LEWIS CARROLL
EARLY LIFE Originally named Charles Lutwidge Dodgson Born in Daresbury in Cheshire The third of seven children Father was an Anglican minister
SCHOOL YEARS Grew up to become a smart, intelligent child Educated at home for seven years Sent away to Rugby School when he reached the age of twelve Took a distaste for athletics, but excelled in mathematical studies.
LATER EDUCATION Later, Carroll withdrew from Rugby School and briefly attended Oxford. Not long after his first day, his mother died, and he once again left school. Finally, Carroll got a more solid position at Christ Church as a mathematical lecturer.
EARLY WORKS A great deal of his works were mathematical treatises. He also enjoyed making math riddles and logic puzzles. The most popular of these creations were called “ Doublets.”
DOUBLETS The object of couplets is to, by altering one letter at a time, change one word into its antonym. Example:
PHOTOGRAPHY In addition to teaching math, Lewis Carroll was also an avid photographer. The primary focus of his photographs were children. Today, this is somewhat controversial because they are often presented in the nude. However, that was simply the Victorian culture. In fact many of his child nudes appeared on Christmas cards.
PHOTO GALLERY
LITERATURE Above photography and mathematics, Carroll is revered for his children’s literature. His two most famous works are Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (1865) and its sequel, Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There (1871). Both novels center around a girl named Alice and her trips into strange make-believe worlds.
ALICE IN WONDERLAND Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland concerns Alice’s first trip into the strange world and her standing up to the Queen of Hearts, ultimately prevailing and flooding justice throughout the land. One of the greatest examples of literary nonsense Appeals to children and adults generations later
POEMS Carroll always kept things interesting in his works. “The Mouse’s Tale,” as found in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland proves itself a perfect concrete poem.
“THE MOUSE’S TALE”
THE LOOKING-GLASS Lewis Carroll’s second major novel, Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found, is perhaps the more prolific of the two. The novel begins after Alice falls into her mirror and finds herself in an opposite dimension.
MORE FROM THE MIRROR “How Doth the Little Crocodile” is a parody of “How Doth the littlie Busy Bee” One of Carroll’s most recited poems 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!
JABBERWOCK! “Jabberwocky” is another of Carroll’s beloved poems. “Jabberwocky” also comes from Through the Looking-Glass Twas bryllyg, and the slythy toves Did gyre and gymble in the wabe: All mimsy were the borogroves; And the mome raths outgrabe.
MIX-UPS Tweedledum and Tweedledee make their first appearance in Through the Looking-Glass. The card theme in Alice in Wonderland is replaced by a chess theme in Through the Looking-Glass. The Queen of hearts rules in the first novel. The Red Queen is the antagonist in the sequel.
ALICE Lewis Carroll’s protagonist, Alice, was based of Alice Liddell. Her father was the new dean at Christ Church. A strong bond quickly formed between them.
A VERY IMPORTANT DATE As Carroll grew older, he became more recognized and more wealthy. He wrote a few more books, but none came close to Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass. He held his job as a lecturer until Died of pneumonia and influenza on January 14, 1898 Buried at Guilford in Surrey, England.
INTERESTING FACTS Carroll invented the world “Chortle” as a combination of the words “Chuckle” and “Snort.” Invented “Nyctography,” a type of shorthand that could be used in total darkness Suffered from stammering, epilepsy, partial deafness and ADHD.
THE END By Troy Black