The Tale of Custard the Dragon- Central Idea & Style of the Poem

The Tale of Custard the Dragon

By– Ogden Nash

Plot/ Theme / Central Idea of the Lesson/ Literary Analysis of The Tale of Custard the Dragon/ Main Idea

`The Tale of Custard the Dragon’ is a whimsical fantasy. Belinda lives alone in her house with four pets, a dog, a cat, a mouse and a dragon named Custard. All other dwellers of the house except Custard, pride themselves on their fearlessness. They mock poor Custard for his timidity. However, when the real danger comes all others run away in a panic except Custard. Only Custard fights ferociously and swallows the pirate. The poem ends ironically. After the danger is past, everyone begins to boast again about their courage. Ironically, Custard who fought like a hero against the pirate agrees that everyone else is braver than he is. So, appearances may be deceptive. And even your merit and real value may not be recognised by your unwilling rivals.

Style

Ogden Nash is remembered for his ‘non-sense poetry’. The story is an unusual one. It is full of rhyming words like `realio, trulio’, ‘Ink and Blink’, etc. The rhyming scheme of the lines is a a, b b. The poem was written especially for children, in fact, looks like a fairy tale. In the poem, we find a fantastical creature like Custard the dragon, as well as everyday creatures like the cat, the dog and the mouse. All these characters are ‘personified’. The poet uses the poetic device of an oxymoron when he writes the phrase ‘pet dragon’. Dragons can’t be kept as pets. The poet uses similes as poetic devices when he compares the dragon’s mouth with a fireplace or compares Belinda with a barrel of bears.