Father William by Lewis Carroll

This nonsense poem by Lewis Carroll has been faithfully reproduced and illustrated by John Anthony King. It is a puzzling piece and it would be interesting to know what students may make of it. Father William appears eccentric but full of energy and his idiot questioner probably should be "kicked down the stairs." The young man is worried about becoming old, whereas the old man is content with his age. This poem appears in his book Alice's Adventures in Wonderland which was published in 1865 and is recited by Alice in chapter 5.Evidently, it is a parody of Robert Southly's didactic poem The Old Man's Comforts and How He Gained Them