Primary sourceBook1865
You Are Old, Father William
Lewis Carroll · 1865
A comic poem by Lewis Carroll recited by Alice in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, parodying a moralising Victorian poem for children.
Carroll wrote this parody himself, showing how he mocked the solemn, moralising children's poetry of his era.
About this source
What it is
This poem appears in Lewis Carroll's 1865 book Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, where Alice recites it to the Caterpillar in Chapter 5. It parodies Robert Southey's earlier poem "The Old Man's Comforts and How He Gained Them," a serious, moralising verse that Victorian children were expected to memorise.
Why it matters
Carroll's version turns Southey's solemn message upside down, giving the old man, Father William, a strange and eccentric energy instead of pious wisdom. The parody has become far better known than the original it mocks, and it reveals how Carroll used humour to poke fun at the strict, moralistic literature children of his time were given to read.
Look closer
- What is being mocked in this poem, and how can you tell?
- Why do you think parody poems like this were popular with children?
- What does it suggest about Carroll's attitude toward authority and seriousness?
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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