The Purist
The Purist - meaning Summary
Pedantry in Dark Humor
Ogden Nash's short poem narrates a comic- macabre episode in which a fastidious scientist, Professor Twist, hears that his wife was devoured in the jungle. Even confronted with tragedy, he responds by correcting the factual term for the predator, privileging precision over grief. The poem satirizes professional pedantry and emotional detachment, using a starkly ironic punchline to expose how expertise can become absurdly misplaced in human crises.
Read Complete AnalysesI give you now Professor Twist, A conscientious scientist, Trustees exclaimed, "He never bungles!" And sent him off to distant jungles. Camped on a tropic riverside, One day he missed his loving bride. She had, the guide informed him later, Been eaten by an alligator. Professor Twist could not but smile. "You mean," he said, "a crocodile."
Feel free to be first to leave comment.