Jabberwocky Analysis

'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 a while 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!

Oh 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.

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I think that this poem is very much symbolic whether the author intended it to be that way or not. I have come to the conclusion that the jabberwocky is a symbolism of the temptations we encounter in our lives. It represents sin. The boy going out to defeat it, is our journey through life trying to get through our trials. The dad is like our family and friends who encourage us to make good decisions and persevere. The defeat of the jabberwocky is our overcoming of sin and temptation.

| Posted on 2009-10-23 | by a guest

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I think it means that Max, a fictional character from his early works, is homosexual. He was always described with a massive nose, which is interesting when comparing the poem to his early writings.

| Posted on 2009-07-17 | by a guest

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The poem is actually an encoded message, one that only the father and son understand. The son was setting forth on a journey and his father gave him instructions. After de-coding, what remains is the father's request:
"Pick up milk and bread."

| Posted on 2009-07-05 | by a guest

.: :.

This has always been one of my favourite poems - it deserves to be read aloud, with feelings. It should be treated as a wonderful piece of theatre, and small children should be allowed to act it out (especially the bit with the vorpal sword). Leave the analysis and simply enjoy it as a romp through the more fanciful and fun parts of English literature.

| Posted on 2009-05-20 | by a guest

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the jabberwocky is very similiar to alice in wonder land in the fact that it is nothing but the day dream of a young boy. The repeating of the first and last paragraphs makes it seem like after it is all done the boy wakes up and is exactly where he was in the beginning as if he had only fallen asleep.

| Posted on 2009-05-12 | by a guest

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I believe this poem is more about language, then story. The words seem nonsense, they are actually old terms that have lost their meaning to us. If you research each word you find that Carrol is not writing nonsense but a narrative. The point is the narrative is short and simple, the meaning, I feel lay in the words themselves.

| Posted on 2009-04-28 | by a guest

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in the story, the huge "big foot" creature could represent not a being but a incurable disease. the boy, who has the disease listens to his father telling him he is strong and can surpass his fears if he should try harder and never give up. towards the end the boy finally becomes healthy in that he persists to get better and "go into the wood to finally kill bigfoot with the sword". the dad is very proud.

| Posted on 2009-04-18 | by a guest

.: :.

Jabberwocky is nothing more or less then self-doubt, that which paralyzes and kills initiative. The Jubjub bird is fear, and the frumious bandersnatch is temptation, hence the admonishment to shun it.

| Posted on 2009-02-20 | by a guest

.: :.

lewis carol may made a good poem for todlers,
adventure perhaps.
but i simply don't get its relevance.
it might had been better if she wrote it as a short story.

| Posted on 2009-01-28 | by a guest

.: :.

Maybe the point (if the story was meant to have a point, which I doubt) of the story is that stories don't have to have a point, and that some adventures are fun and capture the imagination despite (or because of) the fact that they are, in fact, nonsense.

| Posted on 2008-12-10 | by a guest

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this is about a yong boy who thinks these "monsters" are ferocious, when really they are just normal yard pests. when he "slays" them his father is proud of him. in reality, they are as manxome as he thought.

| Posted on 2008-12-09 | by a guest

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I don't think that any of us really knows what Lewis Carroll was thinking when he wrote this. That's one of the reasons I like it.

| Posted on 2008-12-04 | by a guest

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This poem was written by some dip shit who was high and was fundling a dragon!

| Posted on 2008-11-24 | by a guest

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In this peom the author is trying to indicate to the reader the actuall location of big-foot and to tell his son the only way to kill him is with a sword which will send him back to hell.

| Posted on 2008-11-21 | by a guest

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ok i think he wrote it for 1 reason only TO MAKE MONEY OF CRAP HE MADE UP! .

| Posted on 2008-11-10 | by a guest

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this poem is about a boy who trys to overcome his inner struggles(the jabberwock) the father tells him that he can overcome them but he has ti be carefull because sometimes your struggles can overcome you.the boy defeats the jabberwock(struggle)and they both rejoyce.
thats at least what i think about it!

| Posted on 2008-11-10 | by a guest

.: :.

This poem is more deeper than at face value, it is an in depth poem about the anglo-saxon language and the dying out of the old celtic language in old england

| Posted on 2008-10-18 | by a guest

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i actually interpreted the first verse using the meanings of the words instead of the words. here it is.
It was four in the afternoon (brillig), and the active and slimy(slithy) toves
Did go round and round(gyre) and made holes(gimble) in the grass surounding the sundial(wabe)
The thin and shabby birds(borogoves) were floppy and miserable(mimsy)
And the lost(mome) green pigs(rath) made a sound that was a mixture of a sneeze, a whistle and a bellow(outgrabe).
all of the "non-sense" words are explained in the Humpty Dumpty chapter of Through The Looking Glass.
The other words can be found on

| Posted on 2008-10-14 | by a guest

.: Jabberwocky Analysis :.

this poem is about some kind of creature that lives in the forest or something and the father of the son is tellin him to beware of the creature because he bites and hes dangerous. The father soon killed him by cutting through the creatures body. the father and son celebrate their victory and that basically what happened.
cool poem but it took me quite a while to understand it...im only 12.

| Posted on 2008-05-21 | by a guest

.: Analysis :.

Very much a fantasy relating to a larger evernt and or obstacle. The language is fantastic; it seems to describe everything perfectly so that we can imagine exactally what he was thinking at the time, somthing that ordinary language obviously could not do.

| Posted on 2008-05-16 | by a guest

.: Analysis :.

