Tweedledum and Tweedledee
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Tweedledum and Tweedledee are fictional characters in Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There and in a nursery rhyme by an anonymous author. Their names may have originally come from "one of the most celebrated and most frequently quoted (and sometimes misquoted) epigrams"[1], written by poet John Byrom.
John Byrom's poem
The words Tweedle-dum and Tweedle-dee make their first appearance in print in an epigram by John Byrom (1692-1763) where they are clearly nothing more than onomatopoeic representations of similar musical phrases:
- 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![2]
While it is clear that Byrom is the author of the epigram, it is not so clear who really wrote the Tweedle line. Thomas quotes Bartlett as follows: "The two last lines have been attributed to Swift and Pope. See Scott's edition of Swift and Duce's edition of Pope."
Anonymous nursery rhyme
Starting in the early nineteenth century, collections of nursery rhymes began to 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.
Regarding the nursery rhyme and Byrom's epigram, Martin Gardner notes: "No one knows whether the nursery rhyme about the Tweedle brothers had reference to this famous musical battle, or whether it was an older rhyme from which Byrom borrowed in the last line of his doggerel."[3]
Lewis Carroll and John Tenniel
The third and perhaps most familiar source is Lewis Carroll'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[4]
The two characters appeared in Disney's adaptation of Alice in Wonderland despite the fact that the movie was mostly based on the first book. They are often represented by actors in Disney theme Parks. The Disney versions also appeared in a brief cameo in Who Framed Roger Rabbit.
They also appear as bosses in American McGee's Alice working for the Mad Hatter, and as the character 'General Doppelganger' in The Looking Glass Wars.
In the anime Kiddy Grade
Two fraternal twins called Tweedledee and Tweedledum appear in the anime Kiddy Grade. Tweedledee has the power of "Strom" (German. current, flow, stream, electricity; in this context: electric field) and Tweedledum has the power of "Magnetfeld" (German. magnetic field). When their abilities are combined they can create a gravitational phenomenon known as "Windstoß" (German. blast, gust of wind; in this context: a sudden, violent expulsion of air). The twins also have a guard robot called "Dodo" as well as a spaceship named "C-Square", which stands for Cheshire Cat, both taken from Alice's Adventure in Wonderland.
In James Joyce's letters
In a letter to Harriet Shaw Weaver the writer James Joyce uses the twins "Tweedledum and Tweedledee" to characterize Sigmund Freud and Carl Gustav Jung and their conflict: "... a certain Doctor Jung (the Swiss Tweedledum who is not to be confused with the Viennese Tweedledee, Dr. Freud) ..." (James Joyce: Letter to Harriet Shaw Weaver. 24 June 1921).
In Batman comics
In DC Comics, two long-time Batman villains call themselves after the characters, because they are cousins that 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 Joker, but just as often operate solo. They first appeared in Detective Comics #74. Interestingly, aside from one animated appearance on The Batman/Superman Hour and a joint appearance in Detective Comics #841 (April 2008), they have no affiliation with the Mad Hatter, another Wonderland-based villain.
They also appeared as Joker's henchmen in Batman: The Animated Series in the episode "Joker's Favor".
A similar duo named Punch and Judy appeared in The Batman.
In the Marylin Manson Movie Phantasmagoria: The Visions of Lewis Carroll
Both Tweedledum and Tweedledee will be played by twin girls who Manson has been quoted as saying 'get to have real life sex with each other.'
In Alice In Wonderland Film
UK comedian and actor Matt Lucas will play Tweedledum and Tweedledee in Tim Burtons Disney's 2010 live action remake of Alice in Wonderland to be directed by Tim Burton.
Ralph Nader
During the 2000 United States presidential election, candidate Ralph Nader pointed out that George W. Bush and Al Gore were not very different in their corporate policies,[5] and called them Tweedledum and Tweedledee.[6]
Bob Dylan's song
"Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum" features as the opening song on Bob Dylan's 2001 album Love and Theft.
References
- ^ C.Edgar Thomas: Some Musical Epigrams and Poems, The Musical Times, November 1, 1915, p.661
- ^ John Byrom: Epigram on the Feuds between Handel and Bononcini, The Poems, The Chetham Society 1894-1895. Source: Literature Online.
- ^ The Annotated Alice, edited by Martin Gardner, Meridian, New York 1963
- ^ Bibliography in The Annotated Alice, op.cit.
- ^ "Political compass". Pace News. Retrieved on 2008-09-14. "compared to other western democracies, especially those with a finely-tuned system of proportional representation, most mainstream political activity in the US is concentrated over a more narrow ideological range"
- ^ "Nader assails major parties: scoffs at charge he drains liberal vote", CBS, Associated Press (2000-04-06). Retrieved on 14 September 2008. "There is a difference between Tweedledum and Tweedledee, but not that much."
External links
- Tweedle Kids Fan Forum
- Tweedle Dee & Tweedle Dum Bob Dylan Lyrics
- Fuel Ani DiFranco Lyrics
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