The Language of Nonsense in Alice
Author(s): Jacqueline Flescher
Reviewed work(s):
Source: Yale French Studies, No. 43, The Child's Part (1969), pp. 128-144
Published by: Yale University Press
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JacquelineFlescher
The languageof nonsensein Alice
Nonsensebearsthestampof paradox.The twotermsof theparadox
createdby language,disare orderand disorder.Orderis generally
factoris theirpeculiarinterplay.
But theessential
orderby reference.
of nonsense,stressesthe
analysis
in
ElizabethSewell, a penetrating
' Yet her analysisdeals almostexclusively
with
idea of dialectic.
on theotherhand,deoforder.EmileCammaerts,
theformal
structure
2
clearly
finesnonsensepoetryas "poetryrunwild." This divergence
An adequate
one dimension.
pointsto a danger:thatof neglecting
orderand dismustembracebothlanguageand reference,
definition
Crossremustbe underlined.
order.The natureof theirinteraction
unavoidable.Moreare therefore
ferences
and occasionalrepetition
over,the problemcannotbe statedin simpleterms.It is complex
calls forqualification.
and elusiveand constantly
though
concernslanguage.It is generally,
The firstqualification
notnecessarily,
one oftheforcesat work.The backboneof nonsense
strucIt can be therhythmic
pattern.
regulated
mustbe a consciously
or therulesof thechesstureof verse,theorderof legalprocedure,
or explicitly,
thesethreevariationsare all present
game.Implicitly
3 impliesa knowledge
in Alice. "Sentencefirst,verdictafterwards"
of
is a reversal
ofthenormalsequenceofevents.Runningbackwards
conventional
order,legalizedby the mirror;and the chess game
behavior.It is the
settingfor inconsequential
providesa structural
1 Elizabeth Sewell, The Field of Nonsense (London, 1952), Chapter 5:
"One and One and One and One and One".
2
Emile Cammaerts,The Poetryof Nonsense (New York, 1926),p. 57.
3 Lewis Carroll,Alice in Wonderland
(The AnnotatedAlice,ForumBooks:
New York, 1963),p. 161. The followingabbreviationswill be used in subsequentquotations: AW: Alice in Wonderland.TLG: Throughthe Looking
Glass. Both books will be referredto in the textas Alice.
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Flescher
Jacqueline
nonsensefromthe
existentor implicitorderwhichdistinguishes
fromthisorderwhichdistinguishes
nonabsurd.It is thedeparture
sensefromsense.
askedto providetheconsciousframeBut languageis constantly
work.It is used morereadilybecauseit affordsmorepossibilities
orderof
the conventional
of variation.The usual way of upsetting
is
is
events by reversal.This simplepattern repeatedconstantly:
cut it afterwards,"
(TLG, 290) "Whatsortof
"Hand it roundfirst,
thingsdo you remember
best?. . . 0, thingsthathappenedtheweek
afternext."In thissimplereversal,
awarenessof
thereis an implicit
conventional
order.If a characteris simplycaughtup in a series
or control,
or ifhe
ofunconnected
eventswhichhe cannotunderstand
himselfperforms
a seriesof actionsof whichone can determine
we entertherealm
neither
thecause,purpose,norinnerrelationship,
oftheAbsurd:theheroofKafka'sThe Trialis thevictimofabsurditybecausehe is trappedin a seriesof eventswhichcan be explained
neitherby theircause nor by theirinnerlogic. So muchforthe
distinction
betweennonsenseand theabsurd.
Language offersendless possibilitiesof upsettingthe order
ofbehavior,
in a variety
a coherent
system
of
becauseit can establish
standoutclearly,
ways.Providedthatthebackboneof sucha system
it can act as a regulator
examplesofbehavior.
forthemostdisorderly
The patternof nonsensein thiscase is no longerone of simplereversal.It is a clash of opposingforces.The relationship
between
thesetwo poles can best be describedby an analogy:the content
ofpoetry
is to itsmetrical
ofnonsense
is to itsformwhatthecontent
framework.
