Another prime example of wordplay occurs during the tea party. When Alice claims that saying what one means and meaning what one says are the same thing, the Mad Hatter and the March Hare argue that such is not the case. They explain using an example, saying: “I see what I eat” and “I eat what I see” are not the same. Similarly, neither nor are: “I like what I get” and “I get what I like.” By toying with language, Carroll invites readers to read closely and carefully, always questioning the intent guiding the Wonderland creatures' absurd—but very intentional—choice of language.

Finally, Carroll punctuates his novel with a wide variety of satire. Satire shows the ridiculousness of people, places, events, and ideas through humor and exaggeration. The Mock Turtle, for instance, describes his schooling in detail, declaring that his course of studies included “Reeling and Writhing” as well as the “different branches of Arithmetic – Ambition, Distraction, Uglification, and Derision.” Mystery and Seaography were also part of the plan. These, of course, poke fun at real school subjects like reading and writing, history and geography, and all kinds of arithmetic, and Carroll and his readers can both enjoy chuckling over how much the made-up subjects sometimes resemble the real ones.

The Knave’s trial is another excellent instance of satire. The King, as judge, has no idea of conventional court procedures: the Queen yells for sentencing before the verdict; the jurors simply write down whatever they are told; the witnesses do not have the least idea about the case; and the cheering guinea pigs are “suppressed” by being shoved into a bag and sat on.

The hilarious scenario does not resemble any real court trial (or at least one hopes not), but the basic elements are so similar that the satire works. Readers must wonder how much silliness occurs in real trials and how fair and just (or not) they are at times. 

Through his narrative structures, wordplay, and satire, then, Lewis Carroll enhances his story and gives it deeper meanings. The silly, surface story is entertaining and humorous, yet it features intentional undertones designed to make readers think more seriously about their lives, their words, their relationships, and their identities.

The Victorian Age in England

Lewis Carroll, by his own recounting, crafted the tale that would become Alice's Adventures in Wonderland on a bright July day in 1862. He spun this story for the Liddell sisters during a boating excursion on the Thames River. Though both this book and its sequel, Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There, have evolved into timeless classics, they unmistakably mirror their Victorian roots in their language, class distinctions, and perspectives on childhood. The Victorian era, named after the lengthy reign of Britain's Queen Victoria, spanned from 1837 to 1901.

The early Victorian period witnessed the rise of a substantial middle-class society for the first time in Western history. This burgeoning middle class brought with it the spread of so-called "family values": polite society shunned discussions of sex, passions, bodily functions, and, in extreme instances, even body parts. They adhered to an intricate code of manners designed to differentiate one class from another. By the 1860s, this resulted, for many, in a kind of rigid and somber prudishness, characterized by a sense that freedom and enjoyment in life were sinful and indulging in them risked immorality. Modern critics have largely denounced the Victorians for these repressive attitudes.

Queen Victoria herself set the tone for the late Victorian era. From the time she ascended the throne at eighteen, she was known for her serious and self-important demeanor; it is said that her first resolution upon becoming queen was, "I will be good." However, following the death of her husband Albert in 1861, Victoria became increasingly reclusive, withdrawing from public life and entering a lifelong period of mourning. Many middle-class Englishmen and women emulated her, seeking morally uplifting and intellectually stimulating thoughts in their reading and other forms of entertainment.

Victorian Perspectives on Childhood

Many upper-middle-class Victorians held a dual perception of childhood. It was seen as the most joyous phase of life, characterized by simplicity and innocence. Simultaneously, children were often expected to be "best seen and not heard." Some Victorians even neglected their children, entrusting them entirely to nurses, nannies, and other child-care experts. Boys frequently attended boarding schools, while girls were typically educated at home by a governess. All children, especially girls, were taught to prioritize manners and societal integration. Morton N. Cohen, in his critical biography Lewis Carroll, asserts, "Children learned their catechism, learned to pray, learned to fear sin—and their books were meant to aid and abet the process. They were often frightened by warnings and threats, their waking hours burdened with homilies. Much of the children's literature … was purposeful and dour. They instilled discipline and compliance." While the late 19th century saw a shift towards educating women in subjects traditionally taught to men, like Latin and mathematics, this change impacted only a small segment of the upper classes.

