Top 80+ Alice In Wonderland Quotes You'll Love

Writvik Gupta
Dec 12, 2023 By Writvik Gupta
Originally Published on Jan 13, 2021
Edited by Isobel Murphy
Funko Pop vinyl action figure of Red Queen in Alice in Wonderland
Age: 0-99
Read time: 14.8 Min

Published in the year 1865, 'Alice In Wonderland', with its unique storytelling and charming characters, quickly started to gain the interest of children and adults alike.

The various puzzles, the twisted stories, and the lack of sense overall attracted readers to stay till the end. It quickly became one of the most popular British fiction books to have ever been published.

The story concentrates on Alice, who falls asleep and dreams about following a white rabbit down its rabbit hole. After losing track of the rabbit, she meets some other bizarre characters that include a Duchess and a Cheshire Cat who is a witty shapeshifting cat who appears and disappears as he wishes by altering reality. Thereafter, she is further confused when she meets a caterpillar sitting on a giant mushroom and joins the Mad Hatter, Dormouse, and the March Hare at an unusual tea party, where the Mad Hatter says, "If I had a world of my own, everything would be nonsense. Nothing would be what it is, because everything would be what it isn't. And contrary wise, what is, it wouldn't be." We can see why she found it confusing!

These characters lead her to the Queen of Hearts, with whom she plays a game of croquet, joined by flamingos and hedgehogs (naturally), and finally, after several other riddles and a series of extraordinary events, she wakes up from her dream. The overarching theme of the book is meant to depict the struggle of young children trying to fit into the adult world. Readers learn about this through seeing how Alice has to use her wits as she explores and keeps having to get back up when she falls.

So, why not join the madness with this list of 'Alice In Wonderland' quotes? If you enjoyed any 'Alice In Wonderland' quote from the eclectic characters of 'Alice In Wonderland', be sure to also check out our 'Alice In Wonderland' Cheshire cat quotes for more great 'Alice In Wonderland' quotes or for more quotes from classic literature , why not visit our Wuthering Heights quotes.

Famous 'Alice In Wonderland' Quotes

These are some of the most notable 'Alice In Wonderland' caterpillar quotes, Cheshire Cat quotes and quotes by Alice in Wonderland that will catch any reader's eye.

1. "Alice: Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?

The Cheshire Cat: That depends a good deal on where you want to get to.

Alice: I don't much care where.

The Cheshire Cat: Then it doesn't much matter which way you go."

2. "Who in the world am I? Ah, that’s the great puzzle."

-Alice, 'Alice's Adventures In Wonderland' by Lewis Carroll.

3. "If everybody minded their own business, the world would go around a great deal faster than it does."

-The Duchess, 'Alice's Adventures In Wonderland' by Lewis Carroll.

4. "Alice: How long is forever?

White Rabbit: Sometimes, just one second."

5. "King of Hearts: I don't like the looks of it. However, it may kiss my hand, if it likes.

Cheshire Cat: I'd rather not."

6. "Alice: I think you might do something better with the time than waste it in asking riddles that have no answers.

Mad Hatter: If you knew Time as well as I do, you wouldn't talk about wasting it. It's him."

7. "Alice: I wish creatures wouldn't be so easily offended!

Caterpillar: You'll get used to it in time."

8. "We’re all mad here. I’m mad. You’re mad."

-Cheshire Cat, 'Alice's Adventures In Wonderland' by Lewis Carroll.

9. "March Hare: You might just as well say, that 'I like what I get' is the same thing as 'I get what I like!'

Dormouse: You might just as well say, that 'I breathe when I sleep' is the same thing as 'I sleep when I

breathe!'"

10. "Caterpillar: Who are you?

Alice: I—I hardly know, sir, just at present—at least I know who I was when I got up this morning, but I think I must have been changed several times since then.

Caterpillar: What do you mean by that? Explain yourself!

Alice: I can't explain myself, I’m afraid, sir, because I am not myself, you see."

11. "Everything’s got a moral if only you can find it."

-The Duchess, 'Alice's Adventures In Wonderland' by Lewis Carroll.

12. "The Duchess: And the moral of that is - oh, 'tis love, 'tis love, that makes the world go round!

Alice: Somebody said, that it’s done by everybody minding their own business!

The Duchess: Ah well! It means much the same thing, and the moral of that is - take care of the sense, and the sounds will take care of themselves."

13. "The March Hare: Take some more tea...

Alice: I’ve had nothing yet, so I can't take more.

Mad Hatter: You mean you can't take less. It’s very easy to take more than nothing."

14. "The March Hare: Have some wine.

Alice: I don’t see any wine.

