79 Quotes from Alice in Wonderland + 6 Exciting Facts
Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland is a surreal tale of Alice’s adventure down the rabbit hole. The characters she meets along the way, from the White Rabbit to the Mad Hatter, make for a journey full of wonder and whimsy. Find here the best quotes from Alice in Wonderland.
The whimsical story of Alice in Wonderland has been beloved by readers across the world for more than 150 years. The fantastical residents of Wonderland – as well as Alice herself – have provided us with magical, thought-provoking quotes that have become famous in their own right.
So if you’re looking for some quirky quotes from this mind-boggling fantasy tale, you’re in the right place. We’ve compiled a list of the most famous, the most beautiful and the most meaningful quotes from Alice in Wonderland, so join the tea party and choose your favorite.
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Beautiful Alice in Wonderland Quotes from Lewis Carroll
The story of Alice in Wonderland was written by Lewis Carroll in 1865.
A tale beloved by both children and those young at heart, it is full of adventure and fantasy, as well as riddles and wordplay that leave you pondering them long after reading.
Alice in Wonderland also offers some profound and meaningful wisdom through its eccentric characters and lessons on the meaning of life.
The story emphasizes the power of imagination and encourages readers to think outside the box.
This topsy-turvy timeless classic is full of wonder, and the quotes below capture the magical nature of Wonderland, so you can take a trip down the rabbit hole whenever you fancy. Dive into the eccentricities of Alice and her Wonderland friends below.
Are you looking for more beautiful quotes? Here you’ll find them.
Quotes from Cheshire Cat in Alice in Wonderland
The Cheshire Cat is one of the most iconic and memorable characters from Alice in Wonderland, with his never-ending grin and his mischievous nature.
His purposefully confusing advice and directions leave Alice more perplexed than ever as she comes to terms with the oddity that is Wonderland.
We’ve gathered some of the Cheshire Cat’s best quotes below, with some that will make your head hurt, others that will give you a giggle, with some wisdom sprinkled in.
- Never let anyone drive you crazy; it is nearby anyway and the walk is good for you.
- Let your need guide your behavior.
- You may have noticed, I’m not all there myself.
- I’m stranger. You’re stranger. Together, we are… strangers.
- No one does [play fair] if they think they can get away with it.
- The uninformed must improve their deficit, or die.
- I went to a hunting party once, I didn’t like it. Terrible people. They all started hunting me!
- The proper order of things is often a mystery to me.
- If you don’t know where you are going, any road can take you there.
- Haste makes waste, so I rarely hurry. But if a ferret were about to dart up my dress, I’d run.
Beautiful and Inspirational Quotes from Alice in Wonderland
Despite the high volume of nonsense and illogic running rampant in Wonderland, now and then the characters utter some nuggets of wisdom that can certainly be applied in our day to day lives.
There are many beautiful and inspirational quotes to be found in Lewis Carroll’s tale of wonder, and we’ve chosen our ten favorites below.
These are perfect for sharing with friends or fellow fans of Wonderland to inspire some whimsy in their day.
- Only a few find the way, some don’t recognize it when they do – some… don’t ever want to.
- I don’t see how he can ever finish, if he doesn’t begin.
- The best way to explain it is to do it.
- Every adventure requires a first step.
- But that’s just the trouble with me. I give myself very good advice, but I very seldom follow it.
- “Then you should say what you mean,” the March Hare went on.
“I do,” Alice hastily replied; “at least — at least I mean what I say — that’s the same thing, you know.”
“Not the same thing a bit!” said the Hatter. “You might just as well say that "I see what I eat" is the same thing as "I eat what I see"!” - If everybody minded their own business, the world would go around a great deal faster than it does.
- Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.
- How puzzling all these changes are! I’m never sure what I’m going to be, from one minute to another.
- Oh, ’tis love, ’tis love, that makes the world go round!
Mad Hatter Quotes from Alice in Wonderland
A truly beloved character, you just can’t help but love the Mad Hatter and all his oddities when reading Carroll’s book. Despite his ridiculous remarks and riddles, the Hatter often surprises us with moments of profound wisdom.
Grab your tea cup and have a read of the best Mad Hatter quotes below.
- Why is a raven like a writing-desk?
- “I want a clean cup,” interrupted the Hatter: “let’s all move one place on.”
- “Really, now you ask me,” said Alice, very much confused, “I don’t think—”
“Then you shouldn’t talk,” said the Hatter. - “Take some more tea,” the March Hare said to Alice, very earnestly.
