Lewis Carroll was born on January 27, 1832. He was a prevalent children’s author, most remembered for his series of whimsical novels featuring the character of Alice. These stories include Alice in Wonderland and its sequel, Through the Looking-Glass. Born Charles Lutwidge Dodgson in Daresbury, Cheshire, England, he became famous for his writing under the pen name Lewis Carroll.
The character of Alice is based on a real person Carroll knew. While working as a lecturer in mathematics at Christ Church, Carroll befriended the dean, Henry George Liddell, and his family. Liddell had three daughters: Lorina, Edith and Alice. One afternoon, Carroll and the Liddell sisters went on a picnic. Carroll told one story that would soon become Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Alice Liddell encouraged Carroll to write the story down for her.
The book was released in 1865 and became an instant classic. Carroll then wrote a sequel, Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There in 1871. In 1876, Carroll published another of his noted works—a nonsense poem called The Hunting of the Snark. Carroll died in 1898 at age 65 in Guildford, Surrey, England. By that time Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland had become one of the most popular children’s books in England.
Carroll’s most famous poems, The Hunting of the Snark and Jabberwocky, are considered to be in the genre of “literary nonsense”. This is a genre that uses words with no meaning that is paired with words that have meaning. An example is:
The Mad Hatter’s Riddle from Alice in Wonderland, Chapter 7
The Hatter opened his eyes very wide on hearing this; but all he said was “Why is a raven like a writing-desk?”
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"Have you guessed the riddle yet?" the Hatter said, turning to Alice again.
"No, I give it up," Alice replied. "What's the answer?"
"I haven't the slightest idea," said the Hatter.
"Nor I," said the March Hare.
Alice sighed wearily. "I think you might do something better with the time," she said, "than wasting it in asking riddles that have no answers."
What do you think the answer to this riddle is? Try it for yourself. Read The Hunting of the Snark and Jabberwocky, both of which can be found online. Use them as inspiration to write your own literary nonsense poem. And if you want to tackle reading the adventures of Alice, check out some free worksheets we have available from our novel study guides for Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass.