Tweedledum and Tweedledee
Encyclopedia
Tweedledum and Tweedledee are fictional character
s in an English language
nursery rhyme
and in Lewis Carroll
's Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There
. Their names may have originally come from an epigram
written by poet John Byrom
. The nursery rhyme has a Roud Folk Song Index
number of 19800. The names have since become synonymous in western popular culture slang for any two people who look and act in identical ways, generally in a derogatory context.
s", satirising the disagreements between George Frideric Handel
and Giovanni Battista Bononcini
, written by John Byrom
(1692–1763):
Although Byrom is clearly the author of the epigram, the last two lines have also been attributed to Jonathan Swift
and Alexander Pope
. Although the rhyme in its familiar form was not printed until around 1805, when it appeared in Original Ditties for the Nursery, it is possible that Byrom was drawing on an existing rhyme.
's Through the Looking-Glass and what Alice Found There
. Carroll, having introduced two fat little men named Tweedledum and Tweedledee, quotes the nursery rhyme, which the two brothers then go on to enact. They agree to have a battle, but never have one. When they see a monstrous black crow swooping down, they take to their heels. The Tweedle brothers never contradict each other, even when one of them, according to the rhyme, "agrees to have a battle". Rather, they complement each other's words. This fact has led Tenniel
to assume that they are twins also physically, and Gardner
goes so far as to claim that Carroll intended them to be enantiomorphs, i.e., three-dimensional mirror images. Evidence for these assumptions cannot be found in any of Lewis Carroll's writings.
despite the fact that the movie was mostly based on the first book.
As Alice follows the white rabbit, she gets lost. Tweedledum & Tweedledee stumble upon her as they lurk out of the shadows. Alice greets them but states she must be on her way. Tweedledum & Tweedledee want to play, suggesting numerous games. When she declines they ask her why, and she replies "Because I'm curious".
Tweedledum & Tweedledee begin to weep, whispering "The oysters were curious too...". After Alice persists that she wants to know why, (and as they smile to each other menacingly) they narrate the tale of the The Walrus and the Carpenter
to Alice. After they're done, they want to play again. They begin playing with each other as Alice slips away unnoticed by the two.
The two appear identical in every way. They finish each other's sentences and make very odd movements with their bodies; such as jumping extremely high in the air and wobbling their legs as if they were noodles. They seem as if they have a devious motive because they smile menacingly to each other a few times throughout the course of the scene they appear in.
Tweedledum & Tweedledee are often represented by actors in Disney theme Parks. The Disney versions of the characters later made frequent appearances in the Disney television series House of Mouse and can also be spotted during the final scene of Who Framed Roger Rabbit
.
, Tweedledum and Tweedledee are portrayed by Matt Lucas
, whose face was digitally added to the bodies of both Tweedledum and Tweedledee.
In the film, Tweedledum and Tweedledee are the court jesters of the Red Queen
, but are secretly part of the resistance that supports the White Queen
. Early in the film, they help the White Rabbit
lure Alice to Wonderland and later help her escape the Queen's soldiers, but are then caught themselves by the Jubjub bird
. They are also shown hitting each other as in the 1951 Disney film. In the video game adaptation of the film, they make infrequent appearances as obstacles. The player must give the duo aid in whatever game they're playing in order to gain a bag of impossible ideas (the game's currency) and some information that will become useful later on.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
s in an English language
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
nursery rhyme
Nursery rhyme
The term nursery rhyme is used for "traditional" poems for young children in Britain and many other countries, but usage only dates from the 19th century and in North America the older ‘Mother Goose Rhymes’ is still often used.-Lullabies:...
and in Lewis Carroll
Lewis Carroll
Charles Lutwidge Dodgson , better known by the pseudonym Lewis Carroll , was an English author, mathematician, logician, Anglican deacon and photographer. His most famous writings are Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and its sequel Through the Looking-Glass, as well as the poems "The Hunting of the...
's Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There
Through the Looking-Glass
Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There is a work of literature by Lewis Carroll . It is the sequel to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland...
. Their names may have originally come from an epigram
Epigram
An epigram is a brief, interesting, usually memorable and sometimes surprising statement. Derived from the epigramma "inscription" from ἐπιγράφειν epigraphein "to write on inscribe", this literary device has been employed for over two millennia....
written by poet John Byrom
John Byrom
John Byrom or John Byrom of Kersal or John Byrom of Manchester FRS was an English poet and inventor of a revolutionary system of shorthand. He is also remembered as the writer of the lyrics of Anglican hymn Christians Awake, salute the happy morn.- Early life :John Byrom was descended from an old...
