Post by The Archivist on Apr 15, 2015 14:26:27 GMT -5
JABBERWOCKY
Lewis Carroll
(from Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There, 1872)
`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, has 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.
Lewis Carroll
(from Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There, 1872)
`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, has 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.
Lewis Carroll Definitions:
brillig - Bryllyg (derived from the verb to bryl or broil). The time of broiling dinner, i.e., the close of the afternoon.
slithy - Slythy (compounded of slimy and lithe). Smooth and active.
tove - Tove, a species of badger. They had smooth white hair, long hind legs, and short horns like a stag; lived chiefly on cheese. "Toves" should be pronounced to rhyme with "groves".
gyre - Gyre, verb (derived from gyaour or giaour, 'a dog'). To scratch like a dog.
gimble - Gymble (whence gimblet). To screw out holes in anything.
wabe - Wabe (derived from the verb to swab or soak). The side of a hill (from its being soaked by the rain.)
mimsy - Mimsy (whence mimserable and miserable.) Unhappy.
borogoves - Borogove. An extinct kind of parrot. They had no wings, beaks turned up, and made their nests under sundails; lived on veal.
The first 'o' in 'borogoves' is pronounced like the 'o' in 'worry'. The word is commonly mispronounced as "borogroves" ... and this misspelling even appears in some American editions of the book.
Other comments by Carroll
"I am afraid I can't explain 'vorpal blade' for you--nor yet 'tulgey wood', but I did make an explanation once for 'uffish thought'! It seemed to suggest a state of mind when the voice is gruffish, the manner roughish, and the temper huffish. Then again, as to 'burble', if you take the three verbs 'bleat, murmer, and warble, then select the bits I have underlined, it certainly makes 'burble', though I am afraid I can't distinctly remember having made it in that way."
The new words, in the poem "Jabberwocky", have given rise to some differences of opinion as to their pronunciation: so it may be well to give instructions on that point also. Pronounce "slithy" as if it were the two words "sly, the": make the "g" hard in "gyre" and "gimble": and pronounce "rath" to rhyme with "bath".
As this poem ["The Hunting Of The Snark"] is to some extent connected with the lay of the Jabberwock, let me take this opportunity of answering a question that has often been asked me, how to pronounce "slithy toves". The "i" in "slithy" is long, as in "writhe"; and "toves" is pronounced so as to rhyme with "groves". Again, the first "o" in "borogoves" is pronounced like the "o" in "borrow". I have heard people try to give it the sound of the "o" in "worry". Such is Human Perversity.
This also seems a fitting occasion to notice the other hard words in that poem. Humpty Dumpty's theory, of two meanings packed into one word like a portmanteau, seems to me the right explanation for all.
For instance, take the two words "fuming" and "furious". Make up your mind that you will say both words, but leave it unsettled which you will say first. Now open your mouth and speak. If your thoughts incline ever so little towards "fuming", you will say "fuming-furious"; if they turn, by even a hair's breadth, towards "furious", you will say "furious-fuming"; but if you have that rarest of gifts, a perfectly balanced mind, you will say "frumious".
(Note: A hard "g" means the initial sound of "gun", as opposed to the "j" sound in "gin". People with different accents pronounce "bath" differently, so if the advice is followed, then "rath" will be pronounced differently too. Carroll/Dodgson would have had a British accent, so his pronunciation of the word would use the vowel sound of "bar", and not that of "bat". )
Words that Carroll did not directly comment on:
manxome --- "manxome" is easily associated with manly or maximum; the word feels strong and firm
frabjous --- frabjous (FRAB-juhs) adjective, Wonderful, elegant, superb, or delicious. [Coined by Lewis Carroll in "Through the Looking-Glass"; perhaps meant to suggest fabulous or joyous.]
vorpal -- It is commonly assumed to mean "deadly" or "sharp" (or "capable of beheading", since the hero brings the dead Jabberwock's head home in triumph)
Humpty Dumpty's Explanation
"You seem very clever at explaining words, Sir", said Alice. "Would you kindly tell me the meaning of the poem 'Jabberwocky'?"
