Through The Looking-Glass Podcast Chapter 8
08/04/16 • 27 min
Chapter 8 – “It’s My Own Invention”
Episode Summary
Alice is escorted through the seventh square of the chessboard that is Looking-Glass Land in Chapter 8 of Through The Looking Glass entitled “It’s My Own Invention.” Those quotation marks are totally intentional, someone says “It’s My Own Invention!” Repeatedly! Learn all about The White Knight! Does he really represent our favorite Oxford don? Plus, we discuss the surprising number of Lewis Carroll discoveries unearthed in the late 20th century, including the identity of The White Knight.
Vocabulary Words For Young Listeners
deal box- noun – a little Victorian wood box – I keep coupons in my deal box, isn’t that a hoot?!
sugar-loaf – noun – Victorian sugar sold in conical shapes. or, without the hyphen, the band that sang Green-Eyed Lady – Did you buy tickets to Sugarloaf, without the hyphen ?
Chapter 8 Quotable Quotes
“It’s my own invention.” – The White Knight
Chapter 8 Illustrations By John Tenniel
Like Punch and Judy, indeed!
He’s not a skilled...rider.
“How CAN you go on talking so quietly, head downwards?”
One shouldn’t really shake one’s elders from side to side like that...
Queen Alice!
Chapter 8 “It’s My Own Invention” by Lewis Carroll
After a while the noise seemed gradually to die away, till all was dead silence, and Alice lifted up her head in some alarm. There was no one to be seen, and her first thought was that she must have been dreaming about the Lion and the Unicorn and those queer Anglo-Saxon Messengers. However, there was the great dish still lying at her feet, on which she had tried to cut the plum-cake, ‘So I wasn’t dreaming, after all,’ she said to herself, ‘unless—unless we’re all part of the same dream. Only I do hope it’s my dream, and not the Red King’s! I don’t like belonging to another person’s dream,’ she went on in a rather complaining tone: ‘I’ve a great mind to go and wake him, and see what happens!’
At this moment her thoughts were interrupted by a loud shouting of ‘Ahoy! Ahoy! Check!’ and a Knight dressed in crimson armour came galloping down upon her, brandishing a great club. Just as he reached her, the horse stopped suddenly: ‘You’re my prisoner!’ the Knight cried, as he tumbled off his horse.
Startled as she was, Alice was more frightened for him than for herself at the moment, and watched him with some anxiety as he mounted again. As soon as he was comfortably in the saddle, he began once more ‘You’re my—’ but here another voice broke in ‘Ahoy! Ahoy! Check!’ and Alice looked round in some surprise for the new enemy.
This time it was a White Knight. He drew up at Alice’s side, and tumbled off his horse just as the Red Knight had done: then he got on again, and the two Knights sat and looked at each other for some time without speaking. Alice looked from one to the other in some bewilderment.
‘She’s my prisoner, you know!’ the Red Knight said at last.
‘Yes, but then I came and rescued her!’ the White Knight replied.
‘Well, we must fight for her, then,’ said the Red Knight, as he took up his helmet (which hung from the saddle, and was something the shape of a horse’s head), and put it on.
‘You will observe the Rules of Battle, of course?’ the White Knight remarked, putting on his helmet too.
‘I always do,’ said the Red Knight, and they began banging away at each other with such fury that Alice got behind a tree to be out of the way of the blows.
‘I wonder, now, what the Rules of Battle are,’ she said to herself, as she watched the fight, timidly peeping out from her hiding-place: ‘one Rule seems to be, that if one Knight hits the other, he knocks him off his horse, and if he misses, he tumbles off himself—and another Rule seems to be that they hold their clubs with their arms, as if they were Punch and Judy—What a noise they make when they tumble! Just like a whole set of fire-irons falling into the fender! And how quiet the horses are! They let them get on and off them just as if they were tables!’
Another Rule of Battle, that Alice had not noticed, seemed to be that they always fell on their heads, and the battle ended with their both falling off in this way, side by side: when they got up again, they shook hands, and then the Red Knight mounted and galloped off.
‘It was a glorious victory, wasn’t it?’ said the White Knight, as he came up panting.
‘I don’t know,’ Alice said doubtfully. ‘I don’t want to be anybody’s prisoner. I want to be a Queen.’
‘So you will, when you’ve crossed the next brook,’ said the White Knight. ‘I’ll see you safe to the end of the wood—and then I must go back, you know. That’s the end of my move.’