do not onlyprovidean analogy.They
But rhymeand rhythm
are the verystuffof nonsense.An orderedsystemof languagecan
or serialprogression
by and largetaketwoforms:innerrelationship
(alphabet,declension,etc.). Metricpatternbelongsto the latter
category.In the followingversefromThe Walrusand the Carpenter,
to a sharply
order.Theseare rhythm
contribute
defined
twoelements
and alliteration:
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The time has come, the walrus said,
To talk of manythings,
Of shoes and ships and sealing-wax,
Of cabbages and kings,
And whythe sea is boilinghot,
And whetherpigs have wings.(TLG, 235)
The metricalpatternstands out clearlybecause of its regularcharacter.The alliterationin lines 3 and 4 reinforces
therhythmic
pattern
by accentuatingthe stressedsyllablesmore heavily.Once the pattern
has been so sharplydefined,shoes,ships,and sealing-waxcan co-exist
happily, and cabbages and kings live side by side. Alliterationis
widely used; assonance and internalrhymeare almost absent. The
initialpositionof the stressedletterand the emphasison consonants
distinguishone rhythmicunit from another.Had Carroll exploited
assonance, with emphasis on vowels, he would have weakened the
functionof the serial order.
It is the patternprovidedby verse that makes verse a suitable
vehicle for nonsense. But a similar patterncan also be attained,
simplyby exploitinga particularletter:
... and they drew all manner of things- everythingthat
beginswithan M.
"Why with an M? said Alice.
"Why not?" said the March Hare.
- thatbeginswithan M such as mouse-traps,
and the moon,
and memory,and muchness... did you ever see such a
thingas the drawingof a muchness?(AW, 103)
The letterM is chosen at random,but is subsequentlyrepeated,
and formsa pattern.Withinthispattern,a freeassociationof totally
incompatibleelementscan be made: mouse-traps,the moon, memory,and muchness.Of course,this use of a simple letterassumes an
autonomyof its own and eventuallydemands obedience from the
author.
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JacquelineFlescher
The game "I love my love withan H" is based on a similarassociation:
"I love my love with an H," Alice couldn'thelp beginning,
"because he is Happy. I hate him with an H because he is
Hideous. I fedhimwithHam sandwichesand Hay. His name
Haigha, and he lives..."
"He lives on the Hill," the king remarked,withoutthe least
idea thathe was joiningin the game. (TLG, 279-80)
The process is exactlythe same as in the previousexample. The
underlyingprincipleof organizationis the repetitionof the letterH.
It is the only link between "Happy, Hideous, Ham and Hay."
Capitalization of the initial H's adds emphasis in the same way
that alliterationreinforcesthe metric pattern. But the point of
is made clear in both the "M" and "H"
Carroll'sformalarrangement
examplesby a finalcontrast.In thefirstcase, thecoined word "muchness" is isolated fromits formalpatternin the question, "Did you
ever see such a thingas the drawingof a muchness?" The effect,
divorcedfromthe repetitivepattern,is total absurdity.In the second
case, the king unknowinglycontributesto the formal patternby
joining in the game. The isolation fromthe formalcontextin the
firstexample,the unconsciouscontinuationof the formalcontextin
the second, bringout by contrastthe impact of the system.
Endless variationsof this game can be found,rangingfromthe
mouse!9"
declension "A mouse-of a mouse-to a mouse-O
(AW, 41) to the rulesof divisionand subtraction:"Divide a loaf by
a knife-what's the answer to that?" "Take a bone froma dog:
what remains?" (TLG, 321) The last two examples no longershow
a serial relationshipbut an internalone.
The most complex example of a formalrelationshipin Alice is
the Jabberwocky
poem. Both the serial patternof rhymeand rhythm
and the internalgrammaticalstructure
are here combined.The poem
does not easily lend itselfto analysis.However,a juxtapositionof the
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firstverseof the originaland a recentparodyof it mightclarify
inherent
in "Jabberwocky":
peculiarities
T'was brilligand theslithytoves
Did gyreand gimblein thewabe
All mimsyweretheborogroves
(TLG, 191)
And themomerathsoutgrabe.
T'was boodbergand theslidingtones
Did hojerand haugenin thewade
All semenewerethehomophones
And emeneausoutgrade.4
foundin
The parodymaintains
all auxiliaryverbsand conjunctions
providethevariaand infinitives
theoriginal.The nouns,adjectives,
tion.The authorof theparodyhas simplykeptthewordsindicating
and variedthe termsof
in thegrammatical
structure
a relationship
on wordsis revealing
therelationship.
