"The Walrus and the Carpenter" is a narrative poem by Lewis Carroll that appears 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 Walrus and the Carpenter" is a narrative poem by Lewis Carroll that appears 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 time has come," the Walrus said,
"To talk of many things:
Of shoes—and ships—and sealing-wax—
Of cabbages—and kings—
And why the sea is boiling hot—
And whether pigs have wings." [1]
The poem tells the story of a walrus and a carpenter who meet on a beach and decide to go for a walk. They come across a group of oysters, and the walrus persuades them to come with them. The oysters follow the walrus and the carpenter, and they are eventually all eaten.
The sun was shining on the sea Shining with all it's might He did his very best to make The billows smooth and bright And this was odd because it was The middle of the night The Walrus and the Carpenter Were walking close at hand The beach was wide From side to side But much too full of sand Mr. Walrus! Said the Carpenter My brain begins to perk We'll sweep this clear In half a year If you don't mind the work Work?!? The time has come... The Walrus said To talk of many things Of shoes and ships and sealing wax Of cabbages and kings And why the sea is boiling hot And whether pigs have wings Callo-Callay No work today! We're cabbages and kings Oh, uh, Oysters, come and walk with us The day is warm and bright A pleasant walk A pleasant talk Would be a sheer delight Yes, should we get hungry on the way We'll stop and, uh, have a bite Ahem! But Mother Oyster winked her eye And sher heavy head She knew too well this was no time To leave her Oyster bed The sea is nice, Talk my advice And stay right here Mum said Yes, yes of course Of course, but, uh, ha, ha! The time has come My little friends To talk of many things Of shoes and ships and sealing wax Cabbages and kings And why the sea is boiling hot And whether pigs have wings Ha ha Callo-Callay Come, run away With cabbages and kings Well, now, uh, let me see Ah! A loaf of bread Is what we chiefly need! Listen, how 'bout some pepper And salt and vinegar, eh? Well, yes, yes Splendid idea, ha ha! Now, if you're ready Oysters, dear We can begin to feed Feed?!? Oh, yes... The time has come My little friends To talk of food and things Of peppercorns and mustard seeds And other seasonings We'll mix 'em all together In a sauce that's fit for kings Callo-Callay We'll eat today Like cabbages and kings I, uh I, I weep for you I... Oh, excuse me I deeply sympathize For I've enjoyed your company Oh, much more than you realize Little Oysters? Little Oysters? But answer There came none And this was scarcely odd Because They'd been eaten Every one
The characters of the Walrus and the Carpenter have been interpreted many ways both in literary criticism and popular culture. British essayist J. B. Priestley argued that the figures were political. [2] Walter Russell Mead supposed they represent aspects of Protestant and Transcendentalist societies during Carroll's life. [3] They were also inspired by two sea stacks that stood outside the holiday home Carroll stayed at in Llandudno, Wales.
The 1967 The Beatles song "I Am the Walrus", which is based on the poem, is also a common subject of nonsense inquiry. [4] John Lennon later inferred Carroll's views on capitalism from the poem, joking that perhaps he should have instead sung "I Am the Carpenter". [5]
In the film Dogma , one of the characters claims that the poem is an indictment of organized religion. [6]
A series of six episodes starring Hugh Griffith, Felix Aylmer, and Daphne Heard was made by the BBC in 1965.
The Walrus and the Carpenter story appears in Disney's 1951 animated film Alice in Wonderland where it is told by Tweedledee and Tweedledum.
In the 1999 version of Alice in Wonderland, the story appears near the end of the film, when Alice meets the twins.
Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There is a novel published on 27 December 1871 by Lewis Carroll, a mathematics lecturer at Christ Church, University of Oxford, and the sequel to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865). Alice again enters a fantastical world, this time by climbing through a mirror into the world that she can see beyond it. There she finds that, just like a reflection, everything is reversed, including logic.
Alice in Wonderland is a 1933 American pre-Code fantasy film adapted from the novels by Lewis Carroll. The film was produced by Paramount Pictures, featuring an all-star cast. It is all live action, except for the Walrus and The Carpenter sequence, which was animated by Harman-Ising Studio. The film was seen by Walt Disney, and inspired him to create his company's 1951 animated adaptation.
"I Am the Walrus" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1967 television film Magical Mystery Tour. Written by John Lennon and credited to Lennon–McCartney, it was released as the B-side to the single "Hello, Goodbye" and on the Magical Mystery Tour EP and album. In the film, the song underscores a segment in which the band mime to the recording at a deserted airfield.
Alice in Wonderland is a 1985 American two-part made-for-television adventure family fantasy musical film of Lewis Carroll's books Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865) and Through the Looking-Glass (1871). An Irwin Allen production, it used a huge all-star cast of notable actors and actresses. The title role was played by Natalie Gregory, who wore a blonde wig for this miniseries. Alice in Wonderland was first telecast December 9, 1985, and December 10, 1985, at 8:00pm EST on CBS.
Tweedledum and Tweedledee are characters in an English nursery rhyme and in Lewis Carroll's 1871 book Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There. Their names may have originally come from an epigram written by poet John Byrom. The nursery rhyme has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 19800. The names have since become synonymous in western popular culture slang for any two people whose appearances and actions are identical.