This focus on manners and proper breeding is mirrored in Alice's adventures. She is always depicted as Alice Pleasance Liddell, the inspiration for the main character in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, often shown with her sister, Lorina Charlotte Liddell. Nonetheless, Carroll seems to embrace the notion that childhood was a golden era in a person's life. In the verse preface to his novel, he reminisces about the "golden afternoon" he spent with the three Miss Liddells. He concludes the book by predicting that Alice will one day recount her Wonderland dream to her own children, feeling their simple sorrows and finding joy in their simple pleasures, recalling her own childhood and happy summer days. However, Alice's experiences suggest that Carroll believed children's feelings and emotions were just as intricate as those of adults. By the novel's end, she boldly contradicts adults; when she tells the Queen "Stuff and nonsense!" she defies the Victorian expectations of children's behavior.

The Early Evolution of Children's Literature

"Children's literature" as a distinct genre emerged in the mid-1700s, when English bookseller John Newbery published some of the first books specifically designed to entertain children. (In the United States, the American Library Association honors his legacy by awarding the annual John Newbery Medal to the best children's book of the year.) Before this, works published for children were strictly educational, using stories solely to convey moral lessons. If children wanted to read for pleasure, they had to turn to "adult" works, such as Daniel Defoe's 1719 classic Robinson Crusoe. Despite Newbery's pioneering efforts, few entertaining works for children appeared over the next century.

Many early Victorian fairy tales and children's literature were designed to encourage what society at the time considered "good" and "moral" behavior among youngsters. Carroll's "Alice" books challenge this Victorian morality, partly through their freewheeling use of nonsense and wordplay (a favorite pastime of the era) and partly through direct parody. In Chapter 1 of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Alice recalls that "she had read several nice little histories about children who had got burnt, and eaten up by wild beasts and other unpleasant things, all because they would not remember the simple rules their friends had taught them." Most of the verses and poems Carroll included in the story are parodies of popular Victorian (i.e., morally uplifting) songs and ballads, altered so that their moral lessons are obscured by the enjoyment of wordplay.

Carroll's "Alice" books were part of a broader global trend toward writing entertaining books for children. English translations of the Grimm brothers' fairy tale collections first appeared in the mid-1820s. Hans Christian Andersen's tales were translated into English in 1846. In the United States, Louisa May Alcott's Little Women, published in 1868-69, was part of a movement toward realistic children's stories. In England, many renowned authors who primarily wrote for adults also created children's literature, including Charles Dickens and Robert Louis Stevenson, whose 1883 work Treasure Island is considered a classic children's adventure story. The foundations laid by Carroll and other nineteenth-century children's authors paved the way for today's vast market for children's books, which now have specialized publishers, dedicated scholars and journals, and librarians.

One "golden afternoon" on a riverbank in the English countryside, Alice listens to her sister read from a book that contains no conversations or pictures. As she becomes increasingly bored and sleepy, Alice spots a White Rabbit running by, exclaiming that he will be "too late!" When the rabbit pulls a watch out of his pocket, Alice's curiosity gets the better of her. She leaps up and follows the rabbit down a large rabbit hole, marking the start of her extraordinary adventure in a remarkably fantastical land.

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, like many classic literary works, encourages young readers to question traditional ways of thinking. Specifically, it highlights the flexibility of word meanings. Words can be manipulated in such a way that a listener or reader might feel confused, entertained, or even annoyed over what might ultimately be pure nonsense. Alice's journey also underscores the significance of language in shaping our identity and values. Because Alice's Adventures in Wonderland emphasizes the unstable nature of the relationship between words and meanings, readers are reminded that language (in textbooks, novels, films, and newspapers) must be continuously questioned to differentiate important concepts from mere gibberish.

The amusing verses that Carroll assigns to his Wonderland characters offer a literary delight for his audience. From Alice's version of "You are Old, Father William," to the Mock Turtle's ode to "Beautiful Soup," the playful verses in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland challenge the imagination. The Victorian prose of the story invites readers to explore a realm of expression not found in modern everyday life. Consequently, readers who accompany Alice on her journey from start to finish leave the adventure both verbally and intellectually enriched.