HumptyDumpty'scomment
in thisrespect:
verbs:they're
someofthem- particularly
They'vea temper
withbutnot
theproudest adjectivesyou can do anything
verbs.. ." (TLG, 269)
HumptyDumpty,Lewis Carrolland the criticshave attempted
of themeaningof thewordsof "Jabberwocky."
exactinterpretations
of the
The varietyof theirconclusions
perhapsindicatesthefutility
of
folthe
critical
the
challenge
stand
What
analysis
can
enterprise.
whichwas madeby a child: "It meansa bug
lowinginterpretation,
thatcomesout at nightwitha lighton itstailand a swordbetween
is." 5 Anotherchildgavea valuitsbeak.That'swhata jabberwalkie
4 By ProfessorChao of The University
of California,Berkeley.Read in
the course of lectureon "ReversedSpeech" given in the LinguisticsDepartment of Yale, Spring 1969.
5 Informationprovidedby Miss Frances Calzetta, teacher of children's
literature
at BeecherRoad School, Woodbridge,Connecticut.
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Jacqueline
Flescher
betweenformand meaning:"He wrote
able keyto therelationship
it in languagethatalmostmakessensewhenyoureadit. The words
soundand are speltlike normalwordsin English,butthepoemis
6
imaginary
in its physicallanguage."
Providingthe soundsand the grammatical
relationship
survive,
is not lost.It is, on the contrary,
reinforced
the sentencestructure
Withinthis scheme,one
by the strongstresspatternand rhymes.
can indulgein the wildestfancieswithoutabandoningform.The
portmanteau
wordsare significant,
notso muchbecauseofthespecific
meaningswhichtheysuggest,but becausetheyembracetwo disparateelements.
Meaning,howeverundefined,
is nevertheless
suggested.Preoccupationwithmeaningis constantthroughout
to
Alice, sometimes
an extreme
degree.The wholerangeof relationships
betweenword
fromtotal coincidenceto exclusionof one of the
and reference,
two terms,can be found:
"My nameis Alice,but-"
"It's a stupidname enough,"HumptyDumptyinterrupted
impatiently.
"Whatdoes it mean?"
"Musta namemeansomething?"
"Of courseit must."(TLG, 263)
Justas the obvious,matter-of-fact
statement
is commonto the
logicof thenonsenseworld,so theliteralmeaningis solicitedwhere
none exists:
"Foundwhat?"said theDuck.
"Foundit",theMouserepliedrather
crossly.
"Of courseyou
knowwhatit means."(AW, 47)
WhereasHumptyDumptytriesto investa namewithmeaning
whennoneis implied,
theducklooksforreference
in a wordthatonly
6
JonathanLillian, age 12, BeecherRoad School.
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has grammatical
function.
Wherefigurative
or functional
meaning
is intended,
concretesignificance
is soughtor understood.
Whenthe
caterpillar
asksAliceto explainherself,
she shifts
fromthefigurative
to theliteralmeaningin herreply:
"I can'texplainmyself,
I'm afraidsir,becauseI'm notmyself
yousee." (AW,67)
so thatlanguageis alwaysin theforeground.
Meaningis intensified
eitherby closingthegap between
Languagecan be emphasized,
wordand meaningand tightening
the relationship,
or, on the contrary,
by widening
theriftand weakening
therelationship.
In either
is upsetand thefunction
case thebalancebetween
wordand meaning
of languagebecomesmoreapparent.Whenever
Alice recitesverses,
she feelsthatthe words"are comingdifferent."
... hervoicesoundedhoarseand strange,
and thewordsdid
notcomeas theyusedto do...
. . . "I'm sure those are not the rightwords,"said poor Alice
and hereyesfilledwithtearsagainas shewenton. "I must
be Mabel afterall." (AW, 69)
is closelyconnected
The problemof personalidentity
withthe
idea of estrangement
fromlanguage.Alice's immediate
conclusion
on "notfinding
therightwords"is thatshecan no longerbe herself.
This preoccupation
withloss ofidentity
is a recurrent
one.ButAlice
viewsit withvarying
emotions.The complacent
of sending
thought
her feeta pair of boots for Christmas
is verydifferent
fromthe
melancholy
realizationthat she has just escapedfrom"shrinking
away altogether."
In the firstcase she humorously
wardsoffher
anxiety,in the secondshe is overcomeby fear.This raisesan interesting
problem.At whatpointdo we step outsidethe fieldof
nonsense?The distinction
betweenthetwoworldsis a finerone than
criticshave acknowledged.
