The Walrus and the Carpenter
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"The Walrus and the Carpenter" is a poem by Lewis Carroll that appeared in his book Through the Looking-Glass, published in December 1871. The poem is recited in chapter four, by Tweedledum and Tweedledee to Alice. The poem is composed of 18 stanzas and contains 108 lines;[1] the rhyme scheme is ABCBDB; and masculine rhymes appear frequently. [2]
Contents |
[edit] Summary
The Walrus and the Carpenter are the titular characters in the poem, which is recited by Tweedledum and Tweedledee to Alice. Walking upon a beach one "sunny" night, the Walrus and Carpenter come upon some oysters, four of whom they invite to join them-- however, to the disapproval of the eldest oyster, many more follow them. After walking along the beach, the two titular characters get hungry and eat all of the oysters. Afterward, the Walrus regrets his actions and cries, mostly because now there are no more oysters for him to eat.
[edit] Interpretations
| “ | "The time has come," the Walrus said, "To talk of many things: |
” |
There are many interpretations of the poem, the majority of which depict the Walrus and Carpenter to be corrupt leaders (whether it be in politics, religion, or business) leading their followers astray (in the form of the little oysters). The poem is often suggested to illustrate the nature of genocide.[citation needed]
In The Annotated Alice, Martin Gardner noted that when Carroll gave the manuscript for Looking Glass to illustrator John Tenniel, he gave him the choice of drawing a carpenter, a butterfly, or a baronet (since each word would fit the poem's meter). Tenniel chose the carpenter. Because of this, the carpenter's significance in the poem is probably not in his profession. Although the two characters of the poem were interpreted later as two political types, there is no indication of what Carroll may have intended; Gardner cautions the reader that there isn't too much intended symbolism in the Alice books. The books were made for the imagination of children not the analysis of "mad people".
Many portions of the Wonderland tales can be tied only to sheer whimsy, and while Carroll's life observations do make themselves obvious from time to time, it is possible that "The Walrus and the Carpenter" is not one of them: Carroll's character The Duchess said in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland that "everything's got a moral, if only you can find it".[1]
[edit] The Movie Version
In Disney's Alice in Wonderland, an adapted version of the poem is narrated in song and spoken word by Tweedledee and Tweedledum. In this virtuoso performance, character actor J. Pat O'Malley performs all four voices as well as the Mother Oyster. [2]
[edit] In popular culture
- In 1066 and All That, W. C. Sellar and R. J. Yeatman said that King Richard II of England exclaimed gloomily, "For God's sake, let me sit on the ground and tell bad stories about cabbages and things." This combines the poem's famous lines, "Of shoes—and ships—and sealing-wax—Of cabbages—and kings," and dialogue from William Shakespeare's play Richard II, "Let's talk of graves and worms and epitaphs... For God's sake, let us sit upon the ground/And tell sad stories of the death of kings."
- John Lennon claims to have written the 1967 song "I Am the Walrus" after coming to the conclusion that he was the Walrus on an acid trip. However, in a 1980 interview with Playboy, he said of the song, "Later, I went back and looked at it and realized that the walrus was the bad guy in the story and the carpenter was the good guy. I thought, 'Oh, shit, I picked the wrong guy. I should have said, "I am the carpenter." ' But that wouldn't have been the same, would it?"
- John Lennon's Imagine album came with a photo of John holding up a pig's ears - the pig did not have wings.
- Donovan set "The Walrus and the Carpenter" to music on his 1971 children's album H.M.S. Donovan. The song features many segments acted and sung by Donovan and his friends. Paul McCartney appears with Donovan on a bootleg recording of the song dating from around 1968.
- In the comedy movie Dogma (directed by Kevin Smith), a fallen angel named Loki explains his theory that the poem is really an indictment of organized religion (despite Carroll being an Anglican clergyman): The good natured Walrus represents either Buddha, or (since he has tusks) the Hindu elephant god Ganesha, and the Carpenter is a reference to Jesus. Hence, between them, they represent both Eastern and Western religions. They eat the innocent oysters, which represent the masses under the sway of religion. It should be noted the movie is satirical, and that this interpretation is presented by a character who specifically uses it to manipulate the Catholic nun with whom he is speaking.
- In the movie Harriet The Spy, a line is spoken during one of the most dramatic scenes from the poem. Of other things, it shows the intense bond between Harriet and Golly.
- The Dresden Dolls song The Time Has Come contains lyrics borrowed from the poem.
- In the novel Savage Day the main antagonist Frank Barry refers to "ships and sealing wax, cabbages and kings."
[edit] Notes
- ^ Carroll, Lewis (1995). The Complete, Fully Illustrated Works. New York: Gramercy Books. ISBN 0-517-10027-4.
- ^ Kathryn Beaumont, Ed Wynn. Alice in Wonderland [DVD]. Walt Disney.
[edit] External links
- Text of the Walrus and the Carpenter (with illustrations)
- Audio - hear the poem