. The nursery rhyme has a Roud Folk Song Index
Roud Folk Song Index
The Roud Folk Song Index is a database of 300,000 references to over 21,600 songs that have been collected from oral tradition in the English language from all over the world...
number of 19800. The names have since become synonymous in western popular culture slang for any two people who look and act in identical ways, generally in a derogatory context.
Lyrics
Common versions of the nursery rhyme include:- Tweedledum and Tweedledee
- Agreed to have a battle;
- For Tweedledum said Tweedledee
- Had spoiled his nice new rattle.
- Just then flew down a monstrous crow,
- As black as a tar-barrel;
- Which frightened both the heroes so,
- They quite forgot their quarrel.
Origins
The words "Tweedle-dum and Tweedle-dee" make their first appearance in print in "one of the most celebrated and most frequently quoted (and sometimes misquoted) epigramEpigram
An epigram is a brief, interesting, usually memorable and sometimes surprising statement. Derived from the epigramma "inscription" from ἐπιγράφειν epigraphein "to write on inscribe", this literary device has been employed for over two millennia....
s", satirising the disagreements between George Frideric Handel
George Frideric Handel
George Frideric Handel was a German-British Baroque composer, famous for his operas, oratorios, anthems and organ concertos. Handel was born in 1685, in a family indifferent to music...
and Giovanni Battista Bononcini
Giovanni Battista Bononcini
Giovanni Battista Bononcini was an Italian Baroque composer and cellist, one of a family of string players and composers. His father, Giovanni Maria Bononcini , was a violinist and a composer.-Biography:...
, written by John Byrom
John Byrom
John Byrom or John Byrom of Kersal or John Byrom of Manchester FRS was an English poet and inventor of a revolutionary system of shorthand. He is also remembered as the writer of the lyrics of Anglican hymn Christians Awake, salute the happy morn.- Early life :John Byrom was descended from an old...
(1692–1763):
- Some say, compar'd to Bononcini
- That Mynheer Handel's but a Ninny
- Others aver, that he to Handel
- Is scarcely fit to hold a Candle
- Strange all this Difference should be
- 'Twixt Tweedle-dum and Tweedle-dee!
Although Byrom is clearly the author of the epigram, the last two lines have also been attributed to Jonathan Swift
Jonathan Swift
Jonathan Swift was an Irish satirist, essayist, political pamphleteer , poet and cleric who became Dean of St...
and Alexander Pope
Alexander Pope
Alexander Pope was an 18th-century English poet, best known for his satirical verse and for his translation of Homer. He is the third-most frequently quoted writer in The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations, after Shakespeare and Tennyson...
. Although the rhyme in its familiar form was not printed until around 1805, when it appeared in Original Ditties for the Nursery, it is possible that Byrom was drawing on an existing rhyme.
Lewis Carroll and John Tenniel
The characters are perhaps best known from Lewis CarrollLewis Carroll
Charles Lutwidge Dodgson , better known by the pseudonym Lewis Carroll , was an English author, mathematician, logician, Anglican deacon and photographer. His most famous writings are Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and its sequel Through the Looking-Glass, as well as the poems "The Hunting of the...
's Through the Looking-Glass and what Alice Found There
Through the Looking-Glass
Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There is a work of literature by Lewis Carroll . It is the sequel to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland...
. Carroll, having introduced two fat little men named Tweedledum and Tweedledee, quotes the nursery rhyme, which the two brothers then go on to enact. They agree to have a battle, but never have one. When they see a monstrous black crow swooping down, they take to their heels. The Tweedle brothers never contradict each other, even when one of them, according to the rhyme, "agrees to have a battle". Rather, they complement each other's words. This fact has led Tenniel
John Tenniel
Sir John Tenniel was a British illustrator, graphic humorist and political cartoonist whose work was prominent during the second half of England’s 19th century. Tenniel is considered important to the study of that period’s social, literary, and art histories...
to assume that they are twins also physically, and Gardner
Martin Gardner
Martin Gardner was an American mathematics and science writer specializing in recreational mathematics, but with interests encompassing micromagic, stage magic, literature , philosophy, scientific skepticism, and religion...
goes so far as to claim that Carroll intended them to be enantiomorphs, i.e., three-dimensional mirror images. Evidence for these assumptions cannot be found in any of Lewis Carroll's writings.
