The frog

Outer characterisation

The frog is another secondary character in the tale. Its outer characterisation shows us that it is a talking animal, which is another element frequently encountered in fairy tales. Note that, although it uses normal speech at first – “ ‘What’s the matter, dearie?’ ” (l. 20), it starts talking in verse after the girl agrees to do what he asks of her.

Beyond his speaking abilities, the frog acts like a typical frog – it croaks (l. 18), jumps, and swims in the well (ll. 29-30).

The frog is actually an enchanted prince. The prince is only described as “a handsome young prince” (l. 85), and we know nothing more about him except for the fact that he was cursed by an evil magician to live his life as a frog until a girl obeys him for one night and then chops off its head (ll. 85-87). At the end...