Jonathan Klassen's teaching website
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Poems from
Alice in Wonderland |
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In Alice in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll parodies many conventions. This is particularly obvious with the poems that Alice or other characters recite throughout the book. The joy of reading a parody is particularly strong when the audience is familiar with the original. Since most people are no longer familiar with the originals, I have reproduced them for you below. In many cases the poems were created and often used to teach moral lessons to children. Read the original versions and see if it increases your enjoyment of Carroll's versions.
*The page numbers come from the Wordsworth Classics 1993 edition sold in our school bookstore. Other editions will be different.
How Doth the Little Crocodile p. 27 | You Are Old Father William pp. 52-54 | Speak Roughly p. 64
The Mad Hatter's Song p. 74 | The Lobster Quadrille pp. 100-101
Tis the Voice of the Lobster pp 103-105 | Turtle Soup p.105
HOW DOTH THE LITTLE CROCODILE p. 27
Against Idleness and Mischief is a highly moralistic, didactic poem by English theologian Isaac Watts. It, and others like it, were written for the moral instruction of young Victorian children. They, like Alice, would be expected to know many verses like this by heart. This is the first of Carroll's many parodies of such poems.
Carroll parodies not only Watts' form in How Doth the Little Crocodile, but also his message as well. Carroll's crocodile is effectively a foil for Watts' bee. The bee is shown to be industrius while the crocodile is portrayed as passively allowing "little fishes" to swim into its open mouth.
Carroll's Version:
How Doth the Little Crocodile
How doth the little crocodile
Improve his shining tail,
And pour the waters of the Nile
On every golden scale!
How cheerfully he seems to grin,
How neatly spreads his claws,
And welcomes little fishes in,
With gently smiling jaws! |
The Original:
Against Idleness and Mischief
by Isaac Watts
How doth the little busy bee
Improve each shining hour,
And gather honey all the day
From every opening flower!
How skillfully she builds her cell!
How neat she spreads the wax!
And labours hard to store it well
With the sweet food she makes.
In works of labour or of skill,
I would be busy too;
For Satan finds some mischief still
For idle hands to do.
In books, or work, or healthful play,
Let my first years be passed,
That I may give for every day
Some good account at last |
YOU ARE OLD FATHER WILLIAM pp. 52-54
You are Old Father William is another example of Carroll turning a didactic poem for children into something ridiculous and amusing. Most people, however, are not aware that this is even a parody since it is so amusing on its own.
Carroll's Version:
You are Old Father William
"You are old, father William," the young man said,
"And your hair has become very white;
And yet you incessantly stand on your head--
Do you think, at your age, it is right?"
"In my youth," father William replied to his son,
"I feared it might injure the brain;
But now that I'm perfectly sure I have none,
Why, I do it again and again."
"You are old," said the youth, "as I mentioned before,
And have grown most uncommonly fat;
Yet you turned a back-somersault in at the door--
Pray what is the reason of that?"
"In my youth," said the sage, as he shook his grey locks,
"I kept all my limbs very supple
By the use of this ointment--one shilling the box--
Allow me to sell you a couple?"
"You are old," said the youth, "and your jaws are to weak
For anything tougher than suet;
Yet you finished the goose, with the bones and the beak--
Pray, how did you manage to do it?"
"In my youth," said his father, "I took to the law,
And argued each case with my wife;
And the muscular strength, which it gave to my jaw,
Has lasted the rest of my life."
"You are old," said the youth, "one would hardly suppose
That your eye was as steady as ever;
Yet you balanced an eel on the end of your nose--
What made you so awfully clever?"
"I have answered three questions, and that is enough,"
Said the father. "Don't give yourself airs!
Do you think I can listen all day to such stuff?
Be off, or I'll kick you down stairs!" |
The Original:
The Old Man's Comforts and How He Gained Them by Robert Southey
"You are old, father William," the young man cried,
"The few locks which are left you are grey;
You are hale, father William, a hearty old man;
Now tell me the reason, I pray."
"In the days of my youth," father William replied,
"I remember'd that youth would fly fast,
And abus'd not my health and my vigour at first,
That I never might need them at last."
