Bandersnatch Meters & Vorpal Blades

So-o, back on December 1, when I posted re completing the revision of another WALL #4 section, I also mentioned “bandersnatch meters and the accompanying significance of vorpal blades” in the revision context.

Azula on the WALL face — channeling that revision vibe

I also indicated that I might illuminate their mysteries pre-Christmas, but in the end was way too busy revising the next WALL #4 section to have time for that. Now, however,with the manuscript delivered, I have a little more breathing space, so here it is — the post in which the Bandersnatch Meter mystery is revealed. 😀

Now, I know …on Anything, Really blog followers are both knowledgeable and well-read, so will be very aware that both bandersnatches and vorpal blades feature in the poem Jabberwocky by Lewis Carroll, featured in full here.

Jabberwocky illustration by John Tenniel, 1871

In the poem, the “frumious bandersnatch”, along with the jabberwocky with its “eyes of flame” must be shunned, but the hero nonetheless takes “his vorpal sword in hand” and seeks the “manxome foe” — and once found the aforementioned “vorpal blade went snicker-snack” and it was all over for the jabberwocky. The frumious bandersnatch, however, remained…

…and even wandered into my revision process. How so, you may cry — but it’s straightforward enough. 😉 When embarking upon an edit, one not only looks for the sort of things mentioned in my recent post on Hunting Infelicities but also for bandersnatches at large in the manuscript: that’s BS, of course, for short. 😀

Jabberwocky is part of “Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There”

So in order to ensure the manuscript, when published, will be BS free, one first needs a BS meter, to detect the (ahem) bandersnatches and a vorpal blade to go snicker-snack and detach ’em in short order, wherever they may be encountered. All of which is why I maintain and aver that a really good Bandersnatch Meter and reliable vorpal blade are essential to the manuscript revision process.