When Alice abandons the safety of the riverbank to pursue her curiosity about the White Rabbit, she embarks on a quest that requires her to overcome a series of challenges before returning home. This narrative structure—departure, overcoming obstacles, and return—places Alice's Adventures in Wonderland within the tradition of the quest tale, akin to works like the Odyssey, the Aeneid, and The Faerie Queen. This same framework also underpins classics of children's literature such as Gulliver's Travels and The Wizard of Oz. While Alice's adventures may seem trivial compared to the trials of Odysseus, Ulysses, or the Redcrosse Knight, it is crucial to remember that Alice, like these other heroes, must confront fantastic creatures many times her size. In Alice's quest, however, the battles are primarily verbal. The peculiarities of the creatures she encounters are highlighted by their speech and manner of speaking. Both Alice and the reader often become so engaged in the linguistic struggles that they overlook the visual appearance of her adversaries.

Alice's adventures also align with the dream tradition, a theme explored by writers like James Joyce in Finnegans Wake and Frank Baum in The Wizard of Oz. Characters in dreams enjoy a different kind of freedom in their actions, thoughts, and speech, unbound by realistic constraints. Dreams also produce a logic that typically distorts reality. Yet, these distortions unveil the "nonsense" that lies at the heart of much of what we consider common sense.

The tale of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland has consistently sparked remarkable artistic interpretations. From Carroll's own drawings in the first edition to Franz Haacken's elongated styles in 1970, the narrative has inspired some of the most captivating and unforgettable illustrations of all time. Arguably the most famous are those by Sir John Tenniel, whose pen-and-ink sketches were featured in the 1866 edition and are regarded by numerous critics as "definitive."

Alice, as a literary figure, is notable for challenging the stereotype of the meek, passive Victorian girl. Her adventures showcase that intellectual curiosity and capability are traits not confined to one gender. Alice's quest for understanding life's meanings highlights a curiosity that is invaluable in the realms of science and philosophy.

Numerous elements of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland critique the solemn and often hypocritical attitudes toward children found in Victorian English literature. For instance, the lullaby the Duchess sings to her baby mocks a popular song of Carroll's era called "Speak Gently." While the original song advises parents to "Speak gently to the little child/ Its love be sure to gain," the Duchess counters with "Speak roughly to your little boy/ and beat him when he sneezes." By offering completely opposite guidance on child rearing, the Duchess exposes the excessive sentimentality of the popular view and suggests that reality may differ from the song's portrayal.

Throughout Alice's journey, Carroll encourages the reader to recognize that nonsense can often sound like sense. This serves as a prompt to critically evaluate the meaning behind everyday language. This critical perspective is particularly crucial when it comes to the words of those in power. The King and Queen of Hearts exercise their authority over the other cards simply because they have been assigned a higher value than the rest of the "pack." They wield their power (symbolized by their words) in a foolish and arbitrary manner, and Alice challenges them, refusing to accept their authority at "face-card" value. This focus on scrutinizing the power of words and other conventional symbols ensures that Alice's Adventures in Wonderland remains perpetually relevant to social issues.

Carroll followed Alice's Adventures in Wonderland with Through the Looking-Glass (1871), continuing Alice's escapades. In this sequel, she encounters more whimsical characters, such as Humpty Dumpty, who challenge her understanding of language. Unlike its predecessor, Through the Looking-Glass carries a sentimental tone, particularly evident in the character of the White Knight. This book also features one of Carroll's most renowned poems, "The Song of the Jabberwocky," which, despite being composed almost entirely of nonsensical words, is both delightfully inspiring and reminiscent of chivalric ballads.

In 1951, Walt Disney Studios created an animated film adaptation of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. The characters from this beloved children's classic are likely the most recognizable to American audiences. Assessing the Disney version's impact on the book's popularity is challenging. Nevertheless, adaptations like Disney's help keep the title and its central fantastical themes vibrant and enduring.

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland was adapted for the stage quite early in its history. Carroll himself mentioned an early stage version of his story, penned by Henry Savile Clarke and staged in London in November 1886, in a later article titled "Alice on the Stage." Subsequent dramatizations, often titled Alice in Wonderland but typically drawing from both Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There, include adaptations by Eva Le Gallienne and Florida Friebus (Samuel French, 1932), Madge Miller (Children's Theatre Press, 1953), and Anne Coulter Martens (Dramatic Publishing, 1965).

But Never Jam Today, an African-American stage adaptation, was written in 1969. Other notable adaptations include Alice and Through the Looking Glass by Stephen Moore (1980), Alice by Michael Lancy (1983), Alice, a Wonderland Book by R. Surrette (1983), and Alice (a ballet) by Glen Tetley (1986).

