there is an actual poem on how 'Alice in Wonderland' came to be. Enjoy, and see if you can pick out what line means what!!
Here's a little background:
The poem "All in the golden afternoon" is not a parody, but was entirely made up by Carroll himself. There are several important elements in it though.
The poem tells the story of how Alice's Adventures in Wonderland came to be: Carroll told it during a boat trip with Alice and her sisters. The 'cruel Three' therefore are Lorina, Alice, and Edith Liddell, respectively 'Prima', 'Secunda' and 'Tertia'. The word 'little' in the lines "For both our oars, with little skill / By little arms are plied / While little hands make vain pretence" refers to their last name, 'Liddell'.
Full leisurely we glide;
For both our oars, with little skill,
By little arms are plied,
While little hands make vain pretence
Our wanderings to guide.
Ah, cruel Three! In such an hour,
Beneath such dreamy weather,
To beg a tale of breath too weak
To stir the tiniest feather!
Yet what can one poor voice avail
Against three tongues together?
Imperious Prima flashes forth
Her edict 'to begin it' –
In gentler tone Secunda hopes
'There will be nonsense in it!' –
While Tertia interrupts the tale
Not more than once a minute.
Anon, to sudden silence won,
In fancy they pursue
The dream-child moving through a land
Of wonders wild and new,
In friendly chat with bird or beast –
And half believe it true.
And ever, as the story drained
The wells of fancy dry,
And faintly strove that weary one
To put the subject by,
"The rest next time -" "It is next time!"
The happy voices cry.
Thus grew the tale of Wonderland:
Thus slowly, one by one,
Its quaint events were hammered out –
And now the tale is done,
And home we steer, a merry crew,
Beneath the setting sun.
Alice! a childish story take,
And with a gentle hand
Lay it were Childhood's dreams are twined
In Memory's mystic band,
Like pilgrim's wither'd wreath of flowers
Pluck'd in a far-off land.
Written by Lewis Carroll himself!!
i hope you like it!! Maybe in another chapter (if you guys want it), I can annotate it myself, but mind it be, it would only be my opinion of thee :)
-Ches/Chessie
YOU ARE READING
'✶~ o n e i r a t a x i a ~✶'
Fanfiction'✶~ oneirataxia ~✶' (n.) the inability to distinguish between fantasy and reality ∙•◦✢◦•∙ A Collection of all things Wonderland ~▪︎~ A mix of short stories, poems, facts, and anything else you'll need to know to dive down the rabbit hole ∙•◦✢◦•∙
