The White Queen in Through the Looking Glass says she knows "a lovely riddle - all in poetry - all about fishes." After the White Queen says the riddle-poem, the Red Queen says to Alice, "Take a moment to think about it, then guess." But then everyone gets distracted, and the solution to the riddle is never told in the book. What do you think it is?
The White Queen's Song
"'First, the fish must be caught.'
That is easy: a baby, I think, could have caught it.
'Next, the fish must be bought.'
That is easy: a penny, I think would have bought it.
'Now cook me the fish!'
That is easy, and will not take more than a minute.
'Let it lie in a dish!'
That is easy, because it already is in it.
'Bring it here! Let me sup!'
It is easy to set such a dish on the table.
'Take the dish-cover up!'
Ah, that is so hard that I fear I'm unable!
For it holds it like glue -
Holds the lid to the dish, while it lies in the middle:
Which is easiest to do,
Un-dish-cover the fist, or dishcover the riddle?"
Taken from Poetry for Young People: Lewis Carroll
Edited by Edward Mendelson
I think it is about the steps for catching the fish and then him preparing it and eating it. when it says "Bring it here and let me sup" is why I think it is him eating it.
ReplyDeleteI do not really know what this poem is asking, i guess it is a magic trick and the fish will be gone
ReplyDeleteI think the poem is about catching the fish, buying the fish, cooking the fish,bringing the fish to the lady, and trying to take the dish - cover up.
ReplyDeleteI think the poem is about how a fish got stuck to the lid of the dish.
ReplyDeleteI think it is about how easy it is to do things, but it is so hard to empress a queen. It says that it is easy to catch a fish, buy a fish, cook a fish, put it on a dish, bring it to the queen, but it says take the dish-cover up, that is the hard thing to do because you have to show it to the queen.
ReplyDeleteI think it is a jumping frog.
ReplyDeleteEleanor
I think it is an oyster because it says it holds like glue. I know that oysters are very hard to open. It is also easy to catch. It says a baby could have caught it. This is what I think.
ReplyDeleteThis one took me a while to answer but after awhile, I think it might be an oyster. An oyster is a fish, it sticks to the pan, fast to cook, a baby could pick it up, and in the 1800's they were probably very cheap.
ReplyDeleteI think it is a goldfish in a fish bowl.
ReplyDeletei think it is about sevants. i think this because the queen is demanding that she wans to eat a fish. i think. but she goes on and on and demand demand about wanting a cooked fish, buying the fish, eating the fish, and killing the fish. but oh well shes the queen and she gets whatever she wants. the end
ReplyDeleteI think it is oysters because oysters are sometimes hard to open because there is like glue there. Also it is its own dish. It is very easy to catch one because it it sitting at the bottom of the ocean.
ReplyDeleteI think it is about a servant trying to please an unpleasable, wicked queen who is like one of those bla-bla-bla-bla types
ReplyDeleteI think it is easiest to "Un-dish-cover the fist" and the rhyme scheme is "A B A B".
ReplyDeleteI think it means if you don't know something just guess and you never know you might get it right
ReplyDeleteI think it is about someone who serves the queen and is in charge of caching the dinner then making it just right for the queen
ReplyDeleteWhat I think is easiest is finding out this riddle....... maybe.
ReplyDeletei thnk it is about them going through the prosses of making the fish.
ReplyDeleteI think it is about a mysterious person doing something for someone else. I think this because it sounded like he was doing chores for him because the person he is doing chores for did something good for him.
ReplyDeleteI think that the answer is the handle because it said that it is in the middle and that it stays there like glue and it also holds the lid to the dish.
ReplyDeleteI think it is about a dead fish who is at the bottom of a dish and they try to catch it but it is so easy because it is dead. then she wants to cook it but first she has too put it in the pan but it is already in the pan it will not take more than a minute because it is already cooked. then she wants it to be served to her. she tries to eat it but it is glued to the plate. this is a hard poem for me to understand and i am excited to learn what it really means.
