Lewis Carroll’s Poetry

Lewis Carroll's Poetry

Support for studying English GCSE and A Level

Lewis Carroll - Biography

Lewis Carroll (Charles Lutwidge Dodgson) was born (Daresbury, Cheshire, England) on 27 January 1832 and died on 14 January 1898 (Guildford, Surrey, England). He predominantly wrote children’s literature, but was also a mathematician, photographer, and Anglican deacon. Lewis Carroll was Charles’ pen name.

He was the son of Charles Dodgson, archdeacon, and Frances Jane Lutwidge. In fact, he was the third of eleven children. Most of Dodgson's male ancestors were army officers or Church of England clergy.

Dodgson was educated at home during his youth. From an early age, Dodgson would write poetry and short stories, contributing heavily to the family magazine Mischmasch. He later sent them to various magazines, and he enjoyed moderate success. In 1846, Dodgson went to Rugby School, before leaving to go to Christ Church at Oxford University in 1850 – the same place his father attended. He was very gifted, but did not necessarily work particularly hard. Dodgson remained at Christ Church, in various capacities, until his death.

His notable works: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and its sequel Through the Looking-Glass.

Lewis Carroll - References

Wikipedia (Lewis Carroll): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewis_Carroll
British Library (Lewis Carroll): https://www.bl.uk/people/lewis-carroll
Lewis Carroll Society of North America (Lewis Carroll): https://www.lewiscarroll.org/
Encyclopaedia Britannica (Lewis Carroll): https://www.britannica.com/biography/Lewis-Carroll
Biography.com (Lewis Carroll): https://www.biography.com/writer/lewis-carroll
Poetry Foundation (Lewis Carroll): https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/lewis-carroll

Lewis Carroll - 'Jabberwocky' - Annotation

Annotation prompts for Lewis Carroll’s ‘Jabberwocky’

‘Jabberwocky’ is a nonsense poem. It was first written in the sequel to ‘Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland’, called ‘Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There’ (1871).

The annotation prompts are a supportive tool, intended to encourage further poetry analysis and interpretation.

Exemplar English Literature Essays

Poetry Essay helps you write essays about English Literature more confidently - providing you with a variety of helpful hints. With Poetry Essay, you should find all the help you need - from analysing a text in detail to writing coherently about it. Please visit the links below for exemplar student-style essays.