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Jacqueline
Flescher
WhenAlice losesthe objectivecontrolthatenablesherto view
herproblemof personalidentity
calmly,themoodbecomestoo disquietingto be "nonsensical."
On usingthe word"juror,"she feels
proudof the extentof her vocabulary.
The word"antipathies"
is
pronounced
withmisgivings.
But bothin heruneasinessand in her
pride,Alice remainsconsciousof languageand is able to controlit;
onlywhenwordsbetrayher is the safetyof her nonsenseworld
threatened.
Insistence
on speakingEnglishis a safeguard
againstthisthreat:
"SpeakEnglish,"said theEaglet."I don'tknowthemeaning
ofhalfthoselongwordsandwhat'smoreI don'tbelieveyou
do either."(AW,47)
Againand again,coherence
and meaningful
languageare identified
withtheEnglishtongue.Frenchis resorted
to whenEnglishis inadequate:
"Perhapsit doesn'tunderstand
English,"thought
Alice. "I
daresayit's a Frenchmouse..." So she beganagain,"Out
est ma chatte... ." (AW, 41)
The queen advisesAlice to "speak French"whenshe can't think
of theEnglishfora thing.(TLG, 212)
In "LookingGlass Insects,"safeguards
are removed
and relationshipsbetweenlanguageand reference
are completely
brokendown:
"I supposeyoudon'twantto lose yourname?"
"No indeed,"Alicereplied,
a littleanxiously.
(TLG, 224)
Whenshe reachesthewoodwherethingshaveno name,heranxiety
grows:
"This mustbe the wood,"she said thoughtfully
to herself,
"wherethingshave no names.I wonderwhatwill become
of mynamewhenI go in." (TLG, 225)
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ofnamtheimpossibility
drawsa parallelbetween
She unconsciously
ing thingsand the fearof losingherown identity:
"I mean to get underthe- underthe- underthe this,you
know,"puttingher hand on the trunkof the tree."What
I wonder?I do believeit'sgotno name
does it call itself,
whyto be sureit hasn't!"
thenshesuddenly
thinking:
She stoodsilentfora minute
beganagain: "Thenit reallyhas happened,afterall! And
nowwhoam I?" (TLG, 226)
Alice feelsthecompelling
powerof
of discovery,
In thismoment
without
a name.At thesametime,shelosesherholdon things.
things
takesus beyondtheplayful
The exclusionof languageimmediately
In her anguishedmonologueas in her compaslevel of argument.
withthefawn,we are awarethatshehas become
sionaterelationship
Whenshe
are forgotten.
Prideand self-control
humanlyvulnerable.
hername,
finally
leavesthewood,she is relievedto have recovered
and henceheridentity.
and Tweedledee,"a reversedprocessmay be
In "Tweedledum
ofthethings
to havenames,butthereality
Thingscontinue
observed.
ratherthanthenamesare questioned:
"Well, it's no use yourtalkingabout wakinghim,"said
"whenyou'reonlyone of the thingsin his
Tweedledum,
verywell you'renot real."
know
dream.You
"I am real,"said Alice,and shebeganto cry.(TLG, 239)
But therealityof Alice'stearsis also questioned:
"I hopeyoudon'tsupposethoseare real-tears."
is threatened
or destroyed,
the
Wheneitherlanguageor reference
of nonsenseis abandoned.Alice no longertriesto
playfulargument
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Jacqueline
Flescher
"keepup herend" of theconversation.
Her violentself-defense
is an
attempt
to protecther identity.
So far,we have dealtessentially
withthe formalstructure
of nonsense.Clearly,the mainconcernis withrelationship,
whether
it be
serialor internal
relationship
betweenwords,or therelationship
betweenword and meaning.But nonsenseis not simplya formal
structure.
Structure
hererunscounterto content.
And contentmust
be definedin its turn.We are immediately
facedwitha seriesof
paradoxes.Orderdominatesthe formalpattern,
yetdisorderseems
to dominatereference.
The charactersare constantly
preoccupied
withmeaning;yettheirconversation
is essentially
meaningless.
How
can we accountforthisapparentcontradiction?
To explainthe divergence,
we mustonce morego back to language."WhenI use a word,"saysHumptyDumpty,"it meansjust
whatI chooseit to mean,neither
more,norless." (TLG, 269) When
thekingusesa word,he testsit outin an undertone:"'important
- important-,'
unimportant
as if he were tryingwhich word
soundedbest." (AW, 155) In bothcases,the choiceof meaningis
a meaning
to a wordis an endin itself.
arbitrary.