"You are old, father William," the young man cried,
"And pleasures with youth pass away.
And yet you lament not the days that are gone;
Now tell me the reason I pray."
"In the days of my youth," father William replied,
"I remember'd that youth could not last;
I thought of the future, whatever I did,
That I never might grieve for the past."
"You are old, father William," the young man cried,
"And life must be hast'ning away;
You are cheerful and love to converse upon death;
Now tell me the reason, I pray."
"I am cheerful, young man," father William replied,
"Let the cause thy attention engage;
In the days of my youth I remember'd my God!
And He hath not forgotten my age.
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SPEAK ROUGHLY p. 64
Again, Carroll ironically parodied Bates' moralistic tone, having the Duchess speaking severely and beating her son simply because he sneezes, an action which can hardly have deserved such treatment. However, this poem has an additional intent beyond simply making fun of Bates' poem. It expresses Carroll's distaste for little boys. It is inconceivable that Carroll could have written "I speak severely to my girl / and beat her when she sneezes." (Gardner "Speak Roughly" Lewis Carroll in Perspective).
Primarily, however, Carroll uses this poem to display the backwards nature of Wonderland, for while the Duchess is fond of speaking moral sayings ("Everything's got a moral, if only you can find it.") she still treats her baby in a way ridiculously cruel way.
Carroll's Version:
Speak Roughly
Speak roughly to your little boy,
And beat him when he sneezes:
He only does it to annoy,
Because he knows it teases.
Chorus
(In which the cook and the baby joined):--
Wow! wow! wow!
I speak severely to my boy,
And beat him when he sneezes:
For he can thoroughly enjoy
The pepper when he pleases
Chorus:
Wow! wow! wow! |
The Original:
Speak Gently, by David Bates
Speak gently! It is better far
To rule by love than fear;
Speak gently; let no harsh words mar
The good we might do here!
Speak gently! Love doth whisper low
The vows that true hearts bind;
And gently Friendship's accents flow;
Affection's voice is kind.
Speak gently to the little child!
Its love be sure to gain;
Teach it accents soft and mild;
It may not long remain.
Speak gently to the young, for they
Will have enough to bear;
Pass through this life as best they may,
'Tis full of anxious care!
Speak gently to the aged one,
Grieve not the care-worn heart;
Whose sands of life are nearly run,
Let such in peace depart!
Speak gently to the erring; know
They may have toiled in vain;
Perchance unkindness made them so;
Oh, win them back again!
Speak gently! He who gave his life
To bend man's stubborn will,
When elements were in fierce strife,
Said to them, "Peace, be still."
Speak gently! 'is a little thing
Dropped in the heart's deep well;
The good, the joy, that it may bring,
Eternity shall tell |
THE MAD HATTER'S SONG p. 74
This is one of the few of Carroll's parodies in which the original is still familiar to most readers. It is sung during the mad tea-party.
There is an interesting origin to Carroll's use of a bat and a tea-tray. Helmut Gernsheim describes an incident which probably influenced Carroll in his book Lewis Carroll; Photographer:
"At Christ Church the usually conservative don relaxed in the company of little visitors to his large suite of rooms--a paradise for children. There was a wonderful array of dolls and toys, a distorting mirror, a clockwork bear, and a flying bat made by him. This latter was the cause of much embarassment when, on a hot summer afternoon, after circling the room several times, it suddenly flew out of the window and landed on a tea-tray which a college servant was just carrying across Tom Quad. Startled by this strange apparition, he dropped the tray with a great clatter."
Carroll's Version:
The Mad Hatter's Song
Twinkle, twinkle, little bat!
How I wonder what you're at!
Up above the world you fly,
Like a tea-tray in the sky.
Twinkle, twinkle |
The Original:
The Star by Jane Taylor
Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
How I wonder what you are!
Up above the world so high,
Like a diamond in the sky.
When the blazing sun is gone,
When he nothing shines upon
Then you show your little light,
Twinkle, twinkle, all the night.
Then the traveller in the dark
Thanks you for you tiny spark:
He could not see which way to go,
If you did not twinkle so.
