Tweedledum and Tweedledee facts for kids
Quick facts for kids "Tweedledum and Tweedledee" |
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John Tenniel's illustration, from Through the Looking-Glass (1871), chapter 4
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| Nursery rhyme | |
| Published | 1805 |
Tweedledum and Tweedledee are two famous characters. You might know them from an old English nursery rhyme or from Lewis Carroll's book, Through the Looking-Glass. Their names might have first appeared in a poem by John Byrom. Today, people often use their names to describe two people who look or act very much alike. This is especially true if they are arguing or seem silly.
Contents
The Nursery Rhyme's Words
The most common version of the nursery rhyme goes like this:
- Tweedledum and Tweedledee
- Agreed to have a battle;
- For Tweedledum said Tweedledee
- Had spoiled his nice new rattle.
- Just then flew down a monstrous crow,
- As black as a tar-barrel;
- Which frightened both the heroes so,
- They quite forgot their quarrel.
This rhyme tells a short story about two characters who are about to fight. But then, something big and scary happens. A huge black crow flies down, and it scares them so much that they forget all about their argument!
Where the Names Came From
The names "Tweedle-dum and Tweedle-dee" first appeared in a poem in 1725. This poem was written by a poet named John Byrom. He used these names to make fun of two famous musicians who were arguing. These musicians were George Frideric Handel and Giovanni Bononcini.
Byrom's poem joked about how silly their disagreements seemed. It showed that even though they were different, they were also very similar in their arguments. The last two lines of his poem are very famous:
- Strange all this Difference should be
- 'Twixt Tweedle-dum and Tweedle-dee!
Even though Byrom wrote these lines, some people have also thought that other famous writers like Jonathan Swift or Alexander Pope wrote them. The nursery rhyme we know today was first printed around 1805. It appeared in a book called Original Ditties for the Nursery. It's possible that Byrom was using names that were already known in some way.
Tweedledum and Tweedledee in Through the Looking-Glass
The characters Tweedledum and Tweedledee are perhaps best known from Lewis Carroll's book, Through the Looking-Glass, and what Alice Found There. This book was published in 1871. In the story, Alice meets two short, round men named Tweedledum and Tweedledee.
Carroll includes the nursery rhyme in his book. The two brothers then act out the story from the rhyme. They agree to have a battle, just like in the poem. However, they never actually fight. When they see a huge black crow flying down, they both get scared and run away.
The Tweedle brothers in Carroll's book never disagree with each other. Instead, they often finish each other's sentences. This is why John Tenniel drew them as twins in his famous pictures for the book.
Other Appearances
Tweedledum and Tweedledee have appeared in many other stories and works:
- In 1934, Tweedledum and Tweedledee appeared in the Betty Boop cartoon Betty in Blunderland. They used their clubs to fight, but then they hid their heads and gave up.
- They are in the 1951 Disney film Alice in Wonderland. J. Pat O'Malley provided their voices. In the movie, they represent the sun and moon. They tell Alice the story of The Walrus and the Carpenter. These Disney versions of the characters also appeared in the TV show House of Mouse and in the movie Who Framed Roger Rabbit.
- "Tweedle Dee & Tweedle Dum" is the first song on Bob Dylan's 2001 album Love and Theft.
- Tweedledum and Tweedledee appear in the TV show Once Upon a Time in Wonderland. Ben Cotton played Tweedledum and Matty Finochio played Tweedledee. They were servants to the Red Queen.
- They also appear as minor bad guys in the video game The Wolf Among Us by Telltale Games.
- "Tweedle Dee, Tweedle Dum" is a song released in 1971 by the British pop band Middle of the Road. It reached number 2 on the UK music charts.
See also
