Original artwork, not a still
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland · 1865
The different branches of Arithmetic — Ambition, Distraction, Uglification, and Derision.
Behind the line
What it means
Our interpretation.
The list turns the sound of arithmetic terminology into comic nonsense. Words associated with striving, distraction, ugliness, and ridicule appear where mathematical categories would be expected. The humour depends on that almost-familiar language, making an orderly subject seem suddenly unruly and strange.
Context reviewed
