EXERCISES
Thinking About The Poem
Q1. Who are the characters in this poem? List them with their pet names.
Answer: 1. Girl - Belinda 2. Dragon - Custard 3. Kitten - Ink,4. Mouse - Blink,
5.Dog - Mustard.
2. Why did Custard cry for a nice safe cage? Why is the dragon called “cowardly dragon”?
Answer: Custard cried for a safe cage as he wanted only to take rest. He was cowardly as he did not do adventures like the cat and the dog.
3. “Belinda tickled him, she tickled him unmerciful...” Why?
Answer: Because it amused her. She and her other friends laughed and laughed till they shook the whale house.
4. The poet has employed many poetic devices in the poem. For example:o “Clashed his tail like iron in a dungeon” — the poetic device here is a simile. Can you, with your partner, list some more such poetic devices used in the poem?
Answer:
Hyper - '' Ink and Blink chased lions.''
Simill - ''Mustard was as barve as tiger in a rage.''
Repetiton - ''She cried help! Help!''.
5. Read stanza three again to know how the poet describes the appearance of the dragon.
Answer: Student do it yourself.
6. Can you find out the rhyme scheme of two or three stanzas of the poem?
Answer:
Stanza - 1: a, a, b, b,
Stanza - 2: a, a, b, b,
Stanza - 3: a, a, b, b.
7. Writers use words to give us a picture or image without actually saying what they mean. Can you trace some images used in the poem?
Answer:
Some of the images used in the poem are as follows:
- tiger in a rage
- his beard was block, one leg was wood.
- like a robin at worm.
8. Do you find The Tale of Custard the Dragon to be a serious or a light-hearted poem? Give reasons to support your answer.
Answer: The poem is light hearted and amusing. The incidents in the poem seem unreal. We laugh at some of incidents during the course of the poem.
9. This poem, in ballad form, tells a story. Have you come across any such
modern song or lyric that tells a story? If you know one, tell it to the class.
Collect such songs as a project.
Answer: Student do it yourself.