Attributing
"I'm sure
I didn'tmean,"Alice says."Well,you shouldhavemeant.Whatdo
you supposeis a childwithoutmeaning?"(TLG, 319) As shown
theweakerthelinkbetweenwordand meaning,
previously,
themore
nonsenseis compromised.
Total coincidence
of wordand reference
is at thecore of nonsense.Hencethefrequency
of theobviousfact
and the literalmeaning.Both arbitrary
and obviousmeaningare
characterized
a kindof en-soi in theSartreansense.
by immanence,
Meaningis oftenpurelyphysicalor factual.It leavesno roomfor
or suggestion
speculation
and therefore
refersto nothingbeyonditself.It is in a senseself-contained.
In spiteof thenecessity
to mean,
thepowerof meaningis reducedto a minimum.
The problemcan be extendedto conversation.
or
Conversation,
more precisely,
is the essentialvehicleof nonsensein
argument,
Alice,but it is conversation
of an unusualkind.It is based neither
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The description
reasoning.
on sustaineddiscussionnor on coherent
comesto mind:
ofthecaucusraceimmediately
Therewas no "One,two,threeand away!" buttheybegan
whentheyliked,and leftoffwhentheyliked,so
running
thatitwasnoteasyto knowwhentheracewasover.(AW 48)
and arguments
in Alice are structurally
Many of the conversations
reminiscent
of thisrace.
theendof an argument
in thiscontext?
What,in fact,determines
Oncemore,it is a questionofwords."The questionis," saysHumpthat'sall." (TLG, 269) Sincethe
tyDumpty,
"whichis to be master,
is not foundedon logic,it leads nowhere.The sole aim
argument
involvedis "havingthe last word."Withinthese
of the characters
develop?The principle
arbitrary
limits,how does the conversation
It is immediately
No argument
is everdeveloped.
is one ofdeflection.
The wordwhichis misinundercut,
oftenby a misinterpretation.
in a newdirecterpreted
acts as a pivotand leads theconversation
tion.The pun is invaluableas a pivotforredirection:
to Alice
"Mineis a longsad tale,"said theMouse,turning
said Alice,looking
"It is a longtail certainly,"
and sighing.
downwithwonderat theMouse'stail; "butwhydo youcall
it sad?" ... "I beg your pardon," said Alice veryhumbly,
bend,I think?""I had not," cried
"youhad gotto thefifth
"A knot!" said Alice,
theMouse,sharplyand veryangrily.
useful,and lookinganxiously
alwaysreadyto makeherself
abouther."O do let me helpto undoit." (AW, 52)
The two puns tale-tail,not-knot,
providea level of figurative
meaningand anotherlevelof literalmeaning.By takingtheliteral
is automatically
and not the intendedmeaning,the conversation
channeledintoa new direction.
No soonerhas it takena newturn
afterthefirst
direction.
pun,thana newpunsetsit offin yetanother
So thearguments
Meanbeforetheycan lead anywhere.
are undercut
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Jacqueline
Flescher
ing remainsat the surface;it can developneitherin depthnor in
sequence.Unlikeformalstructure,
whichstressesrelationship,
referentialstructure
destroysthem.Randomarguments
on
proliferate
all sides,notas digressions
diverging
froma centralmeaningbutas
offshoots
fromlanguageitself.
Puns are one wayof deflecting
meaning.
Deliberatecontradiction
is another.
Deliberatecontradiction
in Alice followsa recurrent
pattern: a characterwill voice a basic refrain,
withvariationsevery
timehe is addressed:
"I've seen gardens,comparedwithwhichthiswouldbe a
wilderness."
"Whenyousayhill... I couldshowyouhills,in comparison
withwhichyou'dcall thata valley."
".... You may call it nonsense if you like, but I've heard
nonsensecomparedwithwhichthatwouldbe as sensibleas
a dictionary."(TLG, 206-207)
Each newstatement
is metwitha contradiction.
The samebasic
refrain
is used throughout:
here,themodification
simplyconsistsof
challenging
a new wordwithits exactopposite.In "LookingGlass
Insects,"thechorusmakesa briefcomment
aftereachstageofAlice's
conversation
withthe guard.The comment
is immediately
followed
up by therefrain,
to relateto thenew situation:
suitablymodified
"Whyhis timeis wortha thousandpoundsa minute."
