a fictional rendition of situations that are very real in the lives of the tribal people. While ‘The Hunt’   is about a half tribal girl’s bold attempt to put a violent end to her personal exploitation as well as to the threat of ecological devastation, ‘Douloti ’  deals with the problem of bonded labour, particularly the women who are exploited endlessly and mercilessly through the system. The heart wrenching image at the end of the story with Douloti’s rotting and bleeding body covering the map of India raises many disturbing questions and speaks volumes for what independent India has failed to do for one sixth of its population. In Devi’s words “Decolonization has not reached the poor. That is why these things happen. Wo
Read more