'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 soughtSo 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 Jaberwock?
Come to my arms, by beamish boy!
O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!"
He chortled in his joy.
“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.)
— Lewis Carroll, From Through The Looking Glass
“Few would dispute that
Jabberwocky is the greatest of all
nonsense poems in English.”
— Martin Gardner,
— The Annotated Alice
Jabberwocky has long been hailed as the King of all the neologistic poems. It was
written by Lewis Carroll (right) in 1871 as part of his work Through The Looking
Glass. In the story, Alice falls asleep and climbs through the
Looking Glass where she finds many interesting and
ridiculous characters. She finds the first verse of
Jabberwocky in backwards format and holds it up to the
mirror to read it correctly. Thus is discovered one of
literatures most fanciful and meaningless poems, that yet
manages to retain its rich imagery. The poem was
illustrated by Sir John Tenniel (left) by two illustrations.
You will find one on Opening Page and the other, which
depicts the mome raths and mimsy borogoves at brillig, is
not currently available.
'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 soughtSo 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 Jaberwock?
Come to my arms, my beamish boy!
O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!"
He chortled in his joy.