Dahl’s version was written in 1982, and according to “Poetry Archive,” his rhymes were written as a joke, not intentionally meant to be published. Due to his own comments, I believe that his version of Little Red Riding Hood is a parody on fairy tales as a whole, not specifically representing the culture of the 80’s, the time period in which the poem was written.
In line with his other stories, I believe that children are the audience for his poem(s). His amusing take on the fairy tale gives children a fresh and interesting way of looking at a more serious story and getting a good laugh at it.
The fact that Roald Dahl chose to write this tale of Little Red Riding Hood in verse definitely makes it seem as if it is aimed at children. You make a good point that most of his other works were directed at children too. However Dahl definitely did write some stories for adults and I think that, whilst on the surface the rhymes and meter would appeal to children - the actual content of the story - the more satirical view of the fairytale would appeal to adults. Whilst the children would enjoy and laugh at this strange version of Little Red Riding Hood, the adults would understand the parody and humour more.
ReplyDeletealthough the rhyme and the meter is geared toward children, i have to say, as I mention in my blog that the satire and irony of the poem seems to be more geared towards adults, as children would not fully understand the humor in LRRH shooting the wolf rather than him eating her
ReplyDeleteJust because children may possibly not be able to understand every element of the poem, does not mean that it was not written for them. If one looks back at many children's novels and stories, such as "The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe," there are always underlying messages that go over children's heads (in LWW, the character of Aslan is a reincarnated lion version of Christ). Enjoyment is not defined by exact understanding of a text; is is defined by the pleasure that one derives from the activity.
ReplyDelete