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The 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.

Notes

The header graphic is by Sir John Tenniel

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Comments

1 - 19 of 19

  • May 26
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    cool kids

    From guest Bryan (contact)
    i love this poem so much


  • May 26
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    Noobs

    From guest Bryan (contact)


  • May 10
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    From guest Lauren (contact)
    That is a strange poem! ( Lauren, 8 yrs old)

  • Elisabeth
    July 15, 2008

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    To me, the nonsense of the poem is integral, we don't need to analyse or translate it so that we understand it. We do already understand it - as it is. It is a magical, mysterious feast. We just need to sit down at the table and enjoy. Imagination is the spice here, this is where we follow the author and see what he sees, using our own experiences and thought. The borogroves are what we believe. The Jabberwock is what we believe.

    The beauty of the poem is that the nonsense is essential, through this we understand the poem. It does make perfect sense, in a nonsenical way.

  • Suleywoman
    November 28, 2007

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    the late jabberwocky

    My whole family's favorite poem! My father was an atheist and didn't want a funeral - but we all needed one when he died, we kept it simple, choosing music and poetry for him. I recited this one - I know he would have approved.

  • blacksmith
    August 16, 2007
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    jabberwocky

    I learned this poem in high school and have loved it ever since.................blacksmith


  • July 22, 2007
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    :)

    From guest shey (contact)
    We did this poem in school for our poetry section...its was awesome. The portmanteau(sp?) make it awesome

  • NailsAndBlackTea
    May 2, 2006
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    Huzzah!

    For fun, I took the first stanza of the Jabberwocky, and found definitions for the words using the Humpty Dumpty chapter in Through the Looking Glass, and also the handy dictionary. This is what the first stanza means (as far as I am aware):

    'Twas 4 o'clock in the afternoon, the time to begin broiling things for supper, and the lithe and slimy things like badgers, lizards, and corkscrews combined who make their nests under sundials and live on cheese

    Did go round and round like a gyroscope and make holes like a gimblet in the grass plot round a sundial:

    All flimsy and miserable were the thin, shabby looking birds with feathers sticking out all around - like living mops,

    And the sort of green pigs from home bellowed and whistled with a kind of sneeze in the middle.

  • The Jabberwock
    April 25, 2006
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    My absolute favourite poem of all time. Like many others I had to memorize it when I was younger, however we also had to redo it taking all the "nonsense words" and replacing them with real words.

    It was so much fun!

    Thank you Mr. Carroll!

  • PsychotikPoet
    November 6, 2005
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    I absolutely LOVE this poem!!!!
    i remember when my friend had to read it when we were in the play Alice in Wonderland
    This really is one of my most favorite poems!!
    Anyone who can write something this amazing is awesome.
    awesome job!!!!!!!! I LOVE IT!!
    ~Midnite Rae
    [the morbid mistress]
    aka:marissa rae

  • ThinkPurple
    January 10, 2005
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    Listed as my all time favorite on my page, I love this poem! I do not remember how I found it, but I found it online not to long ago. I love it, love it, love it!

  • Living Passion
    December 21, 2004
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    I was made to memorize this poem for homeschool in the third grade. I absolutely love it. I was reminded of it when we were discussing poetry in my creative writing class today and Mr. Rhodes read this aloud. I loved the discussion, the other students had to complain that it "didn't make sense" He was having trouble explaining that the nonsense words could easily be taken as any adjectives. The best thing he said this afternoon, while trying to explain the best way to read the poem was, "and those borogroves . . . they were quite mimsy." I absolutely love this poem! God bless all
    ~Stefani~

  • dericlee
    December 10, 2004
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    Start religiously watching old Saturday Night Live reruns...if you're VERY lucky, you might just catch the episode where Desi Arnez offers a reading of this poem.

    PRICELESS!

  • crystaltips
    December 10, 2004
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    i remeber doing this in school and i loved it. I have always bn a fan of fantasy and the words are gr8.
    Lauren x

  • Daydream.Believer
    November 11, 2004
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    This is my all time favorite poem!!! I haven't ever really heard words like this used before... it could be called the most ingenious forced rhyme ever written.

  • Sandygram
    September 13, 2004
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    Wow this was fantastic. It was such a joy to read. Written by a very creative mind. APPLAUSE, APPLAUSE, APPLAUSE

  • Jcsketch82
    September 12, 2004
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    This is one of the greatest. I love the rhyme and even better the made up words. I love this peice.


  • October 29, 2003
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    Great, my favorite!

    This is my favorite poem, it is wonderful nonsense! Nonsensical nonsense in fact!
    Kelly: Go through and see if you can decipher it! He takes two words and sticks them together... But brillig is 4 in the afternoon, the time between lunch and dinner. Slithy: lithe and slimy! See, what fun!


  • September 24, 2003
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    One of the best poems ever writen. what can stimulate such a wonderfull mind to write soemthing like this...
    §alice§


  • November 13, 2001
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    can anyone explain what this means


  • October 2, 2001
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    Oh what nonsense! Oh what fun! I loved it!!


  • September 18, 2001
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    fabulous nonsensical fun! Alice in wonderland is my favorite book from childhood and jabberwocky is a classic piece of literature. It is my hope that sites like this will continue to share such wonderful masterpieces with generations to come.


  • May 16, 2000
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    I love this poem! Alice and wonderland rocks! I even have a poster on my wall that was based on this.... You should see the borogroves, they're scary!

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