"Let's hear it", said Humpty Dumpty. "I can explain all the poems that ever were invented--and a good many that haven't been invented just yet."
This sounded very hopeful, so Alice repeated the first verse:
'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.
"That's enough to begin with", Humpty Dumpty interrupted: "there are plenty of hard words there. 'Brillig' means four o'clock in the afternoon--the time when you begin broiling things for dinner."
"That'll do very well", said Alice: "and 'slithy'?"
"Well, 'slithy' means 'lithe and slimy'. 'Lithe' is the same as 'active'. You see it's like a portmanteau--there are two meanings packed up into one word."
I see it now", Alice remarked thoughfully: "and what are 'toves'?"
"Well, 'toves' are something like badgers--they're something like lizards--and they're something like corkscrews."
"They must be very curious creatures."
"They are that", said Humpty Dumpty: "also they make their nests under sun-dials--also they live on cheese."
"And what's to 'gyre' and to 'gimble'?"
"To 'gyre' is to go round and round like a gyroscope. To 'gimble' is to make holes like a gimlet."
"And 'the wabe' is the grass plot round a sun-dial, I suppose?" said Alice, surprised at her own ingenuity.
"Of course it is. It's called 'wabe', you know, because it goes a long way before it, and a long way behind it--"
"And a long way beyond it on each side", Alice added.
"Exactly so. Well then, 'mimsy' is 'flimsy and miserable' (there's another portmanteau for you). And a 'borogove' is a thin shabby-looking bird with its feathers sticking out all round--something like a live mop."
"And then 'mome raths'?" said Alice. "If I'm not giving you too much trouble."
"Well a 'rath' is a sort of green pig, but 'mome' I'm not certain about. I think it's sort for 'from home'--meaning that they'd lost their way, you know."
"And what does 'outgrabe' mean?"
"Well, 'outgribing' is something between bellowing an whistling, with a kind of sneeze in the middle: however, you'll hear it done, maybe--down in the wood yonder--and when you've once heard it, you'll be quite content. Who's been repeating all that hard stuff to you?"
"I read it in a book", said Alice.
From other sources:
Raths were, in fact, defensive medieval houses used by the Celts
Several of Carroll's words have become so much a part of our language that they can be found in the Oxford English Dictionary. In addition to several of the words defined by Humpty Dumpty, these include "galumph," which is defined as a combination of "gallop" and "triumphant" and means "to march on exultantly with irregular bounding movements" (Gardner The Annotated Alice 196), and "chortle" which is defined as a combination of "chuckle" and "snort" (Gardner The Annotated Alice 197). It is fairly safe to assume that these are the definitions that Carroll wanted attached to his words.
The final thing to be considered when attempting to find meaning in "Jabberwocky" is that Victorian culture was very different from that of today. Many of Carroll's words may seem like nonsense to us, but may have held more meaning for Victorians reading his book. For example, "whiffling," however unfamiliar it may seem to us today is actually not a Carrollian word at all. The generally accepted meaning during the 1800s was in reference "to blowing unsteadily in short puffs, hence it came to be a slang term for being variable and evasive" (Gardner The Annotated Alice 196). "Snicker-snack," is another word which would have been more familiar to CarrollÕs contemporaries than it is to us. It is probably related to "snicker-snee," an old word which could be used either as a noun, to mean a large knife, or as a verb, to mean fighting done with such a knife (Gardner More Annotated Alice 178). The final example of this type is the father's frabjous chortling of "Callooh! Callay!" Most likely, Carroll had in mind two forms of the word kalos, which in Greek can mean "beautiful," "good," or "fair," and which would have been pronounced "Callooh" and "Callay" (Gardner More Annotated Alice 178).
also consider from ENH222 Survey of English Literature After 1800:
slithy = slippery + slitherly + lively + lithe
tove = toads + doves
gimble = gambol + nimble
manxome = maximum + noxious + fearsome
galumphing = galloping + lumbering + lump
chortle = chuckle + snort
After reading the lines around tulgey and looking at the illustration, readers are able to define tulgey as a scary, frightening, or dark. The darkened forest seems to be a place where a monster could easily sneak up on an unexpecting trespasser.