1951
Tweedledum & Tweedledee appeared in the 1951 version of Alice in WonderlandAlice in Wonderland (1951 film)
Alice in Wonderland is a 1951 American animated feature produced by Walt Disney and based primarily on Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland with a few additional elements from Through the Looking-Glass. Thirteenth in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series, the film was released in New...
despite the fact that the movie was mostly based on the first book.
As Alice follows the white rabbit, she gets lost. Tweedledum & Tweedledee stumble upon her as they lurk out of the shadows. Alice greets them but states she must be on her way. Tweedledum & Tweedledee want to play, suggesting numerous games. When she declines they ask her why, and she replies "Because I'm curious".
Tweedledum & Tweedledee begin to weep, whispering "The oysters were curious too...". After Alice persists that she wants to know why, (and as they smile to each other menacingly) they narrate the tale of the The Walrus and the Carpenter
The Walrus and the Carpenter
"The Walrus and the Carpenter" is a narrative poem by Lewis Carroll that appeared in his book Through the Looking-Glass, published in December 1871. The poem is recited in chapter four, by Tweedledum and Tweedledee to Alice. The poem is composed of 18 stanzas and contains 108 lines, in an...
to Alice. After they're done, they want to play again. They begin playing with each other as Alice slips away unnoticed by the two.
The two appear identical in every way. They finish each other's sentences and make very odd movements with their bodies; such as jumping extremely high in the air and wobbling their legs as if they were noodles. They seem as if they have a devious motive because they smile menacingly to each other a few times throughout the course of the scene they appear in.
Tweedledum & Tweedledee are often represented by actors in Disney theme Parks. The Disney versions of the characters later made frequent appearances in the Disney television series House of Mouse and can also be spotted during the final scene of Who Framed Roger Rabbit
Who Framed Roger Rabbit
Who Framed Roger Rabbit is a 1988 American fantasy-comedy-noir film directed by Robert Zemeckis and released by Touchstone Pictures. The film combines live action and animation, and is based on Gary K. Wolf's novel Who Censored Roger Rabbit?, which depicts a world in which cartoon characters...
.
2010
In the 2010 Alice in Wonderland filmAlice in Wonderland (2010 film)
Alice in Wonderland is a 2010 American computer-animated/live action fantasy adventure film directed by Tim Burton, written by Linda Woolverton, and released by Walt Disney Pictures...
, Tweedledum and Tweedledee are portrayed by Matt Lucas
Matt Lucas
Matthew Richard "Matt" Lucas is an English comedian, screenwriter and actor best known for his acclaimed work with David Walliams in the television show Little Britain; as well as for his portrayals of the scorekeeping baby George Dawes in the comedy panel game Shooting Stars, Tweedledee and...
, whose face was digitally added to the bodies of both Tweedledum and Tweedledee.
In the film, Tweedledum and Tweedledee are the court jesters of the Red Queen
Red Queen
Red Queen may refer to:* Red Queen , a character in Lewis Carroll's book* The Red Queen , book by Isobelle Carmody...
, but are secretly part of the resistance that supports the White Queen
White Queen
White Queen may refer to:*White Queen , a character in Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking-Glass*The White Queen , a novel by Philippa Gregory*"White Queen ", a song by Queen from Queen II...
. Early in the film, they help the White Rabbit
White Rabbit
The White Rabbit works for the Red Queen, but is also a secret member of the Underland Underground Resistance, and was sent by the Hatter to search for Alice...
lure Alice to Wonderland and later help her escape the Queen's soldiers, but are then caught themselves by the Jubjub bird
Jubjub bird
The Jubjub bird is a dangerous creature mentioned in Lewis Carroll's nonsense poems Jabberwocky and The Hunting of the Snark.In Jabberwocky the only detail given about the bird is that the protagonist should "beware" it. In The Hunting of the Snark however the creature is described in much greater...
. They are also shown hitting each other as in the 1951 Disney film. In the video game adaptation of the film, they make infrequent appearances as obstacles. The player must give the duo aid in whatever game they're playing in order to gain a bag of impossible ideas (the game's currency) and some information that will become useful later on.
