Victory for the Underdog
When you think about it, however gory their actions, the underdog in a Dahl poem always seems to come out on top. He or she may not even be the traditional, obvious kind of underdog. For example, the character of Piggy, in the poem The Pig is the underdog because he is owned by the farmer who is planning on selling him for meat. He outthinks Famer Bland, realizes he is to become a luncheon meat and kills and eats the farmer first is a sort of pre-emptive act of self defense.
The little boy who was the narrator in The Tummy Beast is also an underdog because he is a child. Especially at the time that poems were written, children were very subordinate to their parents and talking back like the little boy did would definitely be frowned upon. However, the voice in his stomach talks loudly to his mother, proving him correct, and providing another "underdog" victory in poetic form.
Anthropomorphic Animals
Because they are written in a more fairy story style, many of the characters in Dahl's poems are anthropomorphic animals. They live amongst humans in an environment of equality, having their own homes, making their own decisions and enjoying thought processes much like the human characters have. Piggy, for example, outwits the farmer, understands many complex intellectual concepts that humans are flummoxed by and knows exactly what he is about to be re-purposed for. Crocky Wocky also likes to eat children, He does not do this in a natural predatory way, but for recreation, giving animals the ability to enjoy their down time in the same way that humans do.
Parental Warning
The poems of Dahl that are not reworkings of fairy tales, or about animal characters, tend to be cautionary or teaching tales that include some kind of parental warning. This is most obvious in the Mike TeaVee poem but can also be seen in Augustus Gloop and The Tummy Beast. The latter of these poems warned against too much candy eating, and too much snacking. The first of these poems warns against watching too much television. Although they are essentially telling children what they should do and guarding against behaviors that parents do not want to see, they are also funny and entertaining which makes them appealing to children as well.
