SECTION II
Focus
on language and
form
10. One of the features of nonsense is an alternation of logic through a
play on words. The term “time” is here used with two different meanings. Can
you say which?
Time here means both the time of the watch and rhythm in music, as with the
expression “to beat time” ( line 74).
11.
In the light of the two meanings of the
term “time”, why did you think the Hatter was ’murdering’ time at the Queen’s
concert?
The Hatter was “murdering” time at the Queen’s concert because ha was
out of tune; therefore he
was no longer on good terms with it; time here means rhythm.
12. Look at the pronouns used in place of the word ‘time’. What do they
indicate?
The pronouns used are “he”, “him”; they show the time is personified, so
that time is not a reliable fact, but a subjective, arbitrary and unreliable
element.
13. Now consider the narrator. Is it internal or external to the story?
There is an external third-person narrator.
14. Whose point-of-view does the reader share?
The reader shares