Lewis Carroll

cantfindit

Renowned Victorian author Lewis Carroll was born Charles Lutwidge Dodgson on January 27, 1832, in Daresbury, Cheshire, England. From a very early age he entertained himself and his family by performing magic tricks and marionette shows, and by writing poetry for his homemade newspapers. In 1846 he entered Rugby School, and in 1854 he graduated from Christ Church College, Oxford. He was successful in his study of mathematics and writing, and remained at the college after graduation to teach. Many of Carroll's philosophies were based on games. His interest in logic came purely from the playful nature of its principle rather than its uses as a tool. He primarily wrote comic fantasies and humorous verse that was often very childlike. Carroll published his novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland in 1865, followed by Through the Looking Glass in 1872. Alice's story began as a piece of extemporaneous whimsy meant to entertain three little girls on a boating trip in 1862. Both of these works were considered children's novels that were satirical in nature and in exemplification of Carroll's wit. Also famous is Carroll's poem "Jabberwocky," in which he created nonsensical words from word combinations. Carroll died in Guildford, Surrey, on January 14, 1898. Source

The 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!

Published:

1865

Length:

Regular

Shorty

Literary Movements:

Children's

Anthology Years:

2022

2023

Themes:

Humor & Satire

Nature

Literary Devices:

End Rhyme

when a poem has lines ending with words that sound the same

Hyperbole

exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally

Metaphor

a comparison between two unrelated things through a shared characteristic

Personification

the attribution of human qualities to a non-human thing

Quatrain

A stanza made of four lines.

Sensory Detail

words used to invoke the five senses (vision, hearing, taste, touch, smell)