Jabberwocky

’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.

by Lewis Carroll

from Through the Looking Glass

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I could pretend to all sorts of serious reasons for selecting Jabberwocky as my Tuesday Poem: for example, that it is regarded as one of the finest nonsense poems in the English language, in particular for its use of portmanteaux; or that some of the nonsense words, such as “chortled”, have subsequently entered main stream usage.

But in fact, I have chosen it because it was one of my favourite poems as a child and one of the first I was intrigued enough to learn, of my own volition, to memorise right through. I loved the rhythm and rhyme and nonsense of it that yet managed to tell a thoroughly—and satisfyingly—comprehensible story.

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