Lewis Carroll Quotes
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Charles Lutwidge Dodgson , better known by his pen name Lewis Carroll , was an English writer, mathematician, logician, Anglican deacon, and photographer. His most famous writings are Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, its sequel Through the Looking-Glass, which includes the poem "Jabberwocky", and the poem The Hunting of the Snark – all examples of the genre of literary nonsense. He is noted for his facility at word play, logic and fantasy. There are societies in many parts of the world dedicated to the enjoyment and promotion of his works and the investigation of his life.

✵ 27. January 1832 – 14. January 1898

Lewis Carroll photo

Lewis Carroll: 241 quotes303 likes

Lewis Carroll Quotes

“Alice: This is impossible.
The Mad Hatter: Only if you believe it is.”

“You’re mad, bonkers, completely off your head. But I’ll tell you a secret. All the best people are.”

Lewis Carroll book Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

Variant: Have I gone mad? I'm afraid so.
You're entirely Bonkers.
But I will tell you a secret,
All the best people are.
Source: Alice in Wonderland

“Reeling and Writhing of course, to begin with,' the Mock Turtle replied, 'and the different branches of arithmetic-ambition, distraction, uglification, and derision.”

Source: Alice In Wonderland: Including Alice's Adventures In Wonderland And Through The Looking Glass

“But it's no use now," thought poor Alice, "to pretend to be two people! Why, there's hardly enough of me left to make one respectable person!”

Source: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass

“Who am I then? Tell me that first, and then, if I like being that person, I'll come up; if not, I'll stay down here till I'm someone else.”

Source: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass

“when she thought it over afterwards it occurred to her that she ought to have wondered at this, but at the time it all seemed quite natural”

Source: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass

“The proper definition of a man is an animal that writes letters.”

Source: Lewis Carroll, Roger Lancelyn Green (1989). “The Selected Letters of Lewis Carroll”, p.10, Springer

“The sun was shining on the sea,
Shining with all his might:
He did his very best to make
The billows smooth and bright--
And this was odd, because it was
The middle of the night.”

“Of course it is,’ said the Duchess, who seemed ready to agree to everything
that Alice said; ‘there’s a large mustard-mine near here. And the moral
of that is– “The more there is of mine, the less there is of yours.”

Lewis Carroll book Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

Source: Alice in Wonderland

“Can you row?" the Sheep asked, handing her a pair of knitting-needles as she spoke.
"Yes, a little--but not on land--and not with needles--" Alice was beginning to say.”

Source: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass

“I don't believe there's an atom of meaning in it.”

Source: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass

“When you are describing,
A shape, or sound, or tint;
Don't state the matter plainly,
But put it in a hint;
And learn to look at all things,
With a sort of mental squint.”

“So she sat on with closed eyes, and half believed herself in Wonderland, though she knew she had but to open them again, and all would change to dull reality.”

Source: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass

“And, has thou slain the Jabberwock?
Come to my arms, my beamish boy!
O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!
He chortled in his joy.”

Lewis Carroll Jabberwocky

Source: Jabberwocky

“Keep your temper, said the Caterpillar.”

Lewis Carroll book Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

Source: Alice in Wonderland

“I have had prayers answered - most strangely so sometimes - but I think our Heavenly Father's loving-kindness has been even more evident in what He has refused me.”

“I don't like the looks of it,' said the King: 'however, it may kis my hand, if it likes.'
'I'd rather not,' the Cat remarked.”

Source: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass

“You know what the issue is with this world? Everyone wants a magical solution to their problem, and everyone refuses to believe in magic.”

Though written in contemporary idiomatic English, this has been recently cited on the Internet on various "quotations" websites (and elsewhere) as having being written by Lewis Carroll in Alice in Wonderland [sic]. However, it does not appear within the text of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland or Through the Looking-Glass. It was actually a line spoken by a character named Jefferson in Once Upon a Time (TV series) in a 2012 episode entitled "Hat Trick," in which the literary character The Mad Hatter appears. – Ref: Internet Movie Database (IMDb), quotes from Once upon a Time, "Hat Trick" http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2104520/quotes. <br class="br">Misattributed

“I don't see how he can ever finish, if he doesn't begin.”

Variant: Alice thought to herself "I don't see how he can ever finish, if he doesn't begin.
Source: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass

“Go on till you come to the end; then stop.”