Alice in Wonderland is a 1951 American animated musical fantasy comedy film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by RKO Radio Pictures. It is based on Lewis Carroll's 1865 novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and its 1871 sequel Through the Looking-Glass. The production was supervised by Ben Sharpsteen, and was directed by Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson, and Hamilton Luske. With the voices of Ed Wynn, Richard Haydn, Sterling Holloway, Jerry Colonna and Kathryn Beaumont in her film debut, the film follows a young girl, Alice, who falls down a rabbit hole and enters a nonsensical world, Wonderland, which is ruled by the Queen of Hearts, while encountering strange creatures, including the Mad Hatter and the Cheshire Cat.
Alice in Wonderland is a 1976 American erotic musical comedy film loosely based on Lewis Carroll's 1865 book Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. The film expands the original story to include sex and broad adult humor, as well as original songs. The film was directed by Bud Townsend, produced by William Osco, and written by Bucky Searles, based on a concept by Jason Williams.
Alice in Wonderland is a 1999 made-for-television film adaptation of Lewis Carroll's books Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865) and Through the Looking-Glass (1871). It was first broadcast on NBC and then shown on British television on Channel 4.
Fushigi no Kuni no Alice is an anime adaptation of the 1865 novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland which ran on the TV Tokyo network and other local television stations across Japan from October 10, 1983 to March 26, 1984. The television series was a Japanese-German co-production between Nippon Animation and Apollo Films. The television series consists of 52 episodes, but only 26 made it to the United States.
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is a 1972 British musical film directed by Australian filmmaker William Sterling, based on Lewis Carroll's 1865 novel of the same name and its 1871 sequel, Through the Looking-Glass. It had a distinguished ensemble cast and a musical score composed by John Barry with lyrics written by Don Black. In addition, make-up artist Stuart Freeborn created film visuals based on the original drawings by John Tenniel from the first edition of the novel.
The Jubjub bird is a dangerous creature mentioned in Lewis Carroll's nonsense poems "Jabberwocky" (1871) and "The Hunting of the Snark" (1876).
Alice in Wonderland is a musical by Henry Savile Clarke and Walter Slaughter (music), based on Lewis Carroll's books Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865) and Through the Looking-Glass (1871). It debuted at the Prince of Wales's Theatre in the West End on 23 December 1886. Aubrey Hopwood (lyrics) and Walter Slaughter (music) wrote additional songs which were first used for the 1900 revival.
The phrase "when pigs fly" is an adynaton—a figure of speech so hyperbolic that it describes an impossibility. The implication of such a phrase is that the circumstances in question will never occur. The phrase has been used in various forms since the 1600s as a sarcastic remark.
Alice in Wonderland is a 1915 American silent film adaptation of Lewis Carroll's classic 1865 novel, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, directed and written by W. W. Young and starring Viola Savoy as Alice.
"You Are Old, Father William" is a poem by Lewis Carroll that appears in his 1865 book Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. It is recited by Alice in Chapter 5, "Advice from a Caterpillar". Alice informs the Caterpillar that she has previously tried to repeat "How Doth the Little Busy Bee" and has had it all come wrong as "How Doth the Little Crocodile". The Caterpillar asks her to repeat "You Are Old, Father William", and she recites it.
Alice is a 2009 television miniseries that was originally broadcast on Canadian cable television channel Showcase and an hour later on American cable television channel Syfy. The miniseries is a reimagining of the classic Lewis Carroll novels Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865) and Through the Looking-Glass (1871), taking place about 150 years later with science fiction and additional fantasy elements added. The miniseries, produced by Reunion Pictures is three hours long, split into two parts, which premiered on Sunday, December 6, 2009, and Monday, December 7, 2009, respectively. Writer and director Nick Willing previously directed a 1999 adaptation of the books that followed the story more closely; however, Alice is intended to be a modern interpretation, imagining how Wonderland might have evolved over the last 143 years. The mini-series was partially shot in the Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada.
Alice in Verse: The Lost Rhymes of Wonderland (2010) is a reimagining of Lewis Carroll's 1865 novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland written by British-American author J.T. Holden. It tells the story of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland in 19 rhyming poems, each written in the same style as Lewis Carroll's original verse. The book includes 36 illustrations by American artist Andrew Johnson.
Cabbages and Kings is a 1904 novel made up of interlinked short stories, written by O. Henry and set in a fictitious Central American country called the Republic of Anchuria. It takes its title from the poem "The Walrus and the Carpenter", featured in Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking Glass. Its plot contains famous elements in the poem: shoes and ships and sealing wax, cabbages and kings. It was inspired by the characters and situations that O. Henry encountered in Honduras in the late 1890s.
Alice through the Looking Glass is a 1998 British fantasy television film, based on Lewis Carroll's 1871 book Through the Looking-Glass, and starring Kate Beckinsale.
Alice in Wonderland is a 1962 Australian television film based on Lewis Carroll's 1865 novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. It was a pantomime and aired as part of the BP Super Show.
As the poem opens, the Walrus and the Carpenter—who, we can suppose, allegorically and respectively represent Britain and the United States—have worked themselves into a typically Protestant and Anglo-Saxon froth of transcendental idealism.
Works related to The Walrus and the Carpenter at Wikisource
Media related to The Walrus and the Carpenter at Wikimedia Commons
The Walrus and the Carpenter public domain audiobook at LibriVox 