Other references in popular culture
- In DC ComicsDC ComicsDC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
, two long-time BatmanBatmanBatman is a fictional character created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. A comic book superhero, Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 , and since then has appeared primarily in publications by DC Comics...
villains call themselves Tweedledum and Tweedledee, because they are cousins who happen to be identical and very similar to the original versions. Their true names, appropriately, are Deever and Dumfree Tweed. They occasionally appear as henchmen of the JokerJoker (comics)The Joker is a fictional character, a comic book supervillain published by DC Comics. He is the archenemy of Batman, having been directly responsible for numerous tragedies in Batman's life, including the paralysis of Barbara Gordon and the death of Jason Todd, the second Robin...
, but just as often operate solo. They first appeared in Detective ComicsDetective ComicsDetective Comics is an American comic book series published monthly by DC Comics since 1937, best known for introducing the iconic superhero Batman in Detective Comics #27 . It is, along with Action Comics, the book that launched with the debut of Superman, one of the medium's signature series, and...
#74. They also had a cameo in Grant MorrisonGrant MorrisonGrant Morrison is a Scottish comic book writer, playwright and occultist. He is known for his nonlinear narratives and counter-cultural leanings, as well as his successful runs on titles like Animal Man, Doom Patrol, JLA, The Invisibles, New X-Men, Fantastic Four, All-Star Superman, and...
's and David McKean's graphic novelGraphic novelA graphic novel is a narrative work in which the story is conveyed to the reader using sequential art in either an experimental design or in a traditional comics format...
Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious EarthArkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious EarthArkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth is a Batman graphic novel written by Grant Morrison and illustrated by Dave McKean. It was originally published in the United States in both hardcover and softcover editions by DC Comics in 1989...
. - Rudyard KiplingRudyard KiplingJoseph Rudyard Kipling was an English poet, short-story writer, and novelist chiefly remembered for his celebration of British imperialism, tales and poems of British soldiers in India, and his tales for children. Kipling received the 1907 Nobel Prize for Literature...
references Tweedle-dum and Tweedle-dee at the beginning of the short story "Her Majesty's Servants", from The Jungle BookThe Jungle BookThe Jungle Book is a collection of stories by British Nobel laureate Rudyard Kipling. The stories were first published in magazines in 1893–4. The original publications contain illustrations, some by Rudyard's father, John Lockwood Kipling. Kipling was born in India and spent the first six...
(1894). - In a 1921 letter to Harriet Shaw WeaverHarriet Shaw WeaverHarriet Shaw Weaver was a political activist and a magazine editor. She also became the patron of James Joyce....
, the writer James JoyceJames JoyceJames Augustine Aloysius Joyce was an Irish novelist and poet, considered to be one of the most influential writers in the modernist avant-garde of the early 20th century...
uses the twins "Tweedledum and Tweedledee" to characterize Sigmund FreudSigmund FreudSigmund Freud , born Sigismund Schlomo Freud , was an Austrian neurologist who founded the discipline of psychoanalysis...
and Carl Gustav Jung and their conflict. - In the film Alice in WonderlandAlice in Wonderland (1999 film)Alice in Wonderland is a television film first broadcast in 1999 on NBC and then shown on British television on Channel 4. It is based upon Lewis Carroll's books Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass....
(1999), they appear right after Alice's encounter with the talking flowers, which also were originally only in Through the Looking-GlassThrough the Looking-GlassThrough the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There is a work of literature by Lewis Carroll . It is the sequel to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland...
. - In Joe Versus the VolcanoJoe Versus the VolcanoJoe Versus the Volcano is a 1990 comedy film written and directed by John Patrick Shanley and starring Tom Hanks and—in three roles—Meg Ryan. The film is writer Shanley's directorial debut and the first of three films pairing Hanks and Ryan....
(1990, starring Tom HanksTom HanksThomas Jeffrey "Tom" Hanks is an American actor, producer, writer, and director. Hanks worked in television and family-friendly comedies, gaining wide notice in 1988's Big, before achieving success as a dramatic actor in several notable roles, including Andrew Beckett in Philadelphia, the title...
and Meg RyanMeg RyanMargaret Mary Emily Anne Hyra , professionally known as Meg Ryan, is an American actress and producer. Raised in Bethel, Connecticut, Ryan began her acting career in 1981 in minor roles, before joining the cast of the CBS soap opera As the World Turns in 1982...