The March Hare: There isn’t any.

Alice: Then it wasn’t very civil of you to offer it.

The March Hare: It wasn’t very civil of you to sit down without

being invited."

15. "Mock Turtle:  When we were little we went to school in the sea. The master was an old turtle—we used to call him Tortoise.

Alice: Why did you call him Tortoise, if he wasn’t one?

Mock Turtle: We called him Tortoise because he taught us. Really you are very dull!"

16. "Alice: And how many hours a day did you do lessons?

Mock Turtle: Ten hours the first day, nine the next, and so on.

Alice: What a curious plan!

Gryphon: That’s the reason they’re called lessons because they lessen from day to day."

17. "Alice: Have I gone mad?

The Mad Hatter: I’m afraid so, but let me tell you something, the best people usually are."

18. "Alice: This is impossible.

The Mad Hatter: Only if you believe it is."

19. "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."

-The Duchess, 'Alice's Adventures In Wonderland' by Lewis Carroll.

20. "Alice: Well, in our country, you’d generally get to somewhere else - if you ran very fast for a long time, as we’ve been doing.

Queen of Hearts: A slow sort of country! Now, here, you see, it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place. If you want to get somewhere else, you must run at least twice as fast as that!"

The Mad Hatter Quotes You Were Looking For

The Mad Hatter, although being mad like everyone else, is quite lovable with his wise words and eccentric personality. Let's take a look at some of his interesting quotes including our favorite Mad Hatter quote.

21. "I am under no obligation to make sense to you."

-Mad Hatter, 'Alice's Adventures In Wonderland' by Lewis Carroll.

22. "Why is a raven like a writing desk?"

-Mad Hatter, 'Alice's Adventures In Wonderland' by Lewis Carroll.

23. "You can draw water out of a water-well, so I should think you could draw treacle out of a treacle-well eh, stupid?"

-Mad Hatter, 'Alice's Adventures In Wonderland' by Lewis Carroll.

24. "We’re all quite mad here. You’ll fit right in."

-Mad Hatter, 'Alice's Adventures In Wonderland' by Lewis Carroll.

25. "What a regrettably large head you have. I would very much like to hat it. I used to hat The White Queen, you know. Her head was so small."

-Mad Hatter, 'Alice's Adventures In Wonderland' by Lewis Carroll.

26. "You used to be much more… muchier. You've lost your muchness."

-Mad Hatter, 'Alice's Adventures In Wonderland' by Lewis Carroll.

27. "Mad Hatter: Have you guessed the riddle yet?

Alice: No, I give it up. What's the answer?

Mad Hatter: I haven’t the slightest idea."

28. "No wonder you’re late, why this watch is exactly two days slow."

-Mad Hatter, 'Alice's Adventures In Wonderland' by Lewis Carroll.

29. "I want a clean cup, let’s all move one place on."

-Mad Hatter, 'Alice's Adventures In Wonderland' by Lewis Carroll.

30. "Everyone wants some magical solution for their problem and everyone refuses to believe in magic."

-Mad Hatter, 'Alice's Adventures In Wonderland' by Lewis Carroll.

'Alice In Wonderland' White Rabbit Quotes

These White Rabbit quotes from 'Alice In Wonderland' demonstrate many of the character's qualities that we know and love, such as the fact that he is often late to perform his duties to the Queen Of Hearts. We hope you enjoy these 'Alice In Wonderland' quotes about time and running late from the White Rabbit!

31.  "I'm late, I'm late, for a very important date!"

-White Rabbit, 'Alice's Adventures In Wonderland' by Lewis Carroll.

32. "Don't just do something, stand there! Uh... no no! Go go! Go get my gloves! I'm late!"

-White Rabbit, 'Alice's Adventures In Wonderland' by Lewis Carroll.

33. "Now you see here, Mary Ann... Help! No! No! Help! Monsters! Help, assistance!"

-White Rabbit, 'Alice's Adventures In Wonderland' by Lewis Carroll.

34. "Oh! Bill! Bill! Eh, we need a lazzerd with a lizard, a lizard a bb...b... can you help us?"

-White Rabbit, 'Alice's Adventures In Wonderland' by Lewis Carroll.

35. "And it was an unbirthday present too."

-White Rabbit, 'Alice's Adventures In Wonderland' by Lewis Carroll.

36. "He...he... her imperial highness, he... her grace, her excellency, her royal majesty, the Queen of Hearts! And the King..."

-White Rabbit, 'Alice's Adventures In Wonderland' by Lewis Carroll.

