What Is The Mood Of The Poem Jabberwocky
Who knew an adults reality could be merged so flawlessly with childlike imaginations? In Lewis Carroll’s ‘nonsense’ poem, “Jabberwocky”, he creates a lyrical piece of whimsy. This poem is well known having the main character, the Jabberwock itself, in Alice's World of Wonderland, where the first and last stanza is repeated throughout the book and movies. Usually brushed off as just another nonsense poem not meant to have full meaning, “Jabberwocky” is much deeper than its seemingly strange surface. Carroll uses an amazing quality of sound throughout the poem using onomatopoeia, lyrical rhyming, and even is symbolic to converge childlike imagination with harsh reality. Use of nonsense is one of Carroll’s most significant writing traits. In
…show more content…
In the second stanza the quite harsh, and to a child frightening, sounds created by the constants within the line “Jaws that bite, the claws that catch!”(Line 6) all of which are ‘real’ words. When the poems turns victorious after the Jabberwock has been slain the words like “O frabjous day! Callooh, Callay!””(23) sound exciting and kind, interestingly enough also ‘nonsense’ words. Since ‘nonsense’ itself has not be properly defined literature wise, we can only infer that its intended and successful purpose here was a sense of whimsy and appeal to childlike imagination. Within this shift is where the significant contrast of adult and children is seen. In a way, children understand these words better than adults, it’s like their own language that kids are known for even creating themselves. As a matter of fact, having such contrast between the ‘real’ and ‘nonsense’ seamed together in this nursery like poem, Carroll so he can appeal and relates to both sides of his audience.
The sound and rhythm within this poem is so outstanding, it can easily be sung and remembered like a nursery thyme. Onomatopoeia is seen throughout the poem and with the alliteration paired right alongside it creates vivid imagery using sound. With the word itself mimicking the action so the reader can ‘hear’ the scene being created. Given the lines “One, two! One, two! And through and through / The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!”
In the second stanza the quite harsh, and to a child frightening, sounds created by the constants within the line “Jaws that bite, the claws that catch!”(Line 6) all of which are ‘real’ words. When the poems turns victorious after the Jabberwock has been slain the words like “O frabjous day! Callooh, Callay!””(23) sound exciting and kind, interestingly enough also ‘nonsense’ words. Since ‘nonsense’ itself has not be properly defined literature wise, we can only infer that its intended and successful purpose here was a sense of whimsy and appeal to childlike imagination. Within this shift is where the significant contrast of adult and children is seen. In a way, children understand these words better than adults, it’s like their own language that kids are known for even creating themselves. As a matter of fact, having such contrast between the ‘real’ and ‘nonsense’ seamed together in this nursery like poem, Carroll so he can appeal and relates to both sides of his audience.
The sound and rhythm within this poem is so outstanding, it can easily be sung and remembered like a nursery thyme. Onomatopoeia is seen throughout the poem and with the alliteration paired right alongside it creates vivid imagery using sound. With the word itself mimicking the action so the reader can ‘hear’ the scene being created. Given the lines “One, two! One, two! And through and through / The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!”