The first film adaptation of Alice was Alice in Wonderland, produced by Maienthau in 1914, starring Alice Savoy. Another version was produced the following year by Nonpareil. Additional adaptations were released by Pathe Studios in 1927 and by Macmillan Audio Brandon Films. Some of the most well-known film versions include the 1933 Paramount production with Charlotte Henry as Alice and various Paramount stars (Gary Cooper as the White Knight, Cary Grant as the Mock Turtle, W.C. Fields as Humpty Dumpty, and Edna May Oliver as the Red Queen); a 1950 satirical version by the French company Souvaine; Walt Disney's 1951 animated feature with Kathryn Beaumont voicing Alice (available from Walt Disney Home Video); a 1965 animated feature by Hanna Barbera featuring their cartoon stars (including Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble); Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, released by American National in 1972 with Michael Crawford as the White Rabbit, Dudley Moore as the Dormouse, and Peter Sellers as the March Hare (available from Vestron Video); and Alice, a surrealistic take on Carroll's world directed by Jan Svankmajer and released by Film Four in 1988 (available from First Run/Icarus Films).

There have been numerous audio recordings of Alice in Wonderland. These include a 1950s version narrated by Cyril Ritchard (Wonderland); a 1969 narration by Christopher Casson (Spoken Arts); a 1970s recording narrated by Stanley Holloway with Joan Greenwood as Alice (Caedmon, 1992); a 1980 narration by Flo Gibson (Recorded Books); a 1981 recording read by William Rushton (Listen for Pleasure); a 1985 version narrated by Christopher Plummer (Caedmon); an audio CD read by Sir John Gielgud (Nimbus, 1989); a four-cassette unabridged performance by Cybill Shepherd and Lynn Redgrave (Dove Audio, 1995); and a BBC Radio version narrated by Alan Bennett (Bantam Books Audio, 1997). Additionally, a recording of Eva Le Gallienne's stage adaptation Alice in Wonderland, featuring Bambi Linn as Alice, was released by RCA Victor in the 1940s. Several other records were also produced in connection with the Disney film.

Numerous television adaptations of the "Alice" books have been produced over the years. In 1955, NBC aired the Eva Le Gallienne and Florida Friebus stage play on "The Hallmark Hall of Fame." This televised version starred Gillian Barber as Alice, Martyn Green as the White Rabbit, puppeteer Burr Tillstrum as the Cheshire Cat, Elsa Lanchester as the Red Queen, and coauthor Le Gallienne as the White Queen.

In 1966, NBC broadcast a musical television special titled "Alice through the Looking Glass." This special featured Jimmy Durante as Humpty Dumpty and Tom and Dick Smothers as Tweedledum and Tweedledee. Another star-studded television adaptation aired in 1985, featuring Red Buttons, Ringo Starr, Sammy Davis, Jr., Steve Allen, Anthony Newley, Steve Lawrence, and Eydie Gorme. This adaptation is available on video from Facets Multimedia.

Clark, Anne. Lewis Carroll: A Biography. New York: Schocken Books, 1979. This biography offers fascinating insights into Carroll's life but does not critique his works.

Gattegno, Jean. Lewis Carroll: Fragments Through a Looking Glass. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell, 1974. Merges literary, historical, and psychoanalytical perspectives on Carroll's life.

Green, Roger Lancelyn, ed. The Lewis Carroll Handbook. London: Oxford University Press, 1962. Contains essential bibliographical and biographical details.

Hudson, Derek. Lewis Carroll. London: Constable, 1954. Widely regarded by critics as the finest biography of Carroll.

Kelly, Richard. Lewis Carroll. Boston: Twayne, 1977. Provides an overview of Carroll's life and critical introductions to his writings.

Ovendon, Graham, ed. The Illustrators of "Alice in Wonderland" and "Through the Looking Glass". New York: St. Martin's, 1972. Explores the history and commentary on the illustrators of the Alice books, featuring numerous sample illustrations.

Phillips, Robert, ed. Aspects of Alice, Lewis Carroll's Dreamchild as Seen Through the Critics' Looking Glasses. New York: The Vanguard Press, 1971. One of the most extensive collections of essays on Carroll, including a bibliography up to 1971.

Sources

Morton N. Cohen, Lewis Carroll: A Biography, Alfred A. Knopf, 1995.

Martin Gardner, editor and author of notes, The Annotated Alice: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll, Bramhall House, 1960.