‘Thank you very much,’ said Alice. ‘May I help you off with your helmet?’ It was evidently more t...
Chapter 8 – “It’s My Own Invention”
Episode Summary
Alice is escorted through the seventh square of the chessboard that is Looking-Glass Land in Chapter 8 of Through The Looking Glass entitled “It’s My Own Invention.” Those quotation marks are totally intentional, someone says “It’s My Own Invention!” Repeatedly! Learn all about The White Knight! Does he really represent our favorite Oxford don? Plus, we discuss the surprising number of Lewis Carroll discoveries unearthed in the late 20th century, including the identity of The White Knight.
Vocabulary Words For Young Listeners
deal box- noun – a little Victorian wood box – I keep coupons in my deal box, isn’t that a hoot?!
sugar-loaf – noun – Victorian sugar sold in conical shapes. or, without the hyphen, the band that sang Green-Eyed Lady – Did you buy tickets to Sugarloaf, without the hyphen ?
Chapter 8 Quotable Quotes
“It’s my own invention.” – The White Knight
Chapter 8 Illustrations By John Tenniel
Like Punch and Judy, indeed!
He’s not a skilled...rider.
“How CAN you go on talking so quietly, head downwards?”
One shouldn’t really shake one’s elders from side to side like that...
Queen Alice!
Chapter 8 “It’s My Own Invention” by Lewis Carroll
After a while the noise seemed gradually to die away, till all was dead silence, and Alice lifted up her head in some alarm. There was no one to be seen, and her first thought was that she must have been dreaming about the Lion and the Unicorn and those queer Anglo-Saxon Messengers. However, there was the great dish still lying at her feet, on which she had tried to cut the plum-cake, ‘So I wasn’t dreaming, after all,’ she said to herself, ‘unless—unless we’re all part of the same dream. Only I do hope it’s my dream, and not the Red King’s! I don’t like belonging to another person’s dream,’ she went on in a rather complaining tone: ‘I’ve a great mind to go and wake him, and see what happens!’
At this moment her thoughts were interrupted by a loud shouting of ‘Ahoy! Ahoy! Check!’ and a Knight dressed in crimson armour came galloping down upon her, brandishing a great club. Just as he reached her, the horse stopped suddenly: ‘You’re my prisoner!’ the Knight cried, as he tumbled off his horse.
Startled as she was, Alice was more frightened for him than for herself at the moment, and watched him with some anxiety as he mounted again. As soon as he was comfortably in the saddle, he began once more ‘You’re my—’ but here another voice broke in ‘Ahoy! Ahoy! Check!’ and Alice looked round in some surprise for the new enemy.
This time it was a White Knight. He drew up at Alice’s side, and tumbled off his horse just as the Red Knight had done: then he got on again, and the two Knights sat and looked at each other for some time without speaking. Alice looked from one to the other in some bewilderment.
‘She’s my prisoner, you know!’ the Red Knight said at last.
‘Yes, but then I came and rescued her!’ the White Knight replied.
‘Well, we must fight for her, then,’ said the Red Knight, as he took up his helmet (which hung from the saddle, and was something the shape of a horse’s head), and put it on.
‘You will observe the Rules of Battle, of course?’ the White Knight remarked, putting on his helmet too.
‘I always do,’ said the Red Knight, and they began banging away at each other with such fury that Alice got behind a tree to be out of the way of the blows.
‘I wonder, now, what the Rules of Battle are,’ she said to herself, as she watched the fight, timidly peeping out from her hiding-place: ‘one Rule seems to be, that if one Knight hits the other, he knocks him off his horse, and if he misses, he tumbles off himself—and another Rule seems to be that they hold their clubs with their arms, as if they were Punch and Judy—What a noise they make when they tumble! Just like a whole set of fire-irons falling into the fender! And how quiet the horses are! They let them get on and off them just as if they were tables!’
Another Rule of Battle, that Alice had not noticed, seemed to be that they always fell on their heads, and the battle ended with their both falling off in this way, side by side: when they got up again, they shook hands, and then the Red Knight mounted and galloped off.
‘It was a glorious victory, wasn’t it?’ said the White Knight, as he came up panting.
‘I don’t know,’ Alice said doubtfully. ‘I don’t want to be anybody’s prisoner. I want to be a Queen.’
‘So you will, when you’ve crossed the next brook,’ said the White Knight. ‘I’ll see you safe to the end of the wood—and then I must go back, you know. That’s the end of my move.’
‘Thank you very much,’ said Alice. ‘May I help you off with your helmet?’ It was evidently more t...