37. "Your Majesty, members of the jury, loyal subjects… and the King… the prisoner at the bar stands accused of enticing Her Majesty, the Queen of Hearts, into a game of croquet, thereby and with malice of forethought, molesting, tormenting, and otherwise annoying our beloved."

-White Rabbit, 'Alice's Adventures In Wonderland' by Lewis Carroll.

38. "The hurrier I go, the behinder I get."

-White Rabbit, 'Alice's Adventures In Wonderland' by Lewis Carroll.

39. "I shall be too late, this watch is two days late."

-White Rabbit, 'Alice's Adventures In Wonderland' by Lewis Carroll.

40. "No time to say hello, goodbye! I'm late, I'm late, I'm late!"

-White Rabbit, 'Alice's Adventures In Wonderland' by Lewis Carroll.

The Alice in Wonderland statue in Central Park

Cheshire Cat Quotes From 'Alice In Wonderland'

The Cheshire Cat is the cat with the mischievous grin whose typically unusual dialogue keeps us confused. Let's take a look at some of his best quotes.

41. "Alice: And how do you know that you’re mad?

Cheshire Cat: To begin with, a dog’s not mad. You grant that?

Alice: I suppose so.

Cheshire Cat: Well then, you see, a dog growls when it’s angry, and wags its tail when it’s pleased. Now I growl when I’m pleased, and wag my tail when I’m angry. Therefore I’m mad."

42. "I'm not crazy, my reality is just different than yours."

-Cheshire Cat, 'Alice's Adventures In Wonderland' by Lewis Carroll.

43. "Oh, you can’t help that. Most everyone’s mad here."

-Cheshire Cat, 'Alice's Adventures In Wonderland' by Lewis Carroll.

44. "Imagination is the only weapon in the war against reality."

-Cheshire Cat, 'Alice's Adventures In Wonderland' by Lewis Carroll.

45. "You just go where your high-top sneakers sneak and don’t forget to use your head."

-Cheshire Cat, 'Alice's Adventures In Wonderland' by Lewis Carroll.

46. "Puurrfect. When you’re not on edge, you’re taking up too much space."

-Cheshire Cat, 'Alice's Adventures In Wonderland' by Lewis Carroll.

47. "All this talk of blood and slaying has put me off my tea."

-Cheshire Cat, 'Alice's Adventures In Wonderland' by Lewis Carroll.

48. "Every picture tells a story. Sometimes we don’t like the ending. Sometimes we don’t understand it."

-Cheshire Cat, 'Alice's Adventures In Wonderland' by Lewis Carroll.

49. "A secret is only a secret when it is unspoken to another."

-Cheshire Cat, 'Alice's Adventures In Wonderland' by Lewis Carroll.

50. "You haven’t? Oh, but you must! She’ll be mad about you. Simply mad."

-Cheshire Cat, 'Alice's Adventures In Wonderland' by Lewis Carroll.

Quotes By Alice From 'Alice In Wonderland'

These quotes by Lewis Carroll truly show Alice's journey into madness on her trip down the rabbit hole.

51. "It's no use going back to yesterday because I was a different person then."

-Alice, 'Alice's Adventures In Wonderland' by Lewis Carroll.

52. "Who in the world am I? Ah, that's the great puzzle."

-Alice, 'Alice's Adventures In Wonderland' by Lewis Carroll.

53. "Curiouser and curiouser!"

-Alice, 'Alice's Adventures In Wonderland' by Lewis Carroll.

54. "And what is the use of a book, without pictures or conversations?"

-Alice, 'Alice's Adventures In Wonderland' by Lewis Carroll.

55. "There’s no use trying, one can’t believe impossible things"

-Alice, 'Alice's Adventures In Wonderland' by Lewis Carroll.

56. "King of Hearts: It's the oldest rule in the book.

Alice: Then it ought to be number one."

57. "Queen of Hearts: No, no! Sentence first, verdict afterwards.

Alice: Stuff and nonsense! The idea of having the sentence first."

58. "Queen of Hearts: Off with her head.

Alice: Who cares for you? You're nothing but a pack of cards."

59. "Dormouse: You have no right to grow here.

Alice: Don't talk nonsense, you know you're growing too."

60. "I wish I hadn't cried so much. I shall be punished for it now, I suppose, by being drowned in my own tears!"

-Alice, 'Alice's Adventures In Wonderland' by Lewis Carroll.

The Best 'Alice in Wonderland' Quotes To Remember

Some of the most notable quotes from 'Alice In Wonderland' that everyone should know are listed here for you. From Queen of Hearts quotes, to Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum quotes, there is an 'Alice In Wonderland' quote for everyone on this list. Which of the quotes by the Queen from 'Alice In Wonderland' is your favorite?

