What type of poem is Jabberwocky?

Answer 1

One of the key elements of Jabberwocky is the use of nonsense language, so if you were to write a poem emulating it, you should include nonsense words. Bear in mind though, that most of the words are actually plain English, and that only some of the words are nonsense.

Many of the nonsense words in the poem are what Humpty Dumpty describes as 'portmanteau', that is two (or three) words mixed together to create a new word which has the meaning of both. For example 'slithy' is comprised of the words 'lithe' and 'slimy'.

You should try to create and incorporate words like this into your poem; so if, for instance, your poem was about an irresistible chocolate cake, and you wanted to describe it as 'sublime' and 'delicious', you might say it was 'delime' or 'sublicious'.

Not all the nonsense words are portmanteau however. Some are just made up. They are there simply because they sound right, or even because they provide a convenient rhyme. For example 'toves' and 'borogoves'. So, you might have described your cake as 'pudding' and say that you can "hardly wait for the nightly 'gooding'" - 'gooding' being a made-up word (of course) to describe something nice, but also to serve as a rhyme to 'pudding'. (I use the word 'pudding' here in its British sense, meaning dessert, rather than the American sense, referring to the specific sweet, sticky gooey stuff which is eaten for dessert.)

Remember that not all of your nonsense words have to have real meanings, they just need to sound right. Carroll himself said that he didn't know what the word 'vorpal' meant and the meanings for some of the others appear to have been made up years after he wrote the poem.

Jabberwocky was written as a parody of Anglo saxon poetry, hence the strange sounding words and the epic adventure nature of the story-line. You might want to copy this, and write on a similar theme - a heroic adventure, a mortal slaying a terrible beast, like a saga in the idiom of Beowulf for example. Or you might decide that that is not what is most important about the poem and that you would rather concentrate on the nonsense aspect of the poetry, in which case you can write on any topic which interests you - it could be about real things in the real world that are relevant to your own life (such as chocolate cake) or you might want to write purely on a fantasy theme, about places and creatures that exist solely in your imagination. This decision is up to you, and you will have to decide what you think is best.

It is worth considering though, that the fantasy nature of Jabberwocky serves to justify the nonsense language. Perhaps using fantastical words about so mundane a subject as a trip to the shops wouldn't be appropriate, whereas if you write about an entirely mythical place and mythical characters, made-up words would be essential, as you would be describing made-up things.

Despite appearances, the original poem actually tells a very simple straightforward story in a simple straightforward manner, the clarity of the story counterbalances the ambiguity of the language, so it would be best if your poem did the same. Think of a simple story, eating a cake, fighting a bully, a magic trip to the moon and back, and use that as the basis for your creation.

The majority of the poem has a simple a,b,a,b rhyme scheme, so this should be quite easy to copy. But a few of the stanzas have an a,b,c,b rhyme scheme where the third line contains an internal rhyme for example:

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.

You don't have to emulate this, although you could if you wanted to. It is up to you how you choose to make your poem rhyme.

Perhaps the most important thing about Jabberwocky is that Lewis Carroll wrote it for FUN. He enjoyed writing it, and did so to provide enjoyment for others. See if you can do the same.

Answer 2

Lewis Carroll, whose real name was Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, wrote the poem Jabberwocky. It was first published in his novel Through the Looking-Glass and what Alice Found There in 1872.
Lewis Carroll

Answer 3

The interpretation of poetry is subjective, and a poem's meaning will vary from reader to reader. Even Lewis Carroll himself gave two different sets of meanings for some of the words in his poem Jabberwocky.

However, in as much as it is possible to subject a poem to analysis, here is one interpretation of what Jabberwocky could mean based on the definitions given by Humpty Dumpty, suggestions by Martin Gardner in his Annotated Alice, the glossary featured in Answers.com (see Related Link) and my own imagination:

The Nonsense Monster

It was four o' clock in the afternoon, and the lithe and slimy corkscrew-badger-lizards were whirling round and round near the sun-dial; The shabby-looking birds were all flimsy and miserable, and the lost green pigs were making a noise like bellowing and whistling with a sneeze in the middle.

The father said, "Beware of the Nonsense Monster, my son! Its biting jaws, its catching claws! Beware of the desperately passionate bird, and keep away from the fuming, furious monster with the extendable neck."

The boy picked up his flesh hungry sword, and looked for his ferocious enemy for a long time, until he eventually took a rest underneath the type of tree they use to make bongos, where he stood, thinking.

And while he was thinking in a roughish, toughish, huffish way, the Nonsense Monster, its eyes ablaze with furious passion, came steaming through the dark, dank wood making a bleating, bubbling sound!

The boy struck once. He struck twice. The flesh hungry blade went through the monster's body, again and again, as though it were merely chopping vegetables! The boy cut off its head, and leaving the body behind, he went triumphantly galloping back.

The father said, "And have you killed the Nonsense Monster? Come to my arms my dazzling, smiling boy! Oh fabulous, joyous day! Hurrah! Hooray!" He chuckled and snorted happily.

It was four o' clock in the afternoon, and the lithe and slimy corkscrew-badger-lizards were whirling round and round near the sun-dial; The shabby-looking birds were all flimsy and miserable, and the lost green pigs were making a noise like bellowing and whistling with a sneeze in the middle.

Answer 4

Jabberwocky is usually described as being a 'nonsense poem'.
It's a nonsense poem. What's interesting is that native speakers can sort of half-follow it anyway since the syntax is logical and the sounds are so rich and suggestive.

Answer 5

Jabberwocky is a nonsense poem written by Lewis Carroll. It is known for its playful and inventive language, consisting of made-up words that create a unique and bewildering narrative.

Answer 6

Yes. Jabberwocky is a nonsense poem by Lewis Carroll which first appeared in his book Through the Looking Glass.

Answer 7

No, it isn't.