Tuesday, March 23, 2010

ABC Wednesday

J is for Jabberwocky.

The poem

'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 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 Jabberwock?
Come to my arms, my beamish boy!
O 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.



The Glossary for this 'glorious nonsense' poem which Lewis Carroll included in his tale of Alice, "Through the Looking Glass" can be found here. and more wonderful interpretations of the splendid letter 'J' can be found here at ABC Wednesday, hosted by Mrs. Nesbitt and her kind helpers.

16 comments:

Sylvia K said...

Marvelous, fun post for the day! I love it! Hope your week is going well!

Sylvia

photowannabe said...

Whew, thats an exhausting poem to journey through. fun post.

Tumblewords: said...

I so enjoy this poem! I had a friend who recited it at the drop of a hat and did such a fine job, she kept us laughing for a long time.

Nydia said...

Oh, this is the kind of nonsense that is so needed! :o) Really fun!

Kisses from Nydia.

magiceye said...

that was fun!

Jayne said...

Funny..I was thinking about this poem the other day! What a tremendous imagination this man had. :)

jabblog said...

What a lovely post and I did enjoy the Muppets performing Jabberwocky. I can only ever remember the first verse of that (and the last, naturally ;-})

Rune Eide said...

This must be the most original J-word on record - nice one!

Unknown said...

Great, I enjoyed the poem and the videao... now to go see the new Alice in wonderland movie, have you seen it??


http://www.gardenersreach.com/post/J-is-for-Jay.aspx

Reader Wil said...

That's great Hildred and Charles! Your posts are always a delight to see. This is the funniest poem I have read and heard! Yes "Alice in Wonderland"and through the Looking Glass"are wonderful books and not only for children!

Gemma Wiseman said...

Adore this poem! It's so much fun to say out loud with all the tumbling sounds!

Strawberry Jam Anne said...

Really enjoyed this and seeing the Muppet video too. Fun J choice. A

Paula Scott Molokai Girl Studio said...

Jabberwocky is a good one to post (I think I did it last go around). Very timely with the release of Tim Burton's version of "Alice"!
Personally, it would also make a good everyday word, sort of like the word, "drats!".

Lisa said...

I haven't seen anyone else post this as their J-word. And it's an amazing one at that. Such a strange, creative poem.

Jay said...

I watched the new Alice in Wonderland last weekend and was reminded of this poem. Never did I think I'd hear Johnny Depp saying 'Oh frabjous day, calloo callay!' LOL!

Roger Owen Green said...

I ALMOST used the term jabberwocky in the intro of ABC Wednesday this week. seemed a little forced for me, but works for you.