In the dark blue sky you keep,
And often through my curtains peep,
For you never shut your eye
Til the sun is in the sky.
As your bright and tiny spark
Lights the traveller in the dark,
Though I know not what you are,
Twinkle, twinkle, little star |
THE LOBSTER QUADRILLE pp. 100-101
TIS THE VOICE OF THE LOBSTER pp. 103-105
"The Sluggard" is by Isaac Watts, the same author as "Against Idleness and Mischief" on which "How Doth the Little Crocodile" was based. Pay attention to the way in which our brains are able, through a thorough knowledge of how meter and rhyme work, as well as of the fact that "by," in this case, wants to be followed by a progressive "ing" verb allows us to accurately complete the final couplet: "eating the Owl."
Carroll's Version:
'Tis the Voice of the Lobster
'Tis the voice of the Lobster: I heard him declare
"You have baked me too brown, I must sugar my hair."
As a duck with its eyelids, so he with his nose
Trims his belt and buttons, and turns out his toes.
When the sands are all dry, he is gay as a lark
And will talk in contemptuous tones of the Shark:
But, when the tide rises and sharks are around,
His voice has a timid and tremulous sound.
I passed by his garden, and marked with one eye,
How the Owl and Panther were sharing a pie:
The Panther took pie-crust, and gravy and meat,
While the Owl had the dish as its share of the treat.
When the pie was all finished, the Owl as a boon,
Was kindly permitted to pocket the spoon:
While the Panther received knife and fork with a growl,
And concluded the banquet by-- |
The Original:
The Sluggard by Isaac Watts
'Tis the voice of the sluggard; I heard him complain,
"You have wak'd me too soon, I must slumber again."
As the door on its hinges, so he on his bed,
Turns his sides and his shoulders and his heavy head.
"A little more sleep, and a little more slumber;"
Thus he wastes half his days, and his hours without number,
And when he gets up, he sits folding his hands,
Or walks about sauntering, or trifling he stands.
I pass'd by his garden, and saw the wild brier,
The thorn and the thistle grown broader and higher;
The clothes that hang on him are turning to rags;
And his money still wastes till be starves or he begs.
I made him a visit, still hoping to find
That he took better care for improving his mind:
He told me his dream, talked of eating and drinking;
But he scarce reads his Bible, and never loves thinking.
Said I then to my heart, "Here's a lesson for me,"
This man's a picture of what I might be:
But thanks to my friends for their care in my breeding,
Who taught me betimes to love working and reading |
TURTLE SOUP p. 105
Star of the Evening was a very popular sentimental song of Carroll's day. In this case, it is not so much the message of the song that he parodies as it's overblown sentimentality. As Florence Milner wrote in her book "The Poems in Alice in Wonderland:"
The most delightful part of the parody is the division of the words in the refrain in imitation of the approved method of singing the song with its holds and sentimental stress upon the last word.
Carroll's Version:
Turtle Soup
Beautiful Soup, so rich and green,
Waiting in a hot tureen!
Who for such dainties would not stoop?
Soup of the evening, beautiful Soup!
Soup of the evening, beautiful Soup!
Beau--ootiful Soo--oop!
Beau--ootiful Soo--oop
Soo--oop of the e--e--evening,
Beautiful, beautiful Soup!
Beautiful Soup! Who cares for fish,
Game or any other dish?
Who would not give all else for two p
ennyworth only of Beautiful Soup?
Pennyworth only of beautiful Soup?
Beau--ootiful Soo--oop!
Beau--ootiful Soo--oop!
Soo--oop of the e--e--evening,
Beautiful, beauti--FUL SOUP! |
The Original:
Star of the Evening by James M. Sayles
Beautiful star in heav'n so bright,
Softly falls thy silv'ry light,
As thou movest from earth afar,
Star of the evening, beautiful star.
Chorus:
Beautiful star,
Beautiful star,
Star of the evening, beautiful star.
In Fancy's eye thou seem'st to say,
Follow me, come from earth away.
Upward thy spirit's pinions try,
To realms of love beyond the sky.
Shine on, oh star of love divine,
And may our soul's affection twine
Around thee as thou movest afar,
Star of the twilight, beautiful star |
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