A Frog's Fate Poem by Christina Georgina Rossetti

A Frog's Fate

Rating: 2.9


Contemptuous of his home beyond
The village and the village-pond,
A large-souled Frog who spurned each byway
Hopped along the imperial highway.


Nor grunting pig nor barking dog
Could disconcert so great a Frog.
The morning dew was lingering yet,
His sides to cool, his tongue to wet:
The night-dew, when the night should come,
A travelled Frog would send him home.


Not so, alas! The wayside grass
Sees him no more: not so, alas!
A broad-wheeled waggon unawares
Ran him down, his joys, his cares.
From dying choke one feeble croak
The Frog's perpetual silence broke: -
‘Ye buoyant Frogs, ye great and small,
Even I am mortal after all!
My road to fame turns out a wry way;
I perish on the hideous highway;
Oh for my old familiar byway!’


The choking Frog sobbed and was gone;
The Waggoner strode whistling on.
Unconscious of the carnage done,
Whistling that Waggoner strode on -
Whistling (it may have happened so)
‘A froggy would a-wooing go.’
A hypothetic frog trolled he,
Obtuse to a reality.


O rich and poor, O great and small,
Such oversights beset us all.
The mangled Frog abides incog,
The uninteresting actual frog:
The hypothetic frog alone
Is the one frog we dwell upon.

COMMENTS OF THE POEM
Brian Mayo 21 October 2015

a delightful masterpiece.

3 0 Reply
Jeremy Bleu 17 November 2017

I used this for my English project and got an A xD

1 0 Reply
Sylvia Frances Chan 17 September 2020

Weren't there so many highways in her day? The poetess called it " ïmperial highway" Is this poem an indictment of the hustle and bustle of the highway? The poet says many words about the death of a frog run over by a truck or just a large car. We as readers now consider the fact that the motorway offers advantages, but is not that safe. Congratulations for this honour to the family of the late poetess. Thank you for sharing.

1 0 Reply
Mahtab Bangalee 17 September 2020

‘A froggy would a-wooing go.’ A hypothetic frog trolled he, Obtuse to a reality.. O rich and poor, O great and small, Such oversights beset us all.....wonderful; nowadays we are living like the fate of the Frog! ! ! - excellent poem penned

1 0 Reply
Deluke Muwanigwa 17 September 2020

Excellent poem. The frog did not use science. He should have hopped on the wagon to steal a ride.

0 0 Reply
Rose Marie Juan-austin 17 September 2021

A magnificent and well crafted poem with a great message. Beautifully written.

0 0 Reply
Sylvia Frances Chan 17 September 2021

An indictment of the hustle and bustle of the highway, highways are new in her time, Excellent poem 5 Stars Full

0 0 Reply
Anil Kumar Panda 17 September 2021

Great poem with a great message

0 0 Reply

Just the way life is no matter who we think we are..

0 0 Reply
Khairul Ahsan 25 September 2020

'Such oversights beset us all' - yes, but such oversights cause death to the down under.

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