We have Provided the NCERT/CBSE Solutions chapter-wise for Class 10 English First Flight Poems Chapter 10 The Tale of Custard the Dragon with Answers by expert subject teacher for latest syllabus and examination. Students also can take a free NCERT Solutions of The Tale of Custard the Dragon. Each question has right answer Solved by Expert Teacher.
CBSE Solutions Class 10 English First Flight Poems
Thinking About the Poems
Q1. Who are the characters in this poem? List them with their pet names.
Answer: The kitten was called Ink and the mouse was called Blink. She called her dog Mustard and the dragon was called Custard.
Q2. Why did Custard cry for a nice safe cage? Why is the dragon called “cowardly dragon”?
Answer: Custard cried for a nice, safe cage because it was a coward. It is called a ‘cowardly dragon’ because everybody else in the house was brave. Belinda was as brave as a barrel of bears. Ink and Blink are described as so brave that they could chase lions down the stairs and Mustard was as brave as a tiger in rage. Compared to them, Custard cried asking for a nice and safe cage, which is why it is called a coward.
Q3. “Belinda tickled him, she tickled him unmerciful…” Why?
Answer: Tickling always works on people, who are a little softer. So, Belinda tickled the dragon unmerciful as it worked a lot on him. Despite being a dragon, a tickling could disturb him and this showed his cowardice on which everyone laughed.
Q4. The poet has employed many poetic devices in the poem. For example: “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: The poet has extensively used similes across the poem. One such simile was “mouth like a fireplace”. Also he has repetitively used the word ‘little’ in the first stanza to emphasize that everything in Belinda’s house including her pets were little in size.
In the seventh stanza, the poet used an incorrect spelling as a poetic device such as ‘winda’ instead of ‘window’ that rhymes with Belinda’s name in the previous line. Furthermore, the poet has also used alliteration in the tenth stanza in the sentences “Clashed his tail” and “With a clatter and a clank”. In the eleventh stanza, the poet used the terms, “The pirate gaped” and “gulped some grog” as some of the poetic devices in the poem.
Q5. Read stanza three again to know how the poet describes the appearance of the dragon.
Answer: Stanza three of the poem describes the physical side of the dragon. By stating his ‘big sharp teeth’, ‘spikes’ and ‘scales’, the poet makes him fearful.
Q6. Can you find out the rhyme scheme of two or three stanzas of the poem?
Answer: The poem maintains a ryhme pattern almost all over the poem with each stanza consisting of four lines. The rhyming scheme is:
[…house … mouse … wagon … dragon] [… Ink … Blink … Mustard … Custard]
Q7. 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 such images used in the poem are ‘mouth like a fireplace’, ‘chimney for a nose’, ‘brave as a barrel full of bears’, ‘brave as a tiger in a rage’, ‘went at the pirate like a robin at a worm’, etc.
Q8. 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 Tale of Custard the Dragon’ is a very light and funny poem meant to be enjoyed by everyone. The way the poem has been written with a fix rhyme scheme, makes it very easy and enjoyable to read. The poet has even used wrong spelling to maintain the rhyme scheme. The features of Belinda and her pets described in the poem make it quite funny. Belinda’s bravery has been compared to a barrel full of bears, a liquid substance.
All the tiny creatures such as the kitten and the mouse have been shown so brave that they can scare a lion and the dog’s bravery is like a tiger’s rage. The biggest of them all, the dragon is the only one, who has been shown as a coward and soft being, who looks for a cage for himself, which is very ironic, hence making the poem funny.
Q9. 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: Do Yourself
Writing
Have fun writing your ballad. Gather information (choose/decide an idea/theme), organise your materials under characters and story and then write. Revise and edit your ballad to make it entertaining. Use the following guidelines to write your ballad.
Purpose of writing the ballad: to entertain and interest
To whom I am writing: decide for whom you are writing
How should I structure features?:
- Tell a simple narrative
- A few major characters
- A strong rhythm and rhyme
- May have a refrain (single or two line(s) repeated often)
- Divide into verses
Answer: Do yourself
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