2. Profile of Vikram Seth
•Vikram Seth is an Indian novelist and poet.
•He received several awards including Padma Shri, Sahitya Akademi Award, Pravasi
Bharatiya Samman, WH Smith Literary Award and Crossword Book Award.
•Born on 20 June 1952 in Kolkata, West Bengal, India.
•Studied at St. Michael's High School, Patna, the Doon School in Dehradun and at
St. Xavier's High School, Patna.
•Moved to London and studied Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Corpus Christi
College, Oxford.
•Pursued a Ph.D. in Economics at Stanford University
•A polyglot, has studied several languages, including Welsh, German and, French in
addition to Mandarin, English, his native Hindi and Urdu
•He plays the Indian flute and the cello and sings too.
3. The Theme
The poem, the Frog and the Nightingale is an allegory. The
poem is a fable, and like most fables it has a moral.
Various themes are intertwined.
• Exposing the role of critics towards any fresh talent.
• Exploitation of simple, genuine talent by the mediocre.
• Exploitation of someone's talent for personal gain.
• A jealous person who does not let real talent flourish.
• A lack of confidence that leads to disaster.
• Emphasizes that one must recognize his own capabilities and
should not try to emulate others.
4. Summary
•A frog in Bingle Bog croaked his song at the base of a sumac tree.
•The other creatures hated his voice, but could do nothing.
•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 and encouraged
her with their applause to continue singing until the break of day.
•The next night the frog approaches the nightingale, says that he owns the tree
and has been singing there for a long time.
5. •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.
•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.
•The next morning it was raining, but the frog insisted the nightingale practice
anyway.
6. •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.
•The frog who was making money off her songs by charging admission, would scold
her.
•He tells her she needed to practice until her voice became strong because he was
charging her for his advice.
•She wore herself out with the effort, and soon her song was no longer beautiful,
and the creatures stayed away.
7. •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 her song must be personal and her 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.
8. Read the following extracts and answer the questions that follow:
I. “Dumbstruck sat the gaping frog
And the whole admiring bog”
1. Explain the words ‘dumbstruck’ and ‘gaping’.
2. What does ‘bog’ stand for here? What is the poetic device used?
3.Why was the frog dumbstruck and what did the bog admire?
II. ‘In this bog I’ve long been known
For my splendid baritone.’
1. What does ‘baritone’ mean?
2. Who is the speaker of the above words? What can you say about the speaker from
the words spoken?
3. Did the bog really admire the speaker? Quote a word from the poem to express the
opinion of the listeners towards the frog.
9. Read the following extracts and answer the questions that follow:
III. “This is a fairy tale-
And you’re Mozart in disguise
Come to earth before my eyes”
1. Who is the speaker of the above lines? Who is addressed?
2. Why does the speaker call the listener Mozart, in this extract?
3. Why does the speaker call it a ‘fairy tale’?
IV. ‘Every day the frog who sold her
Songs for silver tried to scold her’
1. Whose songs did the frog sell? To whom did it sell the songs?
2. Why did the frog scold ‘her’?
3. Do you think the frog was right in scolding ‘her’?
10. Read the following extracts and answer the questions that follow:
V. Day by day the nightingale
Grew more sorrowful and pale.
1. Why did the nightingale grow sorrowful? Why did she grow pale?
2. What was the effect of the nightingale’s sorrow on her song?
3. What happened to the nightingale in the end?
VI. “That’s not much to boast about”
Said the heartless frog.
1. Was the nightingale unduly humble?
2. Why is the frog called ‘heartless’?
3. Did the frog really desire the development of the nightingale?
11. Read the following extracts and answer the questions that follow:
VII. “Flushed with confidence, and fired
With both art and adoration
Sang-and was a huge sensation”
1. Who felt flushed? Why?
2. What do ‘art’ and ‘adoration’ mean here?
3. Which words in the extract convey that the nightingale’s performance was greatly
appreciated?
VIII. “For her ears were now addicted
To applause quite unrestricted”
1. What was the effect of popularity on the nightingale?
2. Why didn’t she enjoy singing by herself, anymore?
3. Why had the nightingale’s song lost its melody?
12. Answer the following questions in about 30-40 words:
1. What were the attempts made by the listeners to stop the frog from singing?
2. How did the creatures of the bog respond when they first heard the nightingale
sing?
3. How did the frog benefit from the nightingale’s singing?
4. What are the ways in which the frog tried to ‘train’ the nightingale?
5. What chance incident brought some respite to the creatures in the bog?
6. How did the frog encash the nightingale’s popularity?
13. Answer the following questions in about 100-120 words:
1. What is your impression of the nightingale from the poem?
2. What is your impression of the frog from the poem?
3. What characteristics helped the frog overpower the nightingale?
4. How did the celebrity status affect the nightingale?
5. How did the frog emerge a winner, in the end?
6. Write a paragraph explaining the disastrous effects of commercialization of art.
14. Choose a word or a phrase from those given below to fill in
the blanks :
any, many, nothing, most, a few, some, all, each, no, few
1.They were bored because there was_____ to do.
2. We invited_____ friends over to our house for a barbecue.
3. _______of the cakes had been baked the day before.
4.Sally didn't take _____photos when she went on holiday.
5.The teacher gave _____ of the students a piece of paper.
6.Some of my friends wished me , but _____ bought me a present.
7.Henry had _____ idea what the answer to the question was.
8.I like many of her songs, but not_____ of them are good.
9.The police spoke separately to ______ suspect.
10. She got her license without ______problems.