Meaning:
I interpret the poem to be about a father who gives instruction to his son to help him overcome an obsticle, the Jabberwock. I am not sure, however, that the Jabberwock is supposed to be a literal creature. I think instead it is a temptation or sin that the father is trying to help the boy overcome. I believe this for a few reasons. The father says, “Beware the Jabberwock, my son! The jaws that bite, the claws that catch. Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun the frumious Bandersnatch!"(Stanza 2) This is the kind of advice a father would give to instruct his son. The fact that the father is providing instruction indicates that the boy cannot be more than a child, and one certantly cant expect a child to fight a literal monster, let alone even cary a sword. Also the poem says, “So rested he by the Tumtum tree, And stood awhile in thought.” This also evidences that it is an internal battle. If it was not, that line would be a bit of useless information. Lastly, the fact that the last line is simply the first line repeated also evidences that the Jabberwock is not a literal creature. If the Jabberwock was a literal creature, one would expect that there would be many people rejoicing, and that it would be a massive change. However, the only one who celebrates is the father. Assuming that it was an internal battle it makes since that only the father would rejoice. Most people simply would not care, but the father, who cares more for the boy than any other person would be overjoyed to see his son free of such an obsticle. The first line is the same as the last line because pysically nothing has changed.

| Posted on 2008-04-30 | by a guest

.: Short analysis :.

This poem may be interpreted as a child's longing to for his father's approval and acceptance. Going out to slay the monster and in turn win his father's Joy in him and his approval. Looking inside of the lines one finds the true intent and meaning, if one looks hard enough. It may also require the ability to understand the relationship between father and child and the never ending quest to find that approval. Some win that while others try for a lifetime.

| Posted on 2008-03-11 | by a guest

.: Jabberwocky :.

I suggest that you research "Johan Lambeton and The Worm" as the actual inspiration of the poem. x is a good place to start. also read "Alice in Sunderland" by Bryon Talbot for more connections

| Posted on 2008-01-13 | by a guest

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Looking at the contextual background of lewis caroll,he seems to be trying to live up to his fathers foot steps. I think the stanza
"hast thou slane the jabberwock? come to my
arms you beamish boy!"
could represent caroll as a boy wanting his father to accpet him!


| Posted on 2007-12-11 | by a guest

.: Jabberwocks are defensive :.

The real monster in Jabberwocky is the old man.

He tells the boy that he has to be scared of the Jabberwock, but all we actually know the Jabberwock does is try to defend itself when the boy tries to kill it. Jabberwocks should be left alone.

The way the poem starts and ends with the same stanza just reminds us that this "beamish boy" has made no improvements to the world by killing the Jabberwock.

| Posted on 2007-10-05 | by a guest

.: analysis :.

The Jabberwocky, metaphorically, is the story of a boy who has decided to fight, well, thoughts more or less. I presume the "uffy" thoughts mentioned in the poem. I believe the old man was warning him to be ware of idle thoughts (or the jabberwocky). This could also include bad or foolish thoughts respectively. I think then the boy is out in the woods and realizes he is thinking in, as said before, "uffy" thoughts. I believe he realizes then that he needs to fight them and succeeds, ending more mature and wise than before he started. When he comes home the old man seems to recognize the for-the-better change in his son and excitedly asks if he has, at last, killed the jabberwocky. In celebration of his maturity and maybe even coming-of-age, they rejoice.
At least,
that's what I got out of it!

| Posted on 2007-09-26 | by a guest

.: short analysis :.

the poem is about a young boy and his father playing and the boy "slays a monster" and his father is proud of him. thats it in a basic and short explanation. it's intended to envoke drama through the rhythm and the words, they arent supposed to be definable.. the terms are nonsensical and are intended to tell a story without actually TELLING it. they are arranged in a manner intended to facilitate a subconscious interpretation.

| Posted on 2007-05-07 | by a guest

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An 'old man' tells this boy about a Jabberwocky which is obviously, a giant flying monster. The old man also tells the boy about the Jubjub bird. He warns the boy in this section:

"Beware the Jabberwock, my son!
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun
The frumious Bandersnatch!"

The boy goes out to find the 'Jabberwock'. In his past, he had fought the 'manxome foe'. Then he rests by a 'Tumtum' tree explained here:

He took his vorpal sword in hand:
Long time the manxome foe he sought --
So rested he by the Tumtum tree,
And stood a while in thought.

Then the 'Jabberwock' comes and finds the boy. The boy bravely fights the 'Jabberwock' and kills it. He then takes the head back to the 'old man'.

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.

Then the boy and the 'old man' celebrates. The reason why one of the characters is an 'old man' is that he has lots of knowledge of the Jabberwock and the area around him. The other character is a boy because it says so in the poem, obviously.

As you may have noticed, the first and last stanza is the same.

'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.

Both stanzas talk about the day and night the boy and the old man have waited, planning all thier moves to kill the Jabberwock.

| Posted on 2006-01-30 | by Approved Guest

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Critiques give a random amount between 5 and 50 shiny objects.
Shiny objects? Maybe i am just missing the meaning or the joke, if someone could explain i would be grateful. I like this poem, its random. like me. i like to be random, it makes life exciting and...random. I need to write about this poem for my english class, what be the meaning? does the jabberwocky really just represent the beast of sin or something profound like that. i need to know, now it is time for me to leave n delve into the other depths of jabberwocky websites,you must really be bored to read all this, peace out and to jabberwockys, much love.

| Posted on 2005-12-04 | by Approved Guest

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This poem and ones understanding of its story line and meaning is created through rhymes and sounds which weaves a visual image in the responders mind. It also portrays an imaginative journey for the responder, this is done through imaginative words such a 'mome' and even the name of the poem itself 'Jabberwocky'. The use of these made up words is the essence of the poem and what creates a feast for our imagination. This is a really great poem, and it seems almost impossible that all theese nonsensical could make such an interesting and clever poem.

| Posted on 2005-11-26 | by Approved Guest