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Analysis (ai): This whimsical poem presents a humorous dialogue between a young man and an elderly man named Father William. The young man expresses disbelief at Father William's extraordinary feats despite his advanced age. Father William responds with satirical explanations that mock the youth's concerns.
- First and Second Stanzas
- Third and Fourth Stanzas
- Fifth and Sixth Stanzas
- Seventh and Eighth Stanzas
The structure of ‘You Are Old, Father William’ is a dialogue between an “old” man named “Father William” and “his son.” In the first stanza, the “son” pointed out that “Father William” was “age[d]” and posed the “question” of why he “incessantly stand[s] on [his] head.” When asked if this was “right” because of his “age,” “Father William” contended...
The lack of clarity for significant plotelements continues in these stanzas since what was noted as “Father William” is now referred to as “the sage.” While on instinct, the reader might assume that this was a new person in the conversation, the idea that “the youth” said “as I mentioned before” makes it clear that this was a continuance of the pre...
Rather than criticize the elder’s mobility in this pair of stanzas, “the youth” instead posed the “question” of how the “father” could eat “the goose, with the bones and the beak” since his “jaws [were] too weak.” This takes the generational gap to a new level since the topic is no longer related to moving about, but something as needful as eating....
The “father[‘s]” frustration became more apparent when he insisted his previous replies were “enough,” and then threatened violence on “the youth” if he did not stop with the “questions.” It is also clear that he considered “the youth[‘s]” mindset to be inferior and a bother since he posed his own “question:” “Do you think I can listen all day to s...
- Female
- Poetry Analyst
You Are Old, Father William" is a poem by Lewis Carroll that appears in his 1865 book Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. It is recited by Alice in Chapter 5, " Advice from a Caterpillar " (Chapter 3 in the original manuscript).
"You Are Old, Father William" is one of the poems embedded in Lewis Carroll's children's classic Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865). It's a parody of the once-popular didactic poem "The Old Man's Comforts and How He Gained Them" (1799), by the onetime Poet Laureate of the UK, Robert Southey.
Like all the poems in Alice in Wonderland, 'You are old, Father William' is a parody of another poem that was popular at the time. The original poem was about an elderly man, a little infirm, but he doesn't mourn his age, and the young boy wants to know why.
May 13, 2011 · Life. '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 would injure the brain; But now that I'm perfectly sure I have none,
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Jan 2, 2023 · Lewis Carroll’s poem “You Are Old, Father William” is a conversation between a father and a son. The son asks the father how he manages to do things like somersaults and eat bones of goose at such old age. The father gives strange logics in his reply and mocks the youth, making it an amusing children’s poem.