61. "Begin at the beginning, and go on till you come to the end: then stop."

- The King of Hearts, 'Alice's Adventures In Wonderland' by Lewis Carroll.

62. "Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast."

- The Queen of Hearts, 'Alice's Adventures In Wonderland' by Lewis Carroll.

63. "If I had a world of my own, everything would be nonsense. Nothing would be what it is, because everything would be what it isn't. And contrary wise, what is, it wouldn't be."

- Mad Hatter, 'Alice's Adventures In Wonderland' by Lewis Carroll.

64. "Door: Why it's impassible!

Alice: Why, don't you mean impossible?

Door: No, I do mean impassible. Nothing is impossible."

65. "If you drink much from a bottle marked 'poison' it is certain to disagree with you sooner or later."

- Lewis Carroll, 'Alice's Adventures In Wonderland'.

66. "Contrariwise, if it was so, it might be; and if it were so, it would be; but as it isn't, it ain't. That's logic."

-Tweedledee, 'Alice's Adventures In Wonderland' by Lewis Carroll.

67. "Oh, how I wish I could shut up like a telescope! I think I could, if only I knew how to begin."

-Alice, 'Alice's Adventures In Wonderland' by Lewis Carroll.

68. "Downal wyth bluddy behg hid!"

-Mad Hatter, 'Alice's Adventures In Wonderland' by Lewis Carroll.

69. "But Alice had got so much into the way of expecting nothing but out-of-the-way things to happen, that it seemed quite dull and stupid for life to go on in the common way."

-Lewis Carroll, 'Alice's Adventures In Wonderland'.

70. "Alice had begun to think that very few things indeed were really impossible."

-Lewis Carroll, 'Alice's Adventures In Wonderland'.

71. "In another moment down went Alice after it, never once considering how in the world she was to get out again."

-Lewis Carroll, 'Alice's Adventures In Wonderland'.

72. "Well, I never heard it before, but it sounds uncommon nonsense."

-Mock Turtle, 'Alice's Adventures In Wonderland' by Lewis Carroll.

73. "It was much pleasanter at home, when one wasn't always growing larger and smaller, and being ordered about by mice and rabbits. I almost wish I hadn't gone down the rabbit-hole, and yet, and yet…"

-Alice, 'Alice's Adventures In Wonderland' by Lewis Carroll.

74. "Alice: I don't think...

Mad Hatter: Then you shouldn't talk."

75. "In another moment down went Alice after it, never once considering how in the world she was to get out again."

-Lewis Carroll, 'Alice's Adventures In Wonderland'.

76. "It was all very well to say 'drink me' but, the wise little Alice was not going to do that in a hurry."

-Lewis Carroll, 'Alice's Adventures In Wonderland'.

77. "But it's no use now, to pretend to be two people! Why, there's hardly enough of me left to make one respectable person!"

-Alice, 'Alice's Adventures In Wonderland' by Lewis Carroll.

78. "Soon her eye fell on a little glass box that was lying under the table: she opened it, and found in it a very small cake, on which the words 'eat me' were beautifully marked in currants."

-Lewis Carroll, 'Alice's Adventures In Wonderland'.

79. "'I'm sure I'm not Ada,' she said, 'for her hair goes in such long ringlets, and mine doesn't go in ringlets at all; and I'm sure I can't be Mabel, for I know all sorts of things, and she, oh! She knows such a very little!'"

-Alice, 'Alice's Adventures In Wonderland' by Lewis Carroll.

80. "I'll try if I know all the things I used to know. Let me see: four times five is twelve, and four times six is thirteen, and four times seven is... oh dear! I shall never get to twenty at that rate!"

-Alice, 'Alice's Adventures In Wonderland' by Lewis Carroll.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly quotes for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for the best 'Alice In Wonderland' quotes, then why not take a look at our 'A Christmas Carol' quotes - a novella written shortly before Lewis Carol's masterpiece, or for more things 'Alice in Wonderland' why not see 'Alice Through The Looking Glass' quotes?

Main image credit: Forest_Fairy / Shutterstock.com

Second image credit: Let Go Media / Shutterstock.com

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Written by Writvik Gupta

Writvik Gupta picture

Writvik Gupta

A professional content writer hailing from Kolkata, India, with extensive experience in the corporate sector, Writvik Gupta has worked with several reputed companies, including ITC WelcomHotel Jodhpur, Bharti AXA Life Insurance, Aryan Imaging, and Eduquity. He also serves as a consultant for a startup based in Bangalore. With a passion for the outdoors, Writvik enjoys trekking and traveling to remote destinations. He also has a keen interest in exploring various cuisines and regularly volunteers for social causes.

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