Poem of the Month "Jabberwocky"

JABBERWOCKY

Lewis Carroll(from Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There, 1872)

`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 awhile 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, has thou slain the Jabberwock? Come to my arms, my beamish boy!O 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.

My opinion:

I love this poem. To me, it is complete fantasy. The description creates, in my mind, a Burtonesque landscape. I imagine a dark, overgrown, woody forest without much foliage. The sky is overcast. Cold drops of melted ice drip from the branches. The young man has tried to capture this beast again and again. He has it down to a science now. He knows that pursuing the Jabberwock is futile. For, as soon as the Jubjub bird sees him, he will alert the Jabberwock and the the surprise attack will fail yet again. So he changes his strategy and waits beneath the Tumtum tree. The Jabberwock comes trampling through the woods, "whiffling" as he goes. It is a battle cry, meant to intimidate his prey. Instead, it works against the Jabberwock, and prepares the young man for the beast's attack. He is able to surprise the Jabberwock and slay him with ease. The young man honored his father by heeding his warnings; it saved his life. Such an intriguing piece.