brillig - Bryllyg (derived from the verb to bryl or broil). The time of broiling dinner, i.e., the close of the afternoon.
slithy - Slythy (compounded of slimy and lithe). Smooth and active.
tove - Tove, a species of badger. They had smooth white hair, long hind legs, and short horns like a stag; lived chiefly on cheese. "Toves" should be pronounced to rhyme with "groves".
gyre - Gyre, verb (derived from gyaour or giaour, 'a dog'). To scratch like a dog.
gimble - Gymble (whence gimblet). To screw out holes in anything.
wabe - Wabe (derived from the verb to swab or soak). The side of a hill (from its being soaked by the rain.)
mimsy - Mimsy (whence mimserable and miserable.) Unhappy.
borogoves - Borogove. An extinct kind of parrot. They had no wings, beaks turned up, and made their nests under sundails; lived on veal.
The first 'o' in 'borogoves' is pronounced like the 'o' in 'worry'. The word is commonly mispronounced as "borogroves" ... and this misspelling even appears in some American editions of the book.
Other comments by Carroll
"I am afraid I can't explain 'vorpal blade' for you--nor yet 'tulgey wood', but I did make an explanation once for 'uffish thought'! It seemed to suggest a state of mind when the voice is gruffish, the manner roughish, and the temper huffish. Then again, as to 'burble', if you take the three verbs 'bleat, murmer, and warble, then select the bits I have underlined, it certainly makes 'burble', though I am afraid I can't distinctly remember having made it in that way."
The new words, in the poem "Jabberwocky", have given rise to some differences of opinion as to their pronunciation: so it may be well to give instructions on that point also. Pronounce "slithy" as if it were the two words "sly, the": make the "g" hard in "gyre" and "gimble": and pronounce "rath" to rhyme with "bath".
As this poem ["The Hunting Of The Snark"] is to some extent connected with the lay of the Jabberwock, let me take this opportunity of answering a question that has often been asked me, how to pronounce "slithy toves". The "i" in "slithy" is long, as in "writhe"; and "toves" is pronounced so as to rhyme with "groves". Again, the first "o" in "borogoves" is pronounced like the "o" in "borrow". I have heard people try to give it the sound of the "o" in "worry". Such is Human Perversity.
This also seems a fitting occasion to notice the other hard words in that poem. Humpty Dumpty's theory, of two meanings packed into one word like a portmanteau, seems to me the right explanation for all.
For instance, take the two words "fuming" and "furious". Make up your mind that you will say both words, but leave it unsettled which you will say first. Now open your mouth and speak. If your thoughts incline ever so little towards "fuming", you will say "fuming-furious"; if they turn, by even a hair's breadth, towards "furious", you will say "furious-fuming"; but if you have that rarest of gifts, a perfectly balanced mind, you will say "frumious".
(Note: A hard "g" means the initial sound of "gun", as opposed to the "j" sound in "gin". People with different accents pronounce "bath" differently, so if the advice is followed, then "rath" will be pronounced differently too. Carroll/Dodgson would have had a British accent, so his pronunciation of the word would use the vowel sound of "bar", and not that of "bat". )
Words that Carroll did not directly comment on:
manxome --- "manxome" is easily associated with manly or maximum; the word feels strong and firm
frabjous --- frabjous (FRAB-juhs) adjective, Wonderful, elegant, superb, or delicious. [Coined by Lewis Carroll in "Through the Looking-Glass"; perhaps meant to suggest fabulous or joyous.]
vorpal -- It is commonly assumed to mean "deadly" or "sharp" (or "capable of beheading", since the hero brings the dead Jabberwock's head home in triumph)
Humpty Dumpty's Explanation
"You seem very clever at explaining words, Sir", said Alice. "Would you kindly tell me the meaning of the poem 'Jabberwocky'?"
"Let's hear it", said Humpty Dumpty. "I can explain all the poems that ever were invented--and a good many that haven't been invented just yet."
