““JabberwJabberwocky”ocky”

by Lewis by Lewis CarrollCarroll

Ever heard of Alice in Wonderland?

Lewis Carroll’s most famous writings are Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and its sequel Through the Looking Glass, as well as the poems “The Hunting of

the Snark" and “JabberwockyJabberwocky”.

by Lewis Carroll

Actually, Lewis Carroll was really just the ‘pen name’ used by Charles Lutwidge Dodgson

JabberwJabberwockyocky

JabberwockyJabberwocky is a poem of Nonsense verse that originally appeared in Lewis Carroll’s famous novel Through the Looking Glass.

It is widely known to be the greatest (certainly most well-known and studied) nonsense poem ever written.

Jabberwocky was written in 1871!

JabberwJabberwockyocky

In the original text, the poem was written sdrawkcab, and Alice came up with the idea of decoding it by holding it up to the "looking-glass."

In the story, Humpty Dumpty explains to her that the poem "Jabberwocky" is made up of portmanteaus or invented words

Ever heard of

Humpty Dumpty?

↑ Literary

Device

◄backwards

How about…

The Mad The Mad

Hatter ?Hatter ?

The Cheshire Cat?

The Cheshire Cat?

““JabberJabberwocky”wocky”

There was a book lying near Alice on the table and while she sat watching the White King (for she was still a little anxious about him, and had the ink all ready to throw over him, in case he fainted again), she turned over the leaves, to find some part that she could read, "--for it's all in some language I don't know", she said to herself.

It was like this.

She puzzled over this for some time, but at last a bright thought struck her. "Why, it's a Looking-glass book, of course! And if I hold it up to a glass, the words will all go the right way again."

This was the poem that Alice read.

Tim Burton's Alice in

Wonderland

““Jabberwocky”Jabberwocky”'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves Did gyre and gimble in the wabe: All mimsy were the borogoves, And the mome raths outgrabe.

'Beware the Jabberwock, my son! The jaws that bite, the claws that catch! Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun The frumious Bandersnatch!'

He took his vorpal sword in hand: Long time the manxome foe he sought -- So rested he by the Tumtum tree, And stood a while in thought.

And, as in uffish thought he stood, The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame, Came whiffling through the tulgey wood, And burbled as it came!

One two! One two! And through and through The vorpal blade went snicker-snack! He left it dead, and with its head He went galumphing back.

'And hast thou slain the Jabberwock? Come to my arms, my beamish boy! Oh frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!' He chortled in his joy.

'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves Did gyre and gimble in the wabe: All mimsy were the borogoves, And the mome raths outgrabe.

““Jabberwocky” Jabberwocky” AnalysisAnalysis

'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves ADid gyre and gimble in the wabe: BAll mimsy were the borogoves, AAnd the mome raths outgrabe. B

'Beware the Jabberwock, my son! CThe jaws that bite, the claws that catch! DBeware the Jubjub bird, and shun CThe frumious Bandersnatch!' D

He took his vorpal sword in hand: ELong time the manxome foe he sought -- FSo rested he by the Tumtum tree, GAnd stood a while in thought. F

And, as in uffish thought he stood, HThe Jabberwock, with eyes of flame, ICame whiffling through the tulgey wood, HAnd burbled as it came! I

One two! One two! And through and through JThe vorpal blade went snicker-snack!

KHe left it dead, and with its head LHe went galumphing back. K

'And hast thou slain the Jabberwock? MCome to my arms, my beamish boy!

NOh frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!' OHe chortled in his joy. N

'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves ADid gyre and gimble in the wabe: BAll mimsy were the borogoves, AAnd the mome raths outgrabe. B

REFRAIN

““Jabberwocky” Jabberwocky” AnalysisAnalysis

Poetry Form/Type: Ballad or NarrativeBallad – Poems which narrate a story in

short stanzasFollows iambic tetrameter

Stanzas: Seven Quatrains

Exploring the meaning of

“Jabberwocky”…

So, what does it all mean?

Thoughts?

What was Alice thinking?

'It seems very pretty,' she said when she had finished it, 'but it's rather hard to understand!'

(You see she didn't like to confess, even to herself, that she couldn't make it out at all.)

'Somehow it seems to fill my head with ideas—only I don't exactly know what they are! However, somebody killed something: that's clear, at any rate'

Humpty Dumpty had some thoughts…

“You seem very clever at explaining words, Sir”, said Alice. “Would you kindly tell me the meaning of the poem ‘Jabberwocky’?”

“Let’s hear it”, said Humpty Dumpty. “I can explain all the poems that have ever been invented – and a good many that haven’t been invented just yet.”

This sounded very hopeful, so Alice repeated the first verse:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMnrrhbQqrA

Portmanteau

A word formed out of parts of other words.

Two meanings packed into one word (as in the poem Jabberwocky by Lewis Carroll.)

Examples:

Brunch is formed from breakfast and lunch.

Spork is formed from spoon and fork.

Brangelina is formed from Brad and Angelina.

The word "portmanteau" was first used in this context by Lewis Carroll in the book Through the Looking-Glass (1871), in which Humpty Dumpty explains to Alice the coinage of the unusual words in Jabberwocky, where "slithy" means "lithe and slimy" and "mimsy" is "flimsy and miserable". Humpty Dumpty explains the practice of combining words in various ways by telling Alice,'You see it's like a portmanteau—there are two meanings packed up into one word.'

Vocabulary or nonsense… or inventive?

Word Meaning?Jubjub fearsomeBandersnatch Time to broil dinnervorpal beautifulmanxome Thick, dense, darkbrillig swift moving creature with

snapping jawsslithy deadly, sharpmimsy a desperate bird that lives in

perpetual passionbeamish lithe and slimychortled chuckle and snorttulgey flimsy and miserable

This poem and it’s vocabulary have been studied and analysed ‘to death’. Lewis himself provided a translation of many of the nonsense words into regular English, but himself even admitted to being uncertain about the translation of others.

Here are some generally agreed upon translations…Can you match up the nonsense word with the supposed meaning?