For Further Study

Daniel Binova, "Alice the Child-imperialist and the Games of Wonderland," in Nineteenth-Century Literature, Vol. 41, No. 2, September 1986, pp. 143-171.
Binova interprets Alice's behavior in Wonderland through the lens of Victorian imperialism, arguing that she acts as an "imperialist" by trying to impose her own understanding of rules on the creatures she meets. He concludes that Carroll critiques the ethnocentric mindset underlying such attempts.

Kathleen Blake, Play, Games, and Sport: The Literary Works of Lewis Carroll, Cornell University Press, 1974.
Blake's analysis delves into how Carroll's works engage and play with the reader.

Kathleen Blake, "Lewis Carroll (Charles Lutwidge Dodgson)," in Concise Dictionary of British Literary Biography, Volume 4: Victorian Writers, 1832-1890, Gale, 1991, pp. 111-28.
A succinct biographical and critical overview of Carroll's life and writings.

Harold Bloom, editor, Lewis Carroll, Modern Critical Views series, Chelsea House, 1987.
This compilation of essays includes several pieces on the Alice books, such as a feminist psychoanalytic interpretation of Alice by Nina Auerbach and an exploration of Carroll's "philosophy" by Peter Heath.

Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures Under Ground, Facsimile edition, Dover Publications, 1965.
A reprint of Carroll's handwritten manuscript, complete with his own illustrations, initially created for Alice Liddell. The Dover edition also features information from the 1886 facsimile edition of the manuscript.

Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland: Authoritative Texts of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Through the Looking-Glass, The Hunting of the Snark, edited by Donald J. Gray, Norton, 1971.
The Norton Critical Edition offers annotated texts of Carroll’s major works, along with excerpts from his diaries, appreciations from friends (including Alice Liddell), and significant critical essays.

Lewis Carroll, "Alice on the Stage," in The Theatre, April, 1887.
In this article, Carroll himself outlines the main traits of his "Alice" character.

Charles Frey and John Griffith, "Lewis Carroll: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland," in their The Literary Heritage of Childhood: An Appraisal of Children's Classics in the Western Tradition, Greenwood Press, 1987, pp. 15-22.
Frey and Griffith review various critical approaches to reading Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

Jean Gattegno, Lewis Carroll: Fragments of a Looking-Glass, translated by Rosemary Sheed, Crowell, 1976.
This book takes a thematic approach to exploring different facets of Carroll's life and work.

Edward Guiliano, editor, Lewis Carroll: A Celebration, Clarkson N. Potter, 1982.
A collection of essays commemorating the 150th anniversary of Carroll's birth, with several focusing on Alice. Highlights include Terry Otten's exploration of Alice's "innocence," Nina Demurova's examination of Alice's genre, and Roger Henkle's argument that the Alice books are "forerunners of the modernist novel."

Richard Kelly, Lewis Carroll, revised edition, Twayne, 1990.
Kelly provides a comprehensive overview of Carroll's life and works in this analysis. His chapter on the Alice books delves into each episode of both works, offering critical insights throughout.

James R. Kincaid, "Alice's Invasion of Wonderland," in PMLA (Publications of the Modern Language Association of America), Vol. 88, No. 1, January 1973, pp. 92-99.
Kincaid contends that Carroll's attitudes towards both Alice and the fantastical realms she explores in Alice and Looking Glass are deeply ambivalent.

Florence Becker Lennon, Victoria through the Looking-Glass: The Life of Lewis Carroll, Simon & Schuster, 1945.
Although this biography is over fifty years old and has been surpassed by more recent research, it remains valuable for placing Carroll within the context of his era and providing an overview of earlier criticism.

Robert Phillips, editor, Aspects of Alice: Lewis Carroll's Dreamchild as Seen through the Critics' Looking-Glasses, 1865-1971, Vanguard Press, 1971.
This work is a compilation of critical evaluations of Carroll's writings, including personal and biographical critiques, comparisons with other Victorian authors and writers, as well as various philosophical, Freudian, Jungian, and other interpretations of Alice.

Phyllis Gila Reinstein, Alice in Context, Garland Publishing, 1988.
Reinstein situates Alice and Looking-Glass within the realm of Victorian children's literature. She argues that, unlike their predecessors, Carroll's books do not "capitulate at one point or another to the pressures of their society," but rather "consistently offer amusement without intending instruction."