This sounded very hopeful, so Alice repeated the first verse:
'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.
"That's enough to begin with", Humpty Dumpty interrupted: "there are plenty of hard words there. 'Brillig' means four o'clock in the afternoon--the time when you begin broiling things for dinner."
"That'll do very well", said Alice: "and 'slithy'?"
"Well, 'slithy' means 'lithe and slimy'. 'Lithe' is the same as 'active'. You see it's like a portmanteau--there are two meanings packed up into one word."
I see it now", Alice remarked thoughfully: "and what are 'toves'?"
"Well, 'toves' are something like badgers--they're something like lizards--and they're something like corkscrews."
"They must be very curious creatures."
"They are that", said Humpty Dumpty: "also they make their nests under sun-dials--also they live on cheese."
"And what's to 'gyre' and to 'gimble'?"
"To 'gyre' is to go round and round like a gyroscope. To 'gimble' is to make holes like a gimlet."
"And 'the wabe' is the grass plot round a sun-dial, I suppose?" said Alice, surprised at her own ingenuity.
"Of course it is. It's called 'wabe', you know, because it goes a long way before it, and a long way behind it--"
"And a long way beyond it on each side", Alice added.
"Exactly so. Well then, 'mimsy' is 'flimsy and miserable' (there's another portmanteau for you). And a 'borogove' is a thin shabby-looking bird with its feathers sticking out all round--something like a live mop."
"And then 'mome raths'?" said Alice. "If I'm not giving you too much trouble."
"Well a 'rath' is a sort of green pig, but 'mome' I'm not certain about. I think it's sort for 'from home'--meaning that they'd lost their way, you know."
"And what does 'outgrabe' mean?"
"Well, 'outgribing' is something between bellowing an whistling, with a kind of sneeze in the middle: however, you'll hear it done, maybe--down in the wood yonder--and when you've once heard it, you'll be quite content. Who's been repeating all that hard stuff to you?"
"I read it in a book", said Alice.
From other sources:
Raths were, in fact, defensive medieval houses used by the Celts
Several of Carroll's words have become so much a part of our language that they can be found in the Oxford English Dictionary. In addition to several of the words defined by Humpty Dumpty, these include "galumph," which is defined as a combination of "gallop" and "triumphant" and means "to march on exultantly with irregular bounding movements" (Gardner The Annotated Alice 196), and "chortle" which is defined as a combination of "chuckle" and "snort" (Gardner The Annotated Alice 197). It is fairly safe to assume that these are the definitions that Carroll wanted attached to his words.
The final thing to be considered when attempting to find meaning in "Jabberwocky" is that Victorian culture was very different from that of today. Many of Carroll's words may seem like nonsense to us, but may have held more meaning for Victorians reading his book. For example, "whiffling," however unfamiliar it may seem to us today is actually not a Carrollian word at all. The generally accepted meaning during the 1800s was in reference "to blowing unsteadily in short puffs, hence it came to be a slang term for being variable and evasive" (Gardner The Annotated Alice 196). "Snicker-snack," is another word which would have been more familiar to CarrollÕs contemporaries than it is to us. It is probably related to "snicker-snee," an old word which could be used either as a noun, to mean a large knife, or as a verb, to mean fighting done with such a knife (Gardner More Annotated Alice 178). The final example of this type is the father's frabjous chortling of "Callooh! Callay!" Most likely, Carroll had in mind two forms of the word kalos, which in Greek can mean "beautiful," "good," or "fair," and which would have been pronounced "Callooh" and "Callay" (Gardner More Annotated Alice 178).
also consider from ENH222 Survey of English Literature After 1800:
slithy = slippery + slitherly + lively + lithe
tove = toads + doves
gimble = gambol + nimble
manxome = maximum + noxious + fearsome
galumphing = galloping + lumbering + lump
chortle = chuckle + snort
After reading the lines around tulgey and looking at the illustration, readers are able to define tulgey as a scary, frightening, or dark. The darkened forest seems to be a place where a monster could easily sneak up on an unexpecting trespasser.