Lewis Carroll
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Lewis Carroll is the pen name of Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, born in England in 1832 and best remembered as a writer of books specifically for children (Harmon 2001, 98). Carroll was a poet and photographer as well as an author, but he also spent years as an Oxford don where he excelled as a teacher of mathematics. Whether through his use of absurd language, his exceptional visual images of children he photographed, his preoccupation with numbers, or his visual poems, Carroll was a master of imagery. Best known for his childrenÆs classics Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, CarrollÆs imaginative output in a variety of fields appears to have come from his unique character and lifestyle. As Harmon (2001) notes, Carroll was a ôshy, fastidious, deeply devout man who spoke with a stammer, never had an adult romantic relationship, and seemed most comfortable dwelling inside his own headö (98). When examining CarrollÆs life, it is readily apparent that his lack of expression with other adults in his daily life found full expression in images, whether photographic or written, on the page. The images that dwelt inside CarrollÆs head expressed themselves in a variety of ways. His stories are filled with fantasy and the absurd, his photographs of young girls are often filled with whimsy, and his ôshaped verseö serves to highlight the strangeness of fantasy realms. Many of CarrollÆs poems appear in the ôAliceö books. Both the ôAliceö
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, without the least idea what was to happen afterwardsö (100). Carroll lived a celibate life and never had an adult romantic relationship. However, at the age of 31 Carroll asked Liddell for permission to court 11-year-old Alice but was rejected in his efforts. Though this seems shocking, in the era women could legally marry at the age of 12 and it was marriage Carroll had proposed.
Though crestfallen over being unable to court Alice, Carroll expressed his unfulfilled emotions in his work. CarrollÆs poems are often in the shape of images he is trying to convey. One of the poems in AliceÆs Adventures in Wonderland is from the perspective of a mouse that is being attacked by a cat. The poem is in the shape of a long mouseÆs tail, dwindling on the page until its final words are printed in miniature type almost unreadable. Joyce Carol Oates (1999) maintains this poem fascinated her because of its images and themes that are seldom associated with childrenÆs literature:
Here is a seemingly playful poem that suggests the cruelty and injustice of the world as perceived by the mouse victim, helpless at the hands of the oppressor. The poem dramatizes a cat named Fury in his confrontation with an anonymous mouse: æFury said to/a mous
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Approximate Word count = 1285
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page)
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