"The landhereis wortha thousandpoundsan inch."
"Whythesmokealoneis wortha thousandpoundsa puff."
"Languageis wortha thousand
poundsa word."(TLG, 217)
The same processis used by the Duchessin "The Mock-Turtle's
Story"whenshe findsa moralto matcheach one of Alice's statements.
or therefrain
The dogmaticfinality
of thecontradiction
putsan
of ideas is evaded
end to the argument.
Once more,development
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by deflection
of meaning.The refrain
emphasizes
boththearbitrary
character
of the contradiction
and the lack of progressin the conversation.
or be repetitive.
Argument
can eitherrunin all directions
In eithercase, logicalexpansionof an idea is avoided:I
"You, said the Caterpillar,
"who are you?" whichbrought
thembackagainto thebeginning
of theconversation.
(AW,
67)
But absenceof progression
is concurrent
withabsenceof depth.
As coherent
reasoning
is cut short,so graverissuesare keptat bay.
Seriousquestions
areinterpreted
as riddlesand conversation
is treated
as a game:
"However,
thisconversation
is goingon a littletoofast: let's
go back to thelast remarkbut one"
says HumptyDumpty.(TLG, 265) And in the same tone,theRed
Queensuggests:
"Make a remark,it's ridiculousto leave all the conversationto thepudding."
If conversation
mustremainsuperficial,
arbitrary
and literal,how
is it integrated
in the fantasyof Alice's wonderworld?
Again,the
answerseemsto lie in paradox.Meaningis literal,but languageis
imaginative.
It is languagewhichgovernsmeaningand determines
the creativeprocess:
"Thenyoushouldsaywhatyoumean,"theMarchHarewent
on. "I do," Alice hastilyreplied,"at least I meanwhatI
7 Anotherway of deflecting
the meaningis by complicating
thoughtand
syntaxto such an extentthat we lose sightof the meaning: "Never imagine
yourselfnot to be otherwisethan it mightappear to othersthat what you
were or mighthave been was not otherwisethan what you had been would
have appeared to themto be otherwise."
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Jacqueline
Flescher
say,that'sthesamethingyou know.""Not thesamething
a bit!" said theHatter.(AW, 95)
The Hatter'sobjectionis moresignificant
thanit appears.As we
havenoted,languagein thenonsense
worldof Alice imposesa rigid
of reasoning.
orderon the disorderof actionand the incoherence
This orderis, however,
one of fixedrelationships.
Within
essentially
thegrammaical
or metrical
framework,
vocabulary
can be used with
totalfreedom.
Puns,we noted,are a vitalpartof thecreativeprocessin Alice.
But playon wordscan takedifferent
forms.
The shiftfromfigurative
theconversato literalmeaninghas a functional
value.It redirects
tion.The processofanalogyand expansion
sustainstheconversation.
It ensurestheprogression
whererationalmeaning
failsto do so:
". . . I only took the regularcourse."
"Whatwas that?"enquiredAlice.
of course,to beginwith,"theMock
"Reelingand Writhing
Turtlereplied;and thenthedifferent
branches
ofArithmetic
-Ambition, Distraction,
Uglification
and Derision."(AW,
129)
A wholearea of experience
is heretransferred
to a newcontext.
Realityis undermined
by thefantasy
of thecoinedwords.Yet it is
implicitly
alludedto in theanalogyof sound.Here again,we touch
on a crucialpoint.Realityremainsimplicitbehindeverymanifestationof nonsense,
butit is neverexplicitly
represented.
The nonsense
worldis a worldof fantasy
whichshiesclearof reality,
yetindicates
its existence.
The Mock-Turtle
adds to his previousanalogy:
"The Drawlingmaster:he taughtus Drawling,Stretching,
and Faintingin Coils"
and theClassicalmastertaught"Laughingand Grief."(AW, 129-30)
The wholepassageon educationhas a metaphoric
value.An organic
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Yale FrenchStudies
unityis createdwithan imaginative
interplay
of vocabulary
which
refersback to a concretearea of experience.
A variationon this
techniqueis the processof analogywhereby
is used
one key-word
withdifferent
functions:
compounds
and grammatical
"You can drawwaterout of thewater-well,"
said theHatter,"so I shouldthinkyou could draw treacleout of a
treacle-well-eh,
stupid?"