Source: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass

“Once she remembered trying to box her own ears for having cheated herself in a game of croquet she was playing against herself, for this curious child was very fond of pretending to be two people.”

Source: Alice's Adventures In Wonderland And Through The Looking Glass

“Birds of a feather flock together”

Lewis Carroll book Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

Source: Alice in Wonderland

“The chief difficulty Alice found at first was in managing her flamingo.”

“at any rate, there's no harm in trying.”

Lewis Carroll book Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

Source: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

“Alice had begun to think that very few things indeed were really impossible.”

Lewis Carroll book Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

Source: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

“Twinkle, twinkle little bat How I wonder what you're at! Up above the world you fly, Like a tea-tray in the sky.”

“I said it in Hebrew—I said it in Dutch—
I said it in German and Greek;
But I wholly forgot (and it vexes me much)
That English is what you speak!”

“Better say nothing at all. Language is worth a thousand pounds a word!”

Lewis Carroll book Through the Looking-Glass

Source: Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There

“So she was considering in her own mind… whether the pleasure of making a daisy-chain would be worth the trouble of getting up & picking the daisies…”

Source: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass

“I wishcould manage to be glad!" the Queen said. "Only I never can remember the rule. You must be very happy, living in this wood, and being glad whenever you like!”

Lewis Carroll book Through the Looking-Glass

Source: Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There

“She's stark raving mad!”

“Beware the Jabberwock, my son
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun
The frumious Bandersnatch!”

Lewis Carroll book Through the Looking-Glass

Source: Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There

“Oh, ’tis love, ’tis love, that makes the world go round!”

Source: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass

“Why is a raven like a writing desk? - Mad Hatter
I haven't the slightest idea. - Alice”

Lewis Carroll book Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

Source: Alice in Wonderland

“All that matters is what we do for each other.”

“When the sands are all dry, he is gay as a lark,
And will talk in contemptuous tones of the Shark:
But, when the tide rises and sharks are around,
His voice has a timid and tremulous sound.”

Source: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass

“The Caterpillar and Alice looked at each other for some time in silence: at last the Caterpillar took the hookah out of its mouth”

Lewis Carroll book Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

Source: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

“And if he left off dreaming about you, where do you suppose you'd be?”

Lewis Carroll book Through the Looking-Glass

Source: Through the Looking Glass

“Anon, to sudden silence won,
In fancy they pursue
The dream-child moving through the land
Of wonders wild and new,
In friendly chat with bird or beast -
And half believe it true.”

Source: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass

“Do let's pretend that I'm a hungry hyena, and you're a bone!”

Source: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass

“One thing was certain, that the white kitten had had nothing to do with it-- it was the black kitten's fault entirely.”

Lewis Carroll book Through the Looking-Glass

Source: Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There

“You couldn't have it if you DID want it.”

Lewis Carroll book Through the Looking-Glass

Source: Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There

“What does it matter where my body happens to be?' he said. 'My mind goes on working all the same.”

“And ever, as the story drained
The wells of fancy dry,
And faintly strove that weary one
To put the subject by,
"The rest next time--" "It is next time!"
The Happy voice cry.

Thus grew the tale of Wonderland”

Source: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass

“Humpty Dumpty sat on the wall
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall
All the king's horses and all the king's men
Couldn't put Humpty together again”

Lewis Carroll book Through the Looking-Glass

Source: Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There

“But, I nearly forgot, you must close your eyes otherwise you won't see anything”

“What do you suppose is the use of a child without any meaning? Even a joke should have some meaning-- and a child's more imporant than a joke, I hope. You couldn't deny that, even if you tried with both hands.”

Lewis Carroll book Through the Looking-Glass

Source: Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There

“All in the golden afternoon
Full leisurely we glide;
For both our oars, with little skill,
By little arms are plied,
While little hands make vain pretence
Our wanderings to guide.”

Source: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass

“To the Looking-Glass world it was Alice that said 'I've a sceptre in hand, I've a crown on my head. Let the Looking-Glass creatures, whatever they be, Come and dine with the Red Queen, the White Queen, and me.”

Source: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass

“The Red Queen shook her head. "You may call it 'nonsense' if you like," she said, "but I've heard nonsense, compared with which that would be as sensible as a dictionary!”

Lewis Carroll book Through the Looking-Glass

Source: Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There

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