Abberwocky By Lewis Carroll
abberwocky, written by Lewis Carroll, is a poem in witch the meaning lies in how the author uses diction, rhyme, and imagery. From the very first stanza of the poem, Carroll uses strange and confusing words that, although they don’t make much sense, still evoke feelings, images, and ideas that the reader cannot easily describe. Portmanteau words like frumious, galumphing, and chortled can be found throughout the poem. These words were made up for the poem by blending sounds or combining the meanings of two words (Royce, 2006), but a lot of them seem related to words that exist and have meaning that is relatable. It is possible that this connection to existing words is why Carroll uses them in his poem. They are playful and creative, leaving
the readers mind to explore their validity of them. In the second stanza of the poem, a word is used that is a perfect example of the type of diction Carroll uses to create meaning in his poem. “Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun / The frumious Bandersnatch!” (7-8). This word frumious, although it is not a real word, it sounds very similar to furious and fuming which makes sense in the line as he is warning the boy of the dangerous creatures other than the Jabberwocky. It makes sense that this creature would be furious since the boy must be warned of it. But why wouldn’t the author just use a real word in its place? This is just one example of how the author used strange diction to form the poem’s meaning.
Carroll also uses a specific rhyme technique that is very noticeable when analyzing the poem (Yaffe, 2008). He uses an alternating rhyme scheme, which creates a sort of singsong type of feel to the poem. This is especially interesting because when compared to the actual content of the poem, which is actually a bit dark, they seem to contradict each other. In the fifth stanza of “Jabberwocky”, Carol uses an alternating rhyme scheme as well as some in-line rhyming. This interesting choice of a rhyme scheme seems to make the poem light and happy when in fact the content that is being described is anything but that.
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! (17-20)
Although the first and third lines of the stanza do not rhyme with each other like in a tradition alternating rhyme scheme, they both have rhyme within the lines themselves. Carroll rhymes two with through in the first line and head with dead in the third. Other than that the gruesome stanza follows the alternating rhyme scheme, evoking a feeling of light innocence in the poem. This is very contradicting and begs the question why Carroll does this.
Finally, it is interesting how the first and last stanzas are the same in the poem. The stanza is by far the most confusing part of the poem in terms of content and this is because most of the words are made up. Regardless of this, Carroll somehow sets a scene in this stanza. The scene is a strange and imaginative one. This imagery makes the reader feel as though Carroll is writing of an imaginary place that and he puts pictures and images in the readers head. It is interesting that the same scene is described at the end of the poem after the events have unfolded. It creates the feeling that nothing has changed from the beginning. This imagery is interesting because it is creating a happy lighthearted scene after a story of a boy killing and taking the head of the Jabberwocky. This imagery when looked at after reading the entirety of the poem is a little dark and somewhat contradictory of the content in the rest of the poem.
the readers mind to explore their validity of them. In the second stanza of the poem, a word is used that is a perfect example of the type of diction Carroll uses to create meaning in his poem. “Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun / The frumious Bandersnatch!” (7-8). This word frumious, although it is not a real word, it sounds very similar to furious and fuming which makes sense in the line as he is warning the boy of the dangerous creatures other than the Jabberwocky. It makes sense that this creature would be furious since the boy must be warned of it. But why wouldn’t the author just use a real word in its place? This is just one example of how the author used strange diction to form the poem’s meaning.
Carroll also uses a specific rhyme technique that is very noticeable when analyzing the poem (Yaffe, 2008). He uses an alternating rhyme scheme, which creates a sort of singsong type of feel to the poem. This is especially interesting because when compared to the actual content of the poem, which is actually a bit dark, they seem to contradict each other. In the fifth stanza of “Jabberwocky”, Carol uses an alternating rhyme scheme as well as some in-line rhyming. This interesting choice of a rhyme scheme seems to make the poem light and happy when in fact the content that is being described is anything but that.
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! (17-20)
Although the first and third lines of the stanza do not rhyme with each other like in a tradition alternating rhyme scheme, they both have rhyme within the lines themselves. Carroll rhymes two with through in the first line and head with dead in the third. Other than that the gruesome stanza follows the alternating rhyme scheme, evoking a feeling of light innocence in the poem. This is very contradicting and begs the question why Carroll does this.
Finally, it is interesting how the first and last stanzas are the same in the poem. The stanza is by far the most confusing part of the poem in terms of content and this is because most of the words are made up. Regardless of this, Carroll somehow sets a scene in this stanza. The scene is a strange and imaginative one. This imagery makes the reader feel as though Carroll is writing of an imaginary place that and he puts pictures and images in the readers head. It is interesting that the same scene is described at the end of the poem after the events have unfolded. It creates the feeling that nothing has changed from the beginning. This imagery is interesting because it is creating a happy lighthearted scene after a story of a boy killing and taking the head of the Jabberwocky. This imagery when looked at after reading the entirety of the poem is a little dark and somewhat contradictory of the content in the rest of the poem.