Please explain the literary devices (figures of speech) used in the poem "The Frog and the Nightingale" by Vikram Seth.

One literary device in "The Frog and the Nightingale" by
Vikram Seth, is the author's use of rhyme, shown in the poem's
rhyming couplets. The poem is made up of pairs of lines that rhyme
with each other—a rhyming couplet. An example is shown below. Note that the last word of
the first line rhymes with the last word of the second line ("frog" and
"Bog").

Once
upon a time a frog

Croaked away in Bingle
Bog

Seth uses
onomatopoeia as well, which describes the
sound it stands for, like the "hiss" of a snake or the "buzz" of a
bee. It is seen with the word "croak" ("She was startled by a croak") and
"clapped"...

readability="12">

And the whole admiring
bog

Stared towards the sumac,
rapt...

And, when she had ended,
clapped…

Alliteration
(the repetition of the same consonant sound found at the beginning of words in a group)
is included. Note the bolded letter "t" at the beginning of each word. This device is
based on the identical
sound:

readability="5">

Toads and
teals and
tiddlers...

Consonance
is based on the same concept as alliteration, but the repeated sound is a
consonant found within or at the end of a word—that is part of a
group of words. In the following example, we can find consonance with the "t's" or the
"r's," but I have highlighted the "s's" at the end of three
words:

readability="5">

...stones nor
prayers nor
sticks

Assonance
is almost the same as consonance, but refers to the use of
vowels—with the same sound. For
example:

...you
who

The
poem is an example of personification, giving animals human
capabilities: to talk, criticize, and even write. The frog
states:

And,
of course, I wield my pen

For Bog Trumpet now and
then.

There
is repetition with "awn and awn and awn," and with "Did you… did
you…" Generally repetition is used to stress an important piece of information, but it
also may be used if a poet requires a certain number of beats in a line, which relates
to the poem's meter.

Vikram Seth also cleverly provides a
parody on names with the following lines, which are similar to the
"Earl of Sandwich" and the "Duke of Kent" (both historical figures), and the "Count of
Monte Cristo," a fictional character.

readability="15">

Owl of Sandwich, Duck of
Kent,

Mallard and Milady
Trent,

Martin Cardinal
Mephisto,

And the Coot of Monte
Cristo...

We can see that the
poem is an allegory, which is defined as...

readability="5">

A symbolic narrative in which the surface details
imply a secondary
meaning.

The poem relates the
story of a frog who sings poorly in his bog. When competition arrives in the form of the
nightingale, the frog pretends that he his more important than he
is, takes advantage of the bird's inexperience, exploits her,
criticizes her, and eventually drives all the joy for singing out of her—because he
takes advantage and she does not have enough self-confidence to
resist. Ultimately, she tries so hard to be what he wants her to be
that she dies. The deeper meaning parallels people who take advantage of others who are
less experienced in life, and how some people become targets for these unscrupulous
sorts because they lack self-confidence. For the above reasons, the poem is also a
satire, exposing "social predators" of this nature.

Finally
there is also irony. After the bird dies, the frog criticizes her,
saying she should have known:

readability="5">

That your song must be your
own

The irony is found in the
frog giving such good advice when all along he pushed, prodded and
forced the bird to sing his song—her music,
his way, so her song could not be her own any
more.