Puzzles from Wonderland
Publisher Desc.
Puzzles from Wonderland features two whimsical puzzles that Lewis Carroll
wrote as part of the world of Wonderland. Both feature humorous wordplay and
similarly humorous musical settings that highlight the way that Carroll plays
with syllabic stress and words with double-meanings.
The first puzzle, The Box, presents itself as an exchange of gifts between
brothers at first, but the solution to the puzzle reveals the double-meaning
of the word box - in this case meaning a punch or slap. This is then
musically highlighted by sudden clusters on the piano and hand-clapping to
simulate the sound of a slap.
The Cat features a piano line that mimics the lazy motions of a cat waking
from slumber, and meowing impatiently to be fed. The SSA chorus simulates the
voices of the three sisters who each appear to be feeding the cat a different
fish. In the solution, it is revealed that the third sister does not feed the
cat "herring" as the syllabic stress of the previous poem implies,
but rather "her ring", which the new verse structure makes clear.
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