“I’ve had nothing yet,” Alice replied in an offended tone: “so I can’t take more.”
“You mean you can’t take less,” said the Hatter: “It’s very easy to take more than nothing.” - “Have you guessed the riddle yet?” the Hatter said, turning to Alice again.
“No, I give it up,” Alice replied: “what’s the answer?”
“I haven’t the slightest idea,” said the Hatter. - A land was full of wonder, mystery, and danger. Some say, to survive it, you need to be as mad as a hatter. Which, luckily, I am.
- We never get compliments, you must have a cup of tea!
- Personal remarks are rude?
- What is the hatter with me?
- I am under no obligation to make sense to you.
- What a small world this is!
- I know a thing or two about liking people, and in time, after much chocolate and cream cake, ‘like’ turns into ‘what was his name again?'
Deep and Meaningful Quotes from Alice in Wonderland
You may not think to look to a book so full of nonsense and backwards logic for some deep and meaningful quotes, but it may surprise you that the eccentric residents of Wonderland make some very insightful remarks in Alice in Wonderland.
Although they may sometimes be hidden behind confusing turns of phrase, this story offers many life lessons and quotes that teach us about what’s important in life. Take a look and let yourself be inspired.
- Imagination is the only weapon in the war with reality.
- “And the moral of that is—‘Be what you would seem to be’—or, if you’d like it put more simply—‘Never imagine yourself not to be otherwise than what it might appear to others that what you were or might have been was not otherwise than what you had been would have appeared to them to be otherwise.’”
- “If there’s no meaning in it,” said the King, “that saves a world of trouble, you know, as we needn’t try to find any.”
- It’s no use going back to yesterday, because I was a different person then.
- Who in the world am I? Ah, that’s the great puzzle.
- I wonder if the snow loves the trees and fields, that it kisses them so gently? And then it covers them up snug, you know, with a white quilt; and perhaps it says, ‘Go to sleep, darlings, till the summer comes again.
- If you’ll believe in me, I’ll believe in you. Is that a bargain?
- Alice: “Have I gone mad?”
The Mad Hatter: "I’m afraid so, but let me tell you something, the best people usually are.” - A dream is not reality, but who’s to say which is which?
- “Tut, tut, child!” said the Duchess. “Everything’s got a moral, if only you can find it.”
Most Famous Alice in Wonderland Quotes
Being the much-loved children’s tale that it is, many of the quotes from Alice in Wonderland have garnered attention over the years and become quite famous in their own right.
The quotes below are synonymous with Alice in Wonderland and will instantly transport you down the rabbit hole upon reading them. So embrace the nonsense and join the tea party with these famous Alice in Wonderland quotes.
- We’re all mad here. I’m mad. You’re mad.
- I am not crazy; my reality is just different from yours.
- “But it’s no use now,” thought poor Alice, “to pretend to be two people! Why, there’s hardly enough of me left to make one respectable person!”
- “Curiouser and curiouser!” cried Alice (she was so much surprised, that for the moment she quite forgot how to speak good English).
- “Begin at the beginning,” the King said, very gravely, “and go on till you come to the end: then stop.”
- It would be so nice if something made sense for a change.
- I’m afraid I can’t explain myself, sir. Because I’m not myself, you know.
- You must be [mad], or you wouldn’t have come here.
- Off with their heads!
- Look after the senses and the sounds will look after themselves.
- The more there is of mine, the less there is of yours.
- No wise fish would go anywhere without a porpoise.
- I’m older than you, and must know better.
- When I used to read fairy tales, I fancied that kind of thing never happened, and now here I am in the middle of one!
- “Well! I’ve often seen a cat without a grin,” thought Alice; “but a grin without a cat! It’s the most curious thing I ever saw in all my life!”
Quotes from the White Rabbit in Alice in Wonderland
The first character Alice meets on her adventure is the frantic White Rabbit as he hurries along in a panic about being late.
His nervous, scattered disposition makes him all the more endearing. Below are his famous, flustered phrases.
- Not all who wander are lost.
- I’m late, I’m late! For a very important date! No time to say ‘hello, goodbye,’ I’m late, I’m late, I’m late!
- The Duchess! The Duchess! Oh, my dear paws! Oh, my fur and whiskers! She’ll get me executed, as sure as ferrets are ferrets!
- The hurrier I go, the behinder I get.