Previous Episode
Through The Looking-Glass Podcast Chapter 7
Chapter 7 – The Lion And The Unicorn
Episode Summary
Alice meets up with The White King in Chapter 7 of Through The Looking Glass entitled The Lion And The Unicorn. Together they check out a certain maned king of the jungle and a mythical horned creature fighting for an equally mythical crown. Learn which character really said the famous quote “If you’ll believe in me, I’ll believe in you. Is that a bargain?” Plus, we finally run into our second Wonderland crossover character! Here’s a hint: he’s totally into “the best butter.” And you won’t want to miss Heather finding yet another occasion to talk about John Lennon and his love for Alice.
Vocabulary Words For Young Listeners
provoking – adjective – causing irritation or annoyance – “It’s very provoking how no critics like the Alice Through The Looking Glass movie .
memorandum – noun – a fancy word for a note – Quick, make a memorandum of that phone number!
Chapter 7 Quotable Quotes
“...if you’ll believe in me, I’ll believe in you. Is that a bargain? – The Unicorn
“It’s as large as life, and twice as natural!” – Haigha
Chapter 7 Illustrations By John Tenniel
Nobody claimed all the king’s horses and all the king’s men were an impressive lot.
“I feel faint- Give me a ham sandwich!”
Would you look who’s here! It’s Hatta/Hatter!
If loving plum cake is wrong, The Lion and The Unicorn have very little interest in being right.
Turns out drumming folks out of town is loud.
Chapter 7 The Lion And The Unicorn By Lewis Carroll
The next moment soldiers came running through the wood, at first in twos and threes, then ten or twenty together, and at last in such crowds that they seemed to fill the whole forest. Alice got behind a tree, for fear of being run over, and watched them go by.
She thought that in all her life she had never seen soldiers so uncertain on their feet: they were always tripping over something or other, and whenever one went down, several more always fell over him, so that the ground was soon covered with little heaps of men.
Then came the horses. Having four feet, these managed rather better than the foot-soldiers: but even they stumbled now and then; and it seemed to be a regular rule that, whenever a horse stumbled the rider fell off instantly. The confusion got worse every moment, and Alice was very glad to get out of the wood into an open place, where she found the White King seated on the ground, busily writing in his memorandum-book.
‘I’ve sent them all!’ the King cried in a tone of delight, on seeing Alice. ‘Did you happen to meet any soldiers, my dear, as you came through the wood?’
‘Yes, I did,’ said Alice: ‘several thousand, I should think.’
‘Four thousand two hundred and seven, that’s the exact number,’ the King said, referring to his book. ‘I couldn’t send all the horses, you know, because two of them are wanted in the game. And I haven’t sent the two Messengers, either. They’re both gone to the town. Just look along the road, and tell me if you can see either of them.’
‘I see nobody on the road,’ said Alice.
‘I only wish I had such eyes,’ the King remarked in a fretful tone. ‘To be able to see Nobody! And at that distance, too! Why, it’s as much as I can do to see real people, by this light!’
All this was lost on Alice, who was still looking intently along the road, shading her eyes with one hand. ‘I see somebody now!’ she exclaimed at last. ‘But he’s coming very slowly—and what curious attitudes he goes into!’ (For the messenger kept skipping up and down, and wriggling like an eel, as he came along, with his great hands spread out like fans on each side.)
‘Not at all,’ said the King. ‘He’s an Anglo-Saxon Messenger—and those are Anglo-Saxon attitudes. He only does them when he’s happy. His name is Haigha.’ (He pronounced it so as to rhyme with ‘mayor.’)
‘I love my love with an H,’ Alice couldn’t help beginning, ‘because he is Happy. I hate him with an H, because he is Hideous. I fed him with—with—with Ham-sandwiches and Hay. His name is Haigha, and he lives—’
‘He lives on the Hill,’ the King remarked simply, without the least idea that he was joining in the game, while Alice was still hesitating for the name of a town beginning with H. ‘The other Messenger’s called Hatta. I must have two, you know—to come and go. One to come, and one to go.’
‘I beg your pardon?’ said Alice.
‘It isn’t respectable to beg,’ said the King.
‘I only meant that I didn’t understand,’ said Alice. ‘Why one to come and one to go?’
‘Didn’t I tell you?’ the King repeated impatiently. ‘I must have two—to fetch and carry. One to fetch, and one to carry.’
At this moment the Messenger arrived: he was far too much out of breat...
