"Who in the world am I? "

Story of the Alice by Lewis Carroll

If you were asked to name some children characters from classic fairy tales, who would pop up in your mind? I’m sure that Alice, young, female protagonist of Lewis Carroll’s children’s novel "Alice in wonderland", would be on the list.

 The first novel about the notorious British blonde was "Alice in wonderland" - written by an English mathematician, Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (better known by his pen name Lewis Carroll), in 1865 (it’s over 150 years old!). The sequel was published in 1871 ("Through the Looking-Glass"). Both books were divided into 12 chapters, each illustrated by John Tenniel.

"Alice in wonderland" tells us about the adventures of Alice, a little girl, who visits a magical world of Wonderland. How does she get there? Well, while resting in the garden with her older sister she sees a mysterious white rabbit. She decides to follow it. She falls down a rabbit hole and finds herself in a strange room with a table with one key on it – the key to the beautiful garden. Alice begins to cry as she realizes she is too large to fit through the door. Fortunately, she discovers a bottle marked “DRINK ME”...

A dream-like world of Wonderland is full of bizzare creatures and objects. It appears it has its own laws and… even logic! The heroine joins Mad Hatter for a tea party, meets the Queen of Hearts and plays croquet using flamingos as mallets.

The plot of "Through the Looking-Glass" is set about six months later than the earlier book. This time Alice jumps into a fantastical world of the Looking Glass, to join the game of chess. Our little protagonist enters the unknown by climbing through a mirror above the chimney. The strange world resembles Wonderland – although everything is backward. Reader meets again with The Red Queen, but there are also many new characters such as Humpty Dumpty and the Unicorn.

One of the most notorious poems,  from the novels, appreciated, is a nonsense poem about the dreadful creature - "Jabberwocky”. It has been found by Alice in a book. At first the girl is pretty clueless about its meaning, but eventually Humpty Dumpty’s explains it to her. The extract is extremely difficult to understand as it’s written in mirror-writing. What’s more, many made-up and nonsensical words appear there. "Frabjous" (possibly a combination of fair, fabulous, and joyous) and

"mimsy" (flimsy and miserable) are only the two of them. The poem is appreciated in linguistics and poetics all over the world. It has been used in the Tim Burton’s movie "Alice in wonderland".

 Many readers were wondering about the novels’ deeper meaning. Some think that drugs had an influence on the storyline. The experts are usually sceptical but…who knows? Although there’s no evidence that Carroll was taking the mind-alterning drugs while writing the novels, this theory has a point. Firstly, Alice drinks mysterious potions and eats pieces of mushroom that change her physical state. Another example - the Caterpillar smokes an elaborate water pipe.

The Caroll’s novel may seem like a nonsensical story, but maybe that’s what makes it so special. It allows us to see the world through the innocent eyes of a child. The book teaches us a lesson – that we shouldn’t take the world too seriously.

Bibliography

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewis_Carroll
•  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice%27s_Adventures_in_Wonderland
• https://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/2014/dec/23/review-lewis-carroll-alice-s-adventures-in-wonderland
  

+ "Jabberwocky” with polish translation

Lewis Caroll

'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.

Beware the Jabberwock, my son!
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun
The frumious Bandersnatch!

He took his vorpal sword in hand:
Long time the manxome foe he sought-
So rested he by the Tumtum tree,
And stood awhile in thought.

And as in uffish thought he stood,
The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,
Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,
And burbled as it came!

One, two! One, two! And through and through
The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!
He left it dead, and with his head
He went galumphing back.

And has thou slain the Jabberwock?
Come to my arms, my beamish boy!
O frabjous day! Calloh! Callay!
He chortled in his joy.

'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.

Stanisław Barańczak
Brzdęśniało już; ślimonne prztowie
Wyrło i warło się w gulbieży;
Zmimszałe ćwiły borogowie
I rcie grdypały z mrzerzy.

O strzeż się, synu, Dziaberłaka!
Łap pazurzastych, zębnej paszczy!
Omiń Dziupdziupa, złego ptaka,
Z którym się Brutwiel piastrzy!

A on jął w garść worpalny miecz:
Nim wroga wdepcze w grzębrną krumać,
Chce tu, gdzie szum, wśród drzew Tumtum
stać parę chwil i dumać.

Lecz gdy tak tonie w dumań gląpie,
Dziaberłak płomienistooki
Z dala przez gąszcze tulżyc tąpie,
Brdli, bierze się pod boki!

Ba-bach! Ba-bach! I rach, i ciach
Worpalny brzeszczot cielsko ciachnął!
A on wziął łeb i poprzez step
W powrotny szlak się szlachnął.

Tyżeś więc ubił Dziaberłaka?
Pójdź, chłopcze, chlubo jazd i piechot,
Objąć się daj! Ho-hej! Ha-haj!,
Rżał rupertyczny rechot.

Brzdęśniało już; ślimonne prztowie
Wyrło i warło się w gulbieży;
Zmimszałe ćwiły borogovie
I rcie grdypały z mrzerzy.