The Frog and The Nightingale

The Frog and The Nightingale 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 cre...
Author: Aubrie Garrett
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The Frog and The Nightingale 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 light. Notes: bog - marsh, quagmire awn - ‘on and on and on’ written to express the mood loathed - hated, detested crass - crude, without elegance or style cacophony - a chorus/repetition of loud unpleasant sounds sumac - flowering plant of the genus Rhus in the family Anacardiaceae (picture above). minstrel - a wandering singer of old historical or folk songs. Minstrels were found in the olden ages, when they sang of kings, battles, beautiful princesses and famous love affairs. Here, the word is used as a verb. Mark the alliteration in Bingle Bog, dusk to dawn, crass cacophony. 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, Notes: stilled - silenced elation - a state of happy excitement as in the picture above (the figure of speech is irony here, because happiness is expressed through such an unpleasant sound) Dumbstruck - silenced by sheer amazement admiring bog - a figure of speech called hypallage or transferred epithet is as the epithet or adjective ‘admiring’ is meant for the audience but is transfered to ‘bog’. rapt - deeply absorbed, engrossed

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. Notes: waded - walked through water (in the marsh) serenaded - to sing as a compliment, expressing love or admiration. Usually, a young man sings a serenade below the balcony of the young woman he loves. Here, the position is reversed, with the singer above, in the tree and the audience, below, in the marsh. loon - water bird (1st picture above)

teals - water bird (2nd picture above) tiddlers - small fish that can survive in the shallow marsh ponds (picture above) enraptured - same as rapt (see previous verse) Bravo! Too divine! Encore! - Great! Once more! These cries of appreciation are usually for opera singers. applause - clapping and cheering a performance 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" Notes: twitched - to turn up and down quickly fluffed - rustled up the feathers startled - surprised croak - sound of the frog baritone - male deep, classical-singing voice wield my pen - write very well (an idiom) "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". Note: of such note - famous. The naive nightingale accepts the frog immediately and without question as a famous music critic throat - a figure of speech called synecdoche where ‘throat’ (concrete) is used instead of ‘voice’ (abstract) "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". Notes: Few others - not many other persons Breathed - spoke breathlessly, in awe Mozart - an allusion (figure of speech) to the famous western classical music composer, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) "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. Notes: fired - inspired, full of enthusiasm With both art and adoration - inspired by music (art) and admiration of the expert critic (frog) who was listening precision - accuracy 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. Notes: Journeyed up and down the scale - practiced their voices up and down the scale (all seven notes) hoarse - rough and out of tune quivering - weak and shaky 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.

Notes: subdued - silenced by fatigue from lack of sleep revived - regained strength bowed - the branches of the tree were bending down with the weight of the birds perched on them Owl, Duck, Mallard and Milady, Coot of Monte Cristo - These words illustrate a figure of speech called pun where the word used suggests another that sounds somewhat similar but has a different meaning. Usually, both words, the one used and the one suggested, fit the context. The pairs of words here are: owl - earl, duck - duke, mallard and milady milord and milady or my lord and my lady, coot - count. Owl, duck, mallard and coot - being birds - fit the context. Earl, duke, count are titles that suggest a celebrity audience who have been attracted by the artistry of the nightingale. The Count of Monte Cristo is the eponymous hero of a classic novel by Alexandre Dumas. tiaras - plural of tiara (picture above) sweet and bitter - an oxymoron - a figure of speech that combines two opposites. The frog is happy to earn more money but hates the nightingale’s popularity. 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." Notes: trills - musical notes running up and down the scale very quickly frills - something that adds value to the spectacle without being of much value in itself

billings - publicity or advertisement on play-bills (posters) and income from tickets 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. Notes: ticket office gross Crashed - the earnings from ticket sales reduced to zero or no sale morose - depressed and gloomy Have you noticed that along with the decline in the quality of the nightingale’s singing, she no longer enjoys singing for its own sake, as a true artist would. She only enjoys the applause. 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. Notes: wits - intelligence

follow fashion - do what is the current fashion. True art is timeless because it is appreciated throughout the ages. The fashion, however, changes frequently. Notice how step by step, the frog bullies the nightingale further away from her art and forces her to try and win popularity instead. 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. Notes: prone to influence - inclined to be influenced by other people she should have known That your song must be your own - this line has irony (a figure of speech) because the same frog who forced the nightingale to abandon her own style and thus caused her death is here advising not to imitate others with panache - with flair, a flamboyant or exuberant style, unique elegance (with panache is an idiom, a well-known figure of speech) foghorn - a steamer’s loud and unpleasant horn, which it blows to avoid collision, usually during a fog when it is invisible. The foghorn of the frog is hence, a metaphor. unrivalled - without competition (rival - competitor, rivalry - competition) This poem is an allegory or a fable - more figures of speech. A fable is a moral tale using animal characters but containing a lesson for human beings. The lesson here to beware of strangers and not trust them too much, and to use one’s own intelligence in order to survive and succeed.

Another lesson could be to use one’s own judgement and to develop one’s own style as an artist, instead of believing critics and trying to imitate others. An allegory is a story that has another, deeper meaning besides the literal one. Here, the story about the nightingale, the frog and the other birds and beasts, reflects the human world of a talented opera singer and her bullying manager who exploits her voice, is jealous of her talent, and deliberately destroys her to remove competition. The allegory thus reveals that the world offers no protection to the weak, gullible (easily fooled) people from jealous, greedy and destructive villains. One has to be more than talented to survive in the world of performing arts. The fashionable audience, too, are shown as uncaring and unconcerned about what happens behind the scenes. A symbol is a figure of speech where an abstract idea is made concrete. Here, the nightingale is a symbol of talent but also of vulnerable, credulous, naivety. The frog is a symbol of greed, cruelty and jealousy. Now, over to you. Bingle bog is a symbol of _____? The sumac tree symbolises _______? What do the other creatures collectively symbolise? What other figures of speech do you find? Do you notice that the poet’s use of the pronouns ‘he’ and ‘she’ in this poem has embodied the negative destructive qualities as masculine and the feminine as weak and victimised?!

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