ReplyDeletethis is a poem i made up on accident:
This poem is confusing
But a little bit amusing
i like lewis carroll
but he is a little bit wacky
Jabberwockey is my favorite
It was probably a big hit
I like the first stanza
and then repetition
That is a poem I totally made up on accident. I love lewis Carroll i think he has a good imagination and skills as a writer. I lllooovvveee! lllooovvveee! llllooovvveee! poetry Mrs. Hochbein picks good poets to share about.
I think this poem is about a queen telling her son to make her dinner with a fish. But the son is forced by his greedyness to make a deal with an old man who catches a small fry of a fish then the son has to buy the fish for a lot of money. And when he tries to cook it he burns it and doesn't know what to do when he has to set it on the table. When the mother see's this as an act of sillyness and tells him to take the cover up off. But the son is too afraid to take the cover up off to reveal the burnt small fry of a fish.
ReplyDeleteI like Lewis Carroll is a very creative writer. So far I have enjoyed all of his poems. I think that the White Queen is cooking a fish and she is ststing everything that she needs to do and have to prepare the dish. The dish may be for the Red Queen. She is putting it on the table and tasting it to see if it tastes ok. She says everything is easy. It said in the poem, " That is easy, a penny I think it would have bought." Then it says, "That is easy, a baby could have caught." Then it says, "That is easy, and will not take more than a minute." This answer is probably way off, but that is what I think.
ReplyDeletei think its about a queen that is cooking fish don't really know
ReplyDeleteI think it is about a fish and everything is so easy, but to dish-cover up.
ReplyDeleteI think it's an oyster.
ReplyDeleteI think it is about how someone thinks everything is easy, but suddenly finds a simple task hard because fate has gotten them back for all their foolish nonsense and folly and never being thankful and jolly. In fact I wrote a poem about it. Those who say foolish nonsense and folly. Will never be blessed For not being thankful and jolly. Lauren
ReplyDeleteI think that it is about how easy it is to pepare a meal with fish.In the I saw an A,B,A,B patern.
ReplyDeleteI'm definnetly confused on so many levels but I'm guessing it is a dish. I didn't get what you were saying in the sentence before the poem so the poem was even more cofusing. Lewis Carrol is a weird person (not to be mean or anything).
ReplyDeleteI think he is describing how easy a buisiness can be. I think that because most of his sentences are describing how easy each step is to the example of the buisiness. I know he is making fun of another poem that tells how hard a buisiness can be. He also makes the harder parts of the buisiness sound easy and very short.
ReplyDeleteI think that it is easiest to "un-dish-cover the fist". I think that there is maybe a lobster, clam, or oyster. I think this because it says "for it holds like glue" a lobster is held tight together, a clam is also put tight together, and same with the oyster.
ReplyDeleteI think that Carroll has a different imagenation
He is a great creation
I think the answer is oysters because they are hard to open bu t really esay to catch.
ReplyDeleteI think it is a catfish
ReplyDeleteI had know idea what this is about but I am going to take a guess. It is about feeding a person a fish because the only thing it talked about was serving a fish to a person and if it was going to be hard or easy. I like this man very much , but I hate how he did Alice and Wonder Land [ I hate that movie]. He is very interesting.
ReplyDeleteI think this poem is about someone making a fish to eat because it says that a fish must be caught. I think this poem shows how unusuall Lewis Carrol is.
ReplyDeleteP.S. I think that Jabberwocky is a funny word.
I think it is easier to un-dish-cover the fist?????????
ReplyDeleteIf there are no mistakes in the riddle, the answer is un-dish-cover the fist because it is already un-dish-covered. It is a fish that is in the dish with the lid, not the fist. I know that the man that wrote this riddle does plays on words and stuff like that, so I'm sure that this is true. It is also easier to look at the riddle and get the answer than to think the part at the top is the riddle. I got no answer from that part.
ReplyDeleteI think the fish is painted on the plate.
ReplyDeleteI think the poem is about The White Queen showing Alice how to make potions.
ReplyDeleteHe wants to cook a fish. quick
ReplyDeleteI love Lewis Carrol. I think the poem is about ostards.
ReplyDeleteI think it is a queen telling a servant to prepare the fish. The queen is lazy because in the riddle she tells the person to do all the stuff that anything could. She even says, "A baby could do it."
ReplyDelete