"Buttheywerein thewell,"Alicesaid to theDormouse,
not
choosingto noticethislast remark."Of coursetheywere,"
said theDormouse:"wellin." (AW 102)
The word"well"engenders
a kindof proliferation.
An imaginais achievedthrough
tiveprogression
language;it is an exampleof
languageperpetuating
itself.The sameprocessaccountsforthebirth
of the"snap-dragon-fly":
"And there'sa Dragon-fly."
"Look on thebranchaboveyourhead,"said theGnat,"and
thereyou'llfinda Snap-Dragon-fly.
Itsbodyis madeofplumpudding,its wingsof hollyleaves,and its head is a raisin
in brandy."
burning
"And whatdoes it live on?" Alice askedas before.
"Frumenty
and mincepie,"theGnatreplied;"and it makes
itsnestin a Christmas
box." (TLG, 223)
The initialimageis builton a compound
word: Snap-dragonfly.
The
coinedwordcreatesa newimagecomposedof prosaicconcreteelementswhichare wovenintoa thingof purefantasy,
setin thesolid
festivities.
contextof Christmas
Prosaicrealityand fantastic
creationcombinein thisparadoxicalcreatureof thenonsenseworld.
- in therelationIn nonsense,
paradoxis clearlyfoundeverywhere
orderand disorder,
shipsbetween
languageand meaning,
formalpatof language.But paradoxmustbe qualified
ternand imagination
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Jacqueline
Flescher
further.
The relationships
betweenthe two termsof a paradoxcan
be one of tensionor of incongruity.
Incongruity
ratherthantension
prevailsin thenonsenseworld.Thereis no conflict
betweenlanguage
and reference.
Theyfollowdivergent
paths.We said earlierthatthe
contentof nonsenseis to its formwhatthecontentof poetryis to
The analogycan be extended
itsmetric
pattern.
and qualified
to bring
outthedistinction
justmade.
I. An aged manis buta paltrything,
A tattered
coat upona stick,unless
Soul clap itshandsand sing,and loudersing
For everytatterin its mortaldress.
(W. B. Yeats,"Sailingto Byzantium")
II. Promptat thecall,aroundtheGoddessroll
Broad hats,and hoods,and caps,a sable shoal:
Thickand morethicktheblackblockadeextends,
A hundred
head ofAristotle's
friends.
(A. Pope, "The Dunciad")
In thesetwo examplesthe rhyming
wordsare analogousin sound
and divergent
in grammatical
function.
The firstshowsa relationship of tensionbetweenthe two rhyming
words,the secondof incongruity.
Incongruity
bringsus to the problemof humor.Is humor,as
to nonsense?An absolute
ElizabethSewellargues,8 reallyincidental
judgment
cannotbe made. But incongruity
in Alice is certainly
a
comments
havebeenparticularly
revealkeyto itshumor.Children's
ing in thisrespect.A surveyconducted
amongchildren
aged tento
of children
overthirteen
foundthe
fourteen
showedthata majority
who apAlice books both"unrealistic"
and "stupid."The children
preciatedthe fantasyalso tendedto appreciatethehumor.A child
of twelvemade thisapt distinction:"The wordsare sillybut not
in a waythatI like."9
stupid:theyare ridiculous
8 The Field of Nonsense,ChapterI.
9 JonathanLillian, age 12.
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Yale FrenchStudies
kind.It is sheer,unadulterated
Carroll'shumoris of a particular
fun,freefrombothtopicalallusionand fromwit.It is intimately
Hence thekinshipof nonsensewith
linkedto theworldof fantasy.
is found
of realityare brokenand liberation
The fetters
surrealism.
in fantasyor laughter.
and humormightwell explainthe
This blendingof imagination
factthatwhileisolatedexamplesexistin France,nonsensehas not
proas in England.The greater
tradition
becomepartof theliterary
pensityforwhimsyof theEnglishmightwell accountforthisdifferencein taste.Withtheiremphasison "esprit,"the Frenchtend
worldthatresistsrational
a gratuitous
to acceptmorereluctantly
explanation.
levels.Likemostgreatchildren's
Nonsensecan be readat different
It can be readwiththe
books,it is notsimplya book forchildren.
freshness
of a childor thecriticalmindof an adult.Yet, in a way,
of disof nonsenserequires"a willingsuspension
a fullappreciation
Alicehas,in a sense,outgrown
belief."The readerof theAnnotated
Wonderland.
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