Aspects of Alice: Lewis Carroll's dreamchild as seen through the critics' looking-glasses

by Robert S. Phillips

From review - "This book contains a wide range of essays about Lewis Carroll's "Alice in Wonderland" Some of them are badly dated, but are nonetheless useful as a way of tracing the development of how we see both Alice and her author. Others are less valuable."

Genres: Nonfiction, Essays

454 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1971

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

American poet, author and editor, usually publishes under the name Robert Phillips.

Robert S. Phillips was born 1938 in Milford, Delaware and is the author or editor of some 30 volumes of poetry, fiction, criticism, and belles lettres and publishes in numerous journals. A graduate of Syracuse University's creative writing program, he is currently (May 2007) a professor of English at the University of Houston; he was also director of the Creative Writing Program there from 1991 to 1996. His honors include a 1996 Enron Teaching Excellence Award, a Pushcart Prize, an American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters Award in Literature, a New York State Council on the Arts CAPS Grant in Poetry, MacDowell Colony and Yaddo Fellowships, a National Public Radio Syndicated Fiction Project Award, a Syracuse University Arents Pioneer Medal, and Texas Institute of Letters membership. In 1998 he was named a John and Rebecca Moore Scholar at the University of Houston.
[Portions of biographical sketch taken from Mr. Phillips' faculty home page at the University of Houston, http://www.uh.edu/cwp/faculty/phillip..., retrieved 11 May 2007.]

Source

Reviews

[Goetz Kluge]

Admittedly, I didn't read the whole book. I was mainly interested in Sir Shane Leslie's "Lewis Carroll and the Oxford Movement" (London Mercury 28, 233-39. RPT in Phillips). He (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shane_Leslie) sees many of relations between that religious struggle (which originated in Oxford in c. 1832) and the Alice books. Shane's article (p. 257-266) is highly speculative. But who am I to criticize that? My own guesses (www.snrk.de) about textual and pictorial allusions (to religious disputes, to Charles Darwin etc.) in Lewis Carroll's and Henry Holiday's "The Hunting of the Snark" are not much better.

Interestingly, Leslie wrote that Carroll's "Easter Greeting" (www.snrk.de/snarkhunt/#easter) was added to the 1876 edition of "Alice in Wonderland". In the notes (p. 493), the editor Robert Philips correctly points out that the "Easter Greeting" was added to "The Hunting of the Snark" (1876).

I also will read the other articles in teh book and hope to learn more about what has inspired Carroll's writings.

[Bernie4444 · Rating 5 out of 5]

The title says it all

There are dozens of Alice versions. Many are accompanied by Critics' opinions or views. But they cannot all fit into a book and maintain a practical mass. Here is the mass left out; it is not to be overlooked.

The nine major sections are:
Personal and Biographical
As Victorian and Children's Literature
Comparisons with other Writers
Philosophical and Others
Church and Chess
Language, Parody, and Satire
Freudian Interpretations
Jungian and Mythic
Psychedelic

There is also information on the authors so we know from whom we are reading.

[Catherine Siemann · Rating 3 out of 5]

An absolutely fascinating collection of litcrit of Lewis Carroll's best-known work. Most of the critics seem to have the teller firmly entangled with his tale, and the mid-20th century psychoanalytic crit seems self-parodic, but it's a fascinating journey, nonetheless.

[Ella · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aspects of Alice is an engaging and wide ranging look at how critics have interpreted Lewis Carroll’s Alice books over time. Rather than offering a single argument, Robert S. Phillips presents a collection of critical perspectives, allowing readers to see how Wonderland has been viewed through many different “looking glasses,” from bibliography and literary and psychological readings to more symbolic and philosophical interpretations.

What makes the book particularly interesting is this diversity of viewpoints. Some essays are insightful and illuminating, shedding new light on familiar scenes and characters, while others feel more abstract or speculative. That mix makes the reading experience a bit uneven at times, but it also keeps it intellectually stimulating.

My favorite essays in the collection were “Lewis Carroll” by Virginia Woolf, “A Note on Humpty Dumpty” by J. B. Priestley, and “Alice’s Journey to the End of Night” by Donald Rackin. Each of these brought a distinct and memorable perspective, adding depth and variety to the overall experience.

This book is a thought provoking collection that highlights just how rich and open to interpretation the Alice books are. For readers interested in literary criticism and the many ways Carroll’s work has been analyzed, this is a rewarding, if occasionally dense or absurd, exploration of Wonderland through the eyes of its critics.

[☆.*:｡lauren｡:*.☆ · Rating 4 out of 5]

some of the perspectives were clearly dated, but overall a good analysis of victorian childhood from what i can tell

[Bernie4444 · Rating 5 out of 5]

The title says it all.

There are dozens of Alice versions. Many are accompanied by Critics' opinions or views. But they cannot all fit into a book and maintain a practical mass. Here is the mass left out; it is not to be overlooked.

The nine major sections are:
Personal and Biographical
As Victorian and Children's Literature
Comparisons with other Writers
Philosophical and Others
Church and Chess
Language, Parody, and Satire
Freudian Interpretations
Jungian and Mythic
Psychedelic

There is also information on the authors, so we know from whom we are reading.

[Joann · Rating 2 out of 5]

A collection of critical essays and poetry to poke around in from time to time