Friday, April 28, 2006

Lewis Carroll's Alice...in Wonderland?

One of my all-time favourite books remains Alice in Wonderland written by Lewis Carroll. I absolutely love the poems and words/quotes said... Few that were put up some time back in one my earlier posts.
One of the most cherished verses have been
'...but I cannot explain myself, I'm afraid...
because I'm not myself you see...
In Spring,when the leaves are turning green,
I'll try and tell you what I mean
In summer, when the days are long,
perhaps you'll understand the song...'
(please to note..this verse is a fragment from a memory of eon...if anyone finds the original piece, please let me know- god knows i've been searching real hard for it.)
Some info on LC:
With his father's death, Lewis Carroll became head of the family. All ten siblings were at this stage partly dependent on the father, and when the rectory was given up, nine of the brothers and sisters were left seeking another home. Mr. Dodgson had provided for his children financially, so they had enough to maintain a frugal lifestyle, but the responsibility on Lewis Carroll was still very great. It was a miserable period for him. All this time, he was writing Looking Glass.
Looking Glass is every bit as good as Wonderland and has the same feeling of hidden significance and emotion. It deals with growing up and parting and loss, and has a more sombre feel than Wonderland. Although Carroll's dream "Alice" character must have been in some ways himself, it does still seem that both books were genuinely told for the little child Alice Liddell, sitting listening in Carroll's imagination to the continuation of "her" story.
The Liddell girls were now in fact grown up, but still in his magical world they remained, listening, helping him once more to turn painful reality into just a dream. Indeed, when you read the poem he wrote at the end of Looking Glass(pasted below), this seems to be what he is saying. The children did listen long ago, he begins: but then memories of that faded. Yet, he is still haunted by his dream "Alice", and now the children have now moved to Wonderland. They are not real any more, but they're still listening, and always will, because they themselves have become part of his dream - which in turn seems to him as real as life itself.
Presenting one of my fave poems...Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll...so much said in so little- enjoi.
A boat, beneath a sunny sky
Lingering onward dreamily
In an evening of July --
Children three that nestle near,
Eager eye and willing ear
Pleased a simple tale to hear --
Long has paled that sunny sky:
Echoes fade and memories die:
Autumn frosts have slain July.
Still she haunts me, phantomwise
Alice moving under skies
Never seen by waking eyes.
Children yet, the tale to hear,
Eager eye and willing ear,
Lovingly shall nestle near.
In a Wonderland they lie,
Dreaming as the days go by,
Dreaming as the summers die:
Ever drifting down the stream --
Lingering in the golden gleam --
Life what is it but a dream?

7 comments:

starry said...

Thanks for visiting my blogsite and I do hope you come again. Nice post. I am also a fan of Lewis Caroll's Alice in wonderland."

Blue Athena said...

Okay, hopefully you'll enjoy this. :)

http://www.bootlegbooks.com/Fiction/Caroll/CompleteWorks/Default.htm

Blue Athena said...

www.bootlegbooks.com/Fiction/Caroll/CompleteWorks/Default.htm


Part of the link missing in the previous comment.

AJ ! Serendipity !!! said...

Wow. Nice reading about LC.

Rose said...

hmm... My fav too....

I like these lines:

"If I had a world of my own, everything would be nonsense. Nothing would be what it is, because everything would be what it isn't. And contrary wise, what is, it wouldn't be. And what it wouldn't be, it would. You see?”

Prob i luv coz i cud relate to the craziness :p

:)

..Me

Wanderer said...

@Star: Sure will!:)

@Blue: Loved the site! Thanks! [smilessssss]

@ ajay: Hi there, glad u enjoyed reading up! I do like your posts too...

@rose: 'You're only given a little spark of madness. You mustn't lose it.'... motto of my life too... :)

Hazel Dream said...

sounds like mystry called life