You Are Old, Father William facts for kids
"You Are Old, Father William" is a famous poem by Lewis Carroll. You can find it in his classic 1865 book, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. In the story, Alice recites this poem in Chapter 5, which is called "Advice from a Caterpillar".
Before reciting this poem, Alice tells the Caterpillar that she tried to say another poem, "How Doth the Little Busy Bee." But it came out all wrong as "How Doth the Little Crocodile" instead! So, the Caterpillar asks her to try "You Are Old, Father William," and she recites it perfectly.
The Funny Poem of Father William
"You are old, Father William," the young man said,
"And your hair has become very white;
And yet you incessantly stand on your head—
Do you think, at your age, it is right?"
"In my youth," Father William replied to his son,
"I feared it might injure the brain;
But now that I'm perfectly sure I have none,
Why, I do it again and again."
"You are old," said the youth, "as I mentioned before,
And have grown most uncommonly fat;
Yet you turned a back-somersault in at the door—
Pray, what is the reason of that?"
"In my youth," said the sage, as he shook his grey locks,
"I kept all my limbs very supple
By the use of this ointment—one shilling the box—
Allow me to sell you a couple."
"You are old," said the youth, "and your jaws are too weak
For anything tougher than suet;
Yet you finished the goose, with the bones and the beak—
Pray, how did you manage to do it?"
"In my youth," said his father, "I took to the law,
And argued each case with my wife;
And the muscular strength, which it gave to my jaw,
Has lasted the rest of my life."
"You are old," said the youth, "one would hardly suppose
That your eye was as steady as ever;
Yet you balanced an eel on the end of your nose—
What made you so awfully clever?"
"I have answered three questions, and that is enough,"
Said his father; "don't give yourself airs!
Do you think I can listen all day to such stuff?
Be off, or I'll kick you down stairs!"
Where Did This Poem Come From?
Like many other poems in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, "You Are Old, Father William" is a parody. A parody is a funny imitation of another piece of writing, often making fun of its style or ideas. This poem makes fun of a serious poem called "The Old Man's Comforts and How He Gained Them" by Robert Southey, which was written in 1799. Southey's poem was meant to teach a lesson.
Today, most people have forgotten the original serious poem. But Lewis Carroll's funny version is still very well-known and loved! A writer named Martin Gardner called it "one of the undisputed masterpieces of nonsense verse." This means it's one of the best examples of poetry that is silly and doesn't make logical sense, but is still very clever.
Over the years, "Father William" has even been parodied itself by other writers.
Father William in Movies and Music
The poem "You Are Old, Father William" has appeared in many different places.
- In the 1951 Walt Disney animated movie, Alice in Wonderland, the first part of the poem is sung by Tweedledee and Tweedledum.
- The character Father William was played by Sammy Davis, Jr. in the 1985 film version of Alice in Wonderland.
- In the 1999 film, you can briefly see Father William as Alice recites the first verse to the Caterpillar.
- The band They Might Be Giants recorded a song using the poem's lyrics. This song was for the album Almost Alice, which was made for the 2010 movie, Alice in Wonderland.
- Alice's Adventures in Wonderland at Project Gutenberg
- Alice's Adventures Under Ground at Project Gutenberg
