The Poem Jabberwocky By Lewis Carroll

In this brilliant, yet mind boggling poem “Jabberwocky” by Lewis Carroll, Carroll blends words together which creates a more made-up, magical theme. Though this poem is confusing and hard to understand at first because of the made up words, I believe that as said in the anecdote of the Introduction to Poetry, from the Anthology, the poem would take on a whole new meaning if we had the poet explain how he came to write the poem itself. I would love to sit down with Lewis Carroll and ask him why he wrote this fascinating poem, however I do not think that will be happening so I will come to terms with my own understanding. I felt this poem was about a father telling his son about all the hardships in life and how to overcome them. In the first and second stanza the father is telling the son about all the dangers in the world and the state of the world in general. The third and fourth stanza show the son is becoming independent, wise, and brave and he begins to face his fears. The battle between the son and the Jabberwocky show that he is becoming a man and has become truly independent. Then the last two stanzas the son returns to his father to celebrate his success and to pass the knowledge he has learned down to his son.
This poem may not make a lot of sense the first few times that you read it because of the made up words, and you may not understand what the story is trying to tell you.
I found that the first time I read it, it made the most sense. The stanzas had perfect rhyme, the words flowed together so smoothly, everything about it seemed right. I was captivated by a story that I did not fully understand, it created so much imagery, and made me feel as if I had been there that day watching the Jabberwocky being slayed. That was until I realized what I had just read. “Brillig”, “uffish”, “slithy”, what did these words mean and why did Carroll get throw some words together and call it
Art? Maybe we do not understand the word “brillig”, or know why Humpty said it means broiling time—4:00 P.M, but at the time this was written it suited the atmosphere of the story and to this day still gives the poem a sensual, fresh, enchanting sound. I loved this poem because it was different and unlike anything I have ever heard before, it also was sort of a challenge to analyze which made me like it even more. Lewis Carroll deserves all the credit for this poem it is brilliant and he should be proud that there has been two movies made from the poem and the story, neither quite as brilliant, however his work deserves to be known. In today’s society movies are much more popular than poems and novels, so I am glad that Lewis Carroll is still being recognized for his work.