Lewis Carroll
Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (27 January 1832 – 14 January 1898), better known by his pen name Lewis Carroll, was an English author, poet, mathematician, photographer and reluctant Anglicanism, Anglican deacon. His most notable works are ''Alice ...
's 1865 book ''
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (also known as ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English Children's literature, children's novel by Lewis Carroll, a mathematics university don, don at the University of Oxford. It details the story of a ...
''.
The main character, Alice, hypothesizes,
: "The March Hare will be much the most interesting, and perhaps as this is May it won't be raving mad – at least not so mad as it was in March."
"
Mad as a March hare
To be as "mad as a March hare" is an English language, English idiomatic phrase derived from the observed antics said to occur only in the March breeding season of the European hare (''Lepus europaeus''). The phrase is an allusion that can be us ...
" is a common
British English
British English is the set of Variety (linguistics), varieties of the English language native to the United Kingdom, especially Great Britain. More narrowly, it can refer specifically to the English language in England, or, more broadly, to ...
phrase, both now and in Carroll's time, and appears in John Heywood's collection of proverbs published in 1546. It is reported in '' The Annotated Alice'' by Martin Gardner that this proverb is based on popular belief about hares' behaviour at the beginning of the long breeding season, which lasts from February to September in Britain. Early in the season, unreceptive females often use their forelegs to repel overenthusiastic males. It used to be incorrectly believed that these bouts were between males fighting for breeding supremacy.
Like the character's friend, the Hatter, the March Hare feels compelled to always behave as though it is tea-time because the Hatter supposedly "murdered the time" whilst singing for the Queen of Hearts. Sir
John Tenniel
John Tenniel (; 28 February 182025 February 1914) was an English illustrator, graphic humourist and political cartoonist prominent in the second half of the 19th century. An alumnus of the Royal Academy of Arts in London, he was knight bachelor ...
's illustration also shows him with straw on his head, a common way to depict madness in Victorian times. The March Hare later appears at the trial for the Knave of Hearts, and for a final time as "Haigha" (which is pronounced to rhyme with "mayor", according to Carroll, and a homophone of "hare" in a non-rhotic accent), the personal messenger to the White King in '' Through the Looking-Glass'' (Alice either does not recognize him as the March Hare of her earlier dream, or chooses not to comment about this).
Major depictions
Disney animated film
Disney's ''Alice in Wonderland'', an animated film, depicted the March Hare at the tea party as being deliriously confused. He repeatedly offers Alice a cup of tea, but distractedly yanks the cup out of her reach or takes it from her hands just as she is about to drink. He was voiced by Jerry Colonna, after whom his appearance and personality were modelled. He was animated by Ward Kimball.
This version of the character was also a semi-regular on '' Bonkers'' and one of the guests in '' House of Mouse'', often seen seated with the Mad Hatter. During these appearances, the March Hare was voiced by Jesse Corti and Maurice LaMarche.
In the '' Kingdom Hearts'' video game series, March Hare makes a cameo appearance in a painting in the Tea Party Garden in the 2002 video game '' Kingdom Hearts'' and its 2009 sequel '' Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days''. He later made a physical appearance in the 2013 game '' Kingdom Hearts χ''.
Tim Burton's ''Alice in Wonderland''
The March Hare appears in the 2010 Disney film '' Alice in Wonderland'', voiced by Paul Whitehouse. His full name is Thackery Earwicket; this, however, is not mentioned in the film. In the movie, the March Hare behaves as if constantly nerve-wracked and completely delirious. He is a cook in the film, and the way he eccentrically throws dishes and pots suggests he is an amalgam of both the March Hare and the cook from Lewis Carroll's original book. The March Hare has a strong Scottish accent in this movie, while his friend the Mad Hatter (played by Johnny Depp) switches into a Scottish accent as well whenever his emotions are strained. He is first seen in the " Tea Party" scene, which takes place at his "Hare House" windmill. Thackery hosts a tea party, which he shares with Tarrant Hightopp the Mad Hatter, Mallymkun the Dormouse, and Chess the Cheshire Cat. He appears a second time in the White Queen's kitchen, frantically cooking and throwing dishes. His third appearance is at the Frabjous Day scene, in which he stands with the other characters wielding a ladle as his weapon, nervous and somewhat ready to go to battle. Burton stated that because Whitehouse is a great comedic actor, a lot of his lines came from improvisation.
The March Hare appears in the "Mad T Party" in Disney's California Adventure park. He is based on the 2010 film's interpretation, and plays bass guitar. He is often found hopping around with Mallymkun the Dormouse on stage.
In popular culture
* The March Hare was played by Charlie Ruggles in '' Alice in Wonderland''.
* In SyFy's TV miniseries '' Alice'', the March Hare is represented by the character Mad March, the Queen's favorite assassin. The Queen frequently had him killed, resulting in his head getting lost; the Carpenter replaces it with a robot rabbit head. Despite this, Mad March is still his old self, crass and (as liked by the Queen) a homicidal maniac.
* The March Hare is featured as the primary antagonist in the '' Once Upon a Time'' story "Tea Party in March" in the graphic novel ''Once Upon a Time: Out of the Past''.
* In the song entitled "We Have Heaven" by the British rock group Yes, a lyric mantra is sung from beginning to end saying "Tell the Moon Dog, tell the March Hare...".
* In the game ''
American McGee's Alice
''American McGee's Alice'' is a 2000 third-person dark fantasy action-adventure video game developed by Rogue Entertainment under the direction of designer American McGee and published by Electronic Arts under the EA Games banner. The game ...
'', the March Hare is portrayed as a victim of the Mad Hatter's insane experimentation. Both the Hare and the Dormouse have become
clockwork
Clockwork refers to the inner workings of either mechanical devices called clocks and watches (where it is also called the movement (clockwork), movement) or other mechanisms that work similarly, using a series of gears driven by a spring or wei ...
cyborg
A cyborg (, a portmanteau of ''cybernetics, cybernetic'' and ''organism'') is a being with both Organic matter, organic and biomechatronic body parts. The term was coined in 1960 by Manfred Clynes and Nathan S. Kline.Alice: Madness Returns'' where he and the Dormouse betray the Hatter to aid in the Dollmaker's plans by constructing the Infernal Train.
* In the video game adaptation of Tim Burton's ''Alice in Wonderland'', Thackery Earwicket is a playable character. He uses his telekinesis to defeat the Bandersnatch.
* In the manga '' Alice in the Country of Hearts'' the March Hare is called Elliot March and is Blood Dupre's (the Hatter's) right-hand man. He isn't specifically crazy or mad, but has a quite violent attitude, almost killing Alice with his long-barrelled gun before being stopped by Blood.
* In the manga '' Pandora Hearts'', the March Hare is a "Chain" whose "Contractor" is Reim Lunettes. It has the ability to fake death, which helps Reim to escape his attackers and proved to be so realistic that even his comrades have believed him really dead.
* In the Annette Ducharme song "Moral", she references the March Hare singing: "But you're frantic like the March Hare running round".
* The famous mnemonic for medical students regarding cholinergic toxicity revolves around the Alice in Wonderland characters - "Mad as a hatter, Hot as a hare, Blind as a bat, Dry as a cracker." (There are several variations on this mnemonic.)https://emedicine.medscape.com/article/812644-clinical