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Ye Carpette Knyghte

Lewis Carroll

A comic poem by Lewis Carroll written in mock-archaic English. It plays with old spelling and with absurd images of a horse made of clothes.

Carroll wrote this comic poem himself, showing his wordplay and his love of parody in verse.

Source: Wikisource

About this source

What it is

Ye Carpette Knyghte is a comic poem by Lewis Carroll, listed on Wikisource among his individual poems. It is written in mock-archaic English, with old-style spelling and words such as 'ryghte' and 'ye'. The record gives no date of composition.

Why it matters

The poem shows Carroll's wordplay and his interest in parody. By imitating an old style of English, he makes readers notice how language changes and how it can be played with. It is a good example of the verse he wrote for pleasure alongside his prose stories.

Look closer

  • Which words look old-fashioned, and what effect does the spelling have on the reader?
  • What is the joke in the poem's images, such as a horse of clothes?
  • How would a reader who does not know old English understand the poem, and what might they miss?

This book is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Lewis Carroll on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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