) the twin sloopSloopA sloop is a sail boat with a fore-and-aft rig and a single mast farther forward than the mast of a cutter....
s owned by industrialist Samuel Graynamore are named the Tweedledee and the Tweedledum. The Tweedledee sinks before the film takes place. The Tweedledum is struck by a sinister lighting bolt and sinks during the film. - In the SyFySyfySyfy , formerly known as the Sci-Fi Channel and SCI FI, is an American cable television channel featuring science fiction, supernatural, fantasy, reality, paranormal, wrestling, and horror programming. Launched on September 24, 1992, it is part of the entertainment conglomerate NBCUniversal, a...
TV miniseries AliceAlice (TV miniseries)Alice is a 2009 television mini-series that was originally broadcast on Canadian cable television channel Showcase and an hour later on American cable television channel Syfy...
(2009), the twins are called Dr. Dee and Dr. Dum, and are a cross between mad scientists and torturers who use illusions to extract information from their victims. - In the animeAnimeis the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
and mangaMangaManga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
series Kiddy GradeKiddy Gradeis a 24 episode science fiction anime series produced in 2002 and created by gímik and Gonzo Digimation and directed by Keiji Gotoh. The series is licensed and distributed in North America by FUNimation Entertainment. The series currently airs on the FUNimation Channel in both its "syndicated...
, Tweedledum (a teenage boy) and Tweedledee (a teenage girl) are twin members of a special, trade policy enforcer group named "ES" consisting of agents with various superpowers. - During the 2000 United States presidential electionUnited States presidential election, 2000The United States presidential election of 2000 was a contest between Republican candidate George W. Bush, then-governor of Texas and son of former president George H. W. Bush , and Democratic candidate Al Gore, then-Vice President....
, candidate Ralph NaderRalph NaderRalph Nader is an American political activist, as well as an author, lecturer, and attorney. Areas of particular concern to Nader include consumer protection, humanitarianism, environmentalism, and democratic government....
pointed out that George W. BushGeorge W. BushGeorge Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
and Al GoreAl GoreAlbert Arnold "Al" Gore, Jr. served as the 45th Vice President of the United States , under President Bill Clinton. He was the Democratic Party's nominee for President in the 2000 U.S. presidential election....
were not very different in their corporate policies, and called them Tweedledum and Tweedledee. - Helen KellerHelen KellerHelen Adams Keller was an American author, political activist, and lecturer. She was the first deafblind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree....
, the first deafblind recipient of a Bachelor of Arts degree and a prolific writer and left-wing activist, said this of democracy in the US: "Our democracy is but a name. We vote? What does that mean? It means that we choose between two bodies of real, though not avowed, autocrats. We choose between Tweedledum and Tweedledee." - Leading up to the United Kingdom general election, 2010, Tory leader David CameronDavid CameronDavid William Donald Cameron is the current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service and Leader of the Conservative Party. Cameron represents Witney as its Member of Parliament ....
compared coalition-building British party leaders to "Tweedledum talking to Tweedledee, who is talking to Tweedledem." - "Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum" features as the opening song on Bob DylanBob DylanBob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
's 2001 album Love and Theft. - In the satiricalSatireSatire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
BBC Radio 4BBC Radio 4BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
show The News at BedtimeThe News at BedtimeThe News at Bedtime is a satirical comedy series on BBC Radio 4 written by Ian Hislop and Nick Newman, writers of the satirical Private Eye magazine. The series is a spoof of news programmes, in particular shows such as The Today Programme, set in "Nurseryland", a place in which all nursery rhymes...
, the main characters are John Tweedledum and Jim Tweedledee, played by Jack DeeJack DeeJames Andrew Innes "Jack" Dee is an English stand-up comedian, actor and writer known for his sardonic, curmudgeonly, and deadpan style.-Early life:...
and Peter CapaldiPeter CapaldiPeter Dougan Capaldi is an Academy Award and BAFTA award winning Scottish actor and film director. In 1995, his short film Franz Kafka's It's a Wonderful Life won the Academy Award for Live Action Short Film...
. - Tweedledum and Tweedledee appear in the West EndWest End theatreWest End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
's Shrek the Musical, playing at the Theatre Royal, Drury LaneTheatre Royal, Drury LaneThe Theatre Royal, Drury Lane is a West End theatre in Covent Garden, in the City of Westminster, a borough of London. The building faces Catherine Street and backs onto Drury Lane. The building standing today is the most recent in a line of four theatres at the same location dating back to 1663,...
.