Alice in Wonderland Quotes about Time
Time is a recurring theme in the story of Alice in Wonderland. From the White Rabbit’s panic about being late, to the tea party where time never passes, the concept of time is anything but constant in Wonderland.
In fact, in the sequel, Through The Looking Glass, “Time” is in fact a character in the story. So it is clearly an important topic in Wonderland. Below are some quotes from Alice in Wonderland that refer to the theme of time.
- No wonder you’re late. Why, this watch is exactly two days slow.
- When the day becomes the night and the sky becomes the sea, when the clock strikes heavy and there’s no time for tea; and in our darkest hour, before my final rhyme, she will come back home to Wonderland and turn back the hands of time.
- If you knew Time as well as I do […] you wouldn’t talk about wasting it. It’s him.
- What a funny watch! It tells the day of the month and doesn’t tell what o’clock it is!
- “And how many hours a day did you do lessons?” said Alice, in a hurry to change the subject.
“Ten hours the first day,” said the Mock Turtle: “Nine the next, and so on.”
“What a curious plan!” exclaimed Alice.
“That’s the reason they’re called lessons,” the Gryphon remarked: “Because they lessen from day to day.” - Lastly, she pictured to herself how this same little sister of hers would, in the after-time, be herself a grown woman, and how she would keep, through all her riper years, the simple and loving heart of her childhood.
- I dare say you never even spoke to Time!
- Somehow you strayed and lost your way, and now there’ll be no time to play, no time for joy, no time for friends – not even time to make amends.
Sad Quotes from Alice in Wonderland
Despite all the wonder, whimsy and magic, Alice in Wonderland also has its fair share of tears and sadness.
Many of the characters have their own tales of woe, and Alice herself doesn’t always have a whale of a time during her stint in Wonderland either.
Browse the sad quotes from Alice in Wonderland below when you are feeling down and need some appropriate words to express your feelings.
- We are all victims in-waiting.
- Who am I then? Tell me that first, and then, if I like being that person, I’ll come up: if not, I’ll stay down here till I’m somebody else.
- I shall be punished for it now, I suppose, by being drowned in my own tears!
- Oh, dear. I do wish I hadn’t cried so much.
- I do wish they WOULD put their heads down! I am so VERY tired
of being all alone here! - “Either it brings tears to their eyes, or else -" "Or else what?" said Alice, for the Knight had made a sudden pause. "Or else it doesn’t, you know.”
- Mine is a long and a sad tale!
- How queer everything is to-day! And yesterday things went on just as usual. I wonder if I’ve been changed in the night? Let me think: was I the same when I got up this morning?
- Little Alice fell down the hole, bumped her head and bruised her soul.
- So she sat on, with closed eyes, and half believed herself in Wonderland, though she knew she had but to open them again, and all would change to dull reality.
Interesting Facts about Alice in Wonderland
Whether you’re a long-time Wonderland enthusiast or a newcomer to the story, the history of Alice in Wonderland is full of surprises for everyone.
We’ve gathered some facts we’re sure you won’t have heard before that are certain to fascinate you.
From the origins of Alice to the life of Lewis Carroll, the facts below offer something for everyone. Have a read and share your favorite with your fellow tea-party-goers – your in-depth knowledge will be guaranteed to impress them.
- Alice’s character was based on a real girl. The real Alice was the daughter of Carroll’s boss, Henry Lidell. And in fact, she wasn’t even blonde, but brunette.
- Alice in Wonderland syndrome is a real neurological disorder. Also known as Todd’s syndrome, this disorder causes hallucinations and makes objects appear larger or smaller than they are in reality. Lewis Carroll himself suffered from this disorder.
- Lewis Caroll invented many words. We can thank Carroll for words like chortle, galomph and the term “portmanteau word”. He also popularized the term “mad as a hatter”. This phrase originated as a way to describe how hat makers often got dementia from the mercury used in curing felt.
- There is no answer to the riddle, “Why is a raven like a writing desk?” Although many fans have come up with theories as to what the answer to the riddle may be, Carroll has since admitted that this Mad Hatter quote was purely made up for fun.
- The author’s real name was not Lewis Carroll. His real name was Charles Lutwidge Dodgson. The pen name was a play on the Latin translations of his real name.
- The book received lots of bad reviews. Despite the ultimate popularity of Alice in Wonderland, many newspapers dismissed the book in their reviews. It was even banned in China at one stage, on the grounds that animals should not use human language.