June 9, 2012
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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 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 hast 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.I have no idea what that poem means, only that Carrol wrote it for Alice “Through the Looking Glass”. My grandmother was a librarian and I would sit at the library after school waiting for her. She gave me the book from a library sale and I couldn’t understand the poem, became frustrated, and told her I didn’t like the book because of it. She very calmly told me I was reading it with my head and not my ears, so try reading it out loud so I could hear it. It is now one of my favorite poems. Sometimes when I don’t understand things now I still remember what she said, so I try it a different way. And sometimes it works.
Comments (35)
I have no idea what it means either, but it’s very interesting. Thanks for sharing! Hope you’re doing well <3
@xdeelynnx - Thank you! Better today than yesterday
“‘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.)”
Ha, this is one of those odd things I randomly memorised along with “The Walrus and the Carpenter” and the “one fine day in the middle of the night” one when I was younger. I think I just enjoy being looked at funny.
@Grtt – That’s terrific! I wish I had a memory like that!
It’s kinda cruel, really. I can remember poems, monologues, etc. What I can’t remember? People’s names, their birthdays, that we need milk when I’m in the grocery store, what I went into a room to get, lol.
@Grtt - Hahaha, the second half sounds like me!
At first I thought that it was a Scottish poem. Really neat. Grandmothers are always so right, no?
You are sick? Get well soon Cricket.
It’s about conquering your intangible fears. Just like the Never Ending Story confronts dealing with “The Nothing”.
Or, maybe it’s just a well crafted ad for McDonalds. Either one is possible.
@ZSA_MD - Thank you! Grandmothers are always right, in so many ways, too. Thank you for your well wishes, I have been sick for several days with an abscess. I had no idea how bad an infection could feel before now
@amateurprose - The Nothing – ah yes. And you could be a marketing genius using intangible fears with McDonalds. My dog won’t even eat their burgers!
@BoulderChristina - That’s because some of your dogs relatives are probably IN some of those burgers. Oh, well. You meat eaters get what you deserve. No pink slime in vegetables!
@solidonsand - They probably are, I didn’t ask!
When I was little we had an Alice in Wonderland record, and this poem was sung. I still remember the tune.
@ata_grandma - I’m going to have to look that up on YouTube, that may have been exactly what she was talking about!
@BoulderChristina - oh no! i must have missed that post somewhere in my laziness. I hope you are on proper antibiotics and the abscess has been drained. Please take care. lots of love and good wishes.
I’ve heard of this poem, but never read it. I’ve never read even any of the Alice stories.
I enjoy writing poems that just have a nice sound when read, and roll off the tongue in a nice way. it doesn’t have to have any meaning.
this is a fun poem. how are you?
@plantinthewindow - I like the rhythm of it, too! I have been sick, thanks for asking though!
@BoulderChristina - I’ve been very much under the weather, too.
I don’t think it’s supposed to mean anything really but is just nonsense. I’ve read that in college courses and professors offered their deep insights but I don’t buy it as anything other than nonsense.
Maybe I ought to light up a big ol spliff and try to understand that. I’m sure it would be so deep and meaning ful then~ only problem would be that I would forget what I found deep and meaningful in it as soon as the buzz wore off, oh well, thanks for posting, happy Sat. night!
This is slightly relevant, but I played the video game “Alice” by American McGee, and the Jabberwocky was a bitch to kill.
LOL
I LOVE this poem. My 2nd husband could repeat it from memory and when delightfully drunk (at the beginning) would repeat it at the top of his voice rather like The Madhatter (Johnny Depp) did in Alice. I like your Grandmothers take… I quite agree with her…
Jabberwocks are scary creatures from norse myths, very dark characters. Some stories said it can burn your blood with a scream and left you in ashes. Are usually related to dragons or gryphs or fire slamaders, magical beings from an early dangerous era, quite romantic but awfuly wild I guess. Lovely poem
I have not heard that or read it in years I always thought it was fun
Hope you are better soon
I am one of those depraved people who can recite it by heart. The original illustration is wonderful:
http://www.jabberwocky.com/pics/jabberwocky.jpg
Here is the explanation by Humpty Dumpty:
“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 ever were invented–and a good many that haven’t been invented just yet.”
This sounded very hopeful, so Alice repeated the first verse:
‘Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.
“That’s enough to begin with”, Humpty Dumpty interrupted: “there are plenty of hard words there. ‘Brillig‘ means four o’clock in the afternoon–the time when you begin broiling things for dinner.”
“That’ll do very well”, said Alice: “and ‘slithy‘?”
“Well, ‘slithy‘ means ‘lithe and slimy’. ‘Lithe’ is the same as ‘active’. You see it’s like a portmanteau–there are two meanings packed up into one word.”
I see it now”, Alice remarked thoughfully: “and what are ‘toves‘?”
“Well, ‘toves‘ are something like badgers–they’re something like lizards–and they’re something like corkscrews.”
“They must be very curious creatures.”
“They are that”, said Humpty Dumpty: “also they make their nests under sun-dials–also they live on cheese.”
“And what’s to ‘gyre‘ and to ‘gimble‘?”
“To ‘gyre‘ is to go round and round like a gyroscope. To ‘gimble‘ is to make holes like a gimlet.”
“And ‘the wabe‘ is the grass plot round a sun-dial, I suppose?” said Alice, surprised at her own ingenuity.
“Of course it is. It’s called ‘wabe‘, you know, because it goes a long way before it, and a long way behind it–”
“And a long way beyond it on each side”, Alice added.
“Exactly so. Well then, ‘mimsy‘ is ‘flimsy and miserable’ (there’s another portmanteau for you). And a ‘borogove‘ is a thin shabby-looking bird with its feathers sticking out all round–something like a live mop.”
“And then ‘mome raths‘?” said Alice. “If I’m not giving you too much trouble.”
“Well a ‘rath‘ is a sort of green pig, but ‘mome‘ I’m not certain about. I think it’s sort for ‘from home’–meaning that they’d lost their way, you know.”
“And what does ‘outgrabe‘ mean?”
“Well, ‘outgribing‘ is something between bellowing an whistling, with a kind of sneeze in the middle: however, you’ll hear it done, maybe–down in the wood yonder–and when you’ve once heard it, you’ll be quite content. Who’s been repeating all that hard stuff to you?”
“I read it in a book”, said Alice.
–Through The Looking Glass, Lewis Carroll
That’s always been one of my favorite poems since I was in second grade and we had a huge picture book with vivid illustrations and one stanza written out on each page. I used to read it every day. Been a fan of Lewis Carrol ever since. I liked Tim Burton’s Alice that much more because of the heavy inclusion of Jabberwocky.
@godfatherofgreenbay - It’s funny what professors try to do, isn’t it? There was a professor in CA that tried to make an entire course of deciphering Beatles lyrics, which was their inspiration for I am Walrus… coo coo ka choo
@DivaJyoti - It would be hilarious to see what your interpretation would end up being!
@Xbeautifully_broken_downX - I have never heard of that one! Was it fun?
@MzSilver - Corey recites it too, with enough beer and encouragement! Funny how the same types of things tickle us!
@xXxlovelylollipop - Burn your blood with a scream – now that is what nightmares are made of!
@SisterMae - Thank you, I feel much better now.
@we_deny_everything - Why doesn’t it surprise me you can recite that! Thanks for the excerpt! Now I want to dig that book out and read it again!
@chaosandtranquility - I should watch that, I have hear it was excellent. Thank you!
I once heard of a college course about the Beatles “Paul is Dead” hoax