An Analysis about Children Poetry "The Crocodile" by Lewis Carroll

INTRODUCTION

 

The Crocodile

Lewis Carroll - 1832-1898

 

How doth the little crocodile
Improve his shining tail,
And pour the waters of the Nile
On every golden scale!

How cheerfully he seems to grin,
How neatly spreads his claws,
And welcomes little fishes in,
With gently smiling jaws!

'The Crocodile' by Lewis Carroll tells very briefly, about a crocodile who stealthily attracts a fish and then swallows it with a big smile on his face. As a reader, I feel this poem can take me through some of the attributes that certain crocodiles display. Fraud and cunning are among them. He smiled cheerfully, basked in the sun, washed his scales, and opened his paws as if welcoming a fish into his arms.

‘The Crocodile’ by Lewis Carroll is a two stanza poem that is separated into sets of four lines, known as quatrains. These quatrains follow a simple rhyme scheme of ABAB CDCD. The lines are also all around the same length, with alternating margins, lining up with their alternating rhyme scheme.

 

Connotation and denotation

How doth the little crocodile
Improve his shining tail,
And pour the waters of the Nile
On every golden scale!

The denotation in the first stanza of "The Crocodile", the speaker begins by drawing the reader's attention to the "little crocodile". This description does not fit the creature, as the second stanza will reveal. This describes it as small, non-intimidating, and harmless, but this is not the case. Crocodile personified. He made the choice to "Raise his shining tail" by waving it in the waters of the Nile. This increases the shine and gives off "gold" on each scale.

The connotation in the first stanza of “The Crocodile” is according to the dictionary crocodile is any of several large, carnivorous, thick-skinned, long-bodied, aquatic reptiles (family Crocodylidae and especially genus Crocodylus) of tropical and subtropical waters that have a long, tapered, V-shaped.

But, in chiefly British crocodile is a line of people (such as schoolchildren) usually walking in pairs. And tail in dictionary is the rear end or a process or prolongation of the rear end of the body of an animal.

How cheerfully he seems to grin,
How neatly spreads his claws,
And welcomes little fishes in,
With gently smiling jaws!

The denotation in the second stanza of ”The Crocodile”,  the speaker reveals that the creature is not simply enjoying the water, he is hunting. He appears to “grin,” cheerfully as he “spreads his claws”. As if welcoming the fish in for an embrace, he captures them in his “gently smiling jaws”. The comparison of these kind words like “gently” and “smiling” with “jaws” and “claws” is interesting. It makes the crocodile seem conniving and sneaky.

The connotation in the second stanza of “the Crocodile” is according to the dictionary the meaning of grin is to draw back the lips so as to show the teeth especially in amusement or laughter broadly : SMILE. And the claws is a sharp usually slender and curved nail on the toe of an animal. Also jaws is either of two complex cartilaginous or bony structures in most vertebrates that border the mouth, support the soft parts enclosing it, usually bear teeth on their oral margin, and are an upper that is more or less firmly fused with the skull and a lower that is hinged, movable, and articulated with the temporal bone of either side.

Poetic Technique in The Crocodile

Carroll makes use of several poetic techniques in ‘The Crocodile’. These include, but are not limited to, anaphora, alliteration, enjambment, and personification. The latter is perhaps the most important technique used in this short poem. It occurs when a poet imbues a non-human creature or object with human characteristics. The crocodile is personified throughout the text. He appears “cheerful” and seems to sport a “grin” on his face as he hunts for fish.

Alliteration occurs when words are used in succession, or at least appear close together, and begin with the same sound. For example, “seems” and “spreads” in lines one and two of the second stanza.

Another important technique commonly used in poetry is enjambment. It occurs when a line is cut off before its natural stopping point. Enjambment forces a reader down to the next line, and the next, quickly. One has to move forward in order to comfortably resolve a phrase or sentence. For example, the transition between lines one and two, and three and four, of the first stanza.

Carroll also makes use of anaphora, or the repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of multiple lines, usually in succession. This technique is often used to create emphasis. A list of phrases, items, or actions may be created through its implementation. This can be seen most clearly in the use of “How” at the beginning of line one of both stanzas. But, “And” is also used twice, at the beginning of line three of both stanzas. This creates a similar structure between the two sections while also playing into the already prominent song-like qualities of the lines.

Mood

The mood in this poem is that of a crocodile who is full of tricks, that is, he always looks cheerfully with a smile so that his prey enters his mouth.

Theme

This poem has a theme about the life of animals in their natural habitat, how to find food and survive an animal.

Capital Letters

This poem uses capital letters at the beginning of each line