Next Episode
Through The Looking-Glass Podcast Chapter 9
Chapter 9 – Queen Alice
Episode Summary
Alice finally makes it to the eighth square in Chapter 9 of Through The Looking Glass entitled Queen Alice. She meets up with the Red Queen and White Queen, takes part in a most provoking queenly quiz and later attends (or is it hosts?) the Worst Dinner Party Ever. Listen to Heather sing not once but TWICE, learn about a possible third Wonderland crossover character and hear all about what Lewis Carroll really thought of his queenly characters. Also, a pudding talks.
Vocabulary Words For Young Listeners
lolling – verb – lying, sitting or standing in a lazy way – It’s time to stop lolling about and listen to this podcast!
suet – noun – raw beef or mutton fat – I am totally grossed out now that I know what suet is.
Chapter 9 Quotable Quotes
“You couldn’t deny that, even if you tried with both hands.” – The Red Queen
“...it isn’t etiquette to cut any one you’ve been introduced to.” – The Red Queen
“...it’s ridiculous to leave all the conversation to the pudding!” – The Red Queen
Chapter 9 Illustrations By John Tenniel
Queens awake...
aaaand Queens asleep.
“Where’s the servant whose business it is to answer the door?”
Oh, hey, anthropomorphic mutton. How’s it going?
NOT Miss Manners-approved.
Chapter 9 Queen Alice By Lewis Carroll
‘Well, this is grand!’ said Alice. ‘I never expected I should be a Queen so soon—and I’ll tell you what it is, your majesty,’ she went on in a severe tone (she was always rather fond of scolding herself), ‘it’ll never do for you to be lolling about on the grass like that! Queens have to be dignified, you know!’
So she got up and walked about—rather stiffly just at first, as she was afraid that the crown might come off: but she comforted herself with the thought that there was nobody to see her, ‘and if I really am a Queen,’ she said as she sat down again, ‘I shall be able to manage it quite well in time.’
Everything was happening so oddly that she didn’t feel a bit surprised at finding the Red Queen and the White Queen sitting close to her, one on each side: she would have liked very much to ask them how they came there, but she feared it would not be quite civil. However, there would be no harm, she thought, in asking if the game was over. ‘Please, would you tell me—’ she began, looking timidly at the Red Queen.
‘Speak when you’re spoken to!’ The Queen sharply interrupted her.
‘But if everybody obeyed that rule,’ said Alice, who was always ready for a little argument, ‘and if you only spoke when you were spoken to, and the other person always waited for you to begin, you see nobody would ever say anything, so that—’
‘Ridiculous!’ cried the Queen. ‘Why, don’t you see, child—’ here she broke off with a frown, and, after thinking for a minute, suddenly changed the subject of the conversation. ‘What do you mean by “If you really are a Queen”? What right have you to call yourself so? You can’t be a Queen, you know, till you’ve passed the proper examination. And the sooner we begin it, the better.’
‘I only said “if”!’ poor Alice pleaded in a piteous tone.
The two Queens looked at each other, and the Red Queen remarked, with a little shudder, ‘She says she only said “if”—’
‘But she said a great deal more than that!’ the White Queen moaned, wringing her hands. ‘Oh, ever so much more than that!’
‘So you did, you know,’ the Red Queen said to Alice. ‘Always speak the truth—think before you speak—and write it down afterwards.’
‘I’m sure I didn’t mean—’ Alice was beginning, but the Red Queen interrupted her impatiently.
‘That’s just what I complain of! You should have meant! What do you suppose is the use of child without any meaning? Even a joke should have some meaning—and a child’s more important than a joke, I hope. You couldn’t deny that, even if you tried with both hands.’
‘I don’t deny things with my hands,’ Alice objected.
‘Nobody said you did,’ said the Red Queen. ‘I said you couldn’t if you tried.’
‘She’s in that state of mind,’ said the White Queen, ‘that she wants to deny something—only she doesn’t know what to deny!’
‘A nasty, vicious temper,’ the Red Queen remarked; and then there was an uncomfortable silence for a minute or two.
The Red Queen broke the silence by saying to the White Queen, ‘I invite you to Alice’s dinner-party this afternoon.’
The White Queen smiled feebly, and said ‘And I invite you.’
‘I didn’t know I was to have a party at all,’ said Alice; ‘but if there is to be one, I think I ought to invite the guests.’
‘We gave you the opportunity of doing it,’ the Red Queen remarked: ‘but I daresay you’ve not had many lessons in manners yet?’
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