J is for Jabberwocky

 "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 slithtoves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.

-Lewis Carroll 1872
(Through the Looking-Glass and
What Alice Found There)

J'adore Alice in Wonderland!  And, The Jabberwocky is one of the earliest memories of poems from my childhood, -for some inexplicable reason, these two particular stanzas above, have remained, deep-rooted in the darkest recesses of my grey matter.   I don't know why, they just like, reside there...  It could be the words, say them aloud - they roll off your tongue and make you want to recite them, over and over, and...well you know what I mean.

As children, we love nonsensical words, they are fun to hear and learn, - alas, as adults, we forget how wonderful new words can be.  I have a plan though!  We should strive to recapture the joy of discovering ridiculously sounding made-up words, methinks!  After all, a little madness in one's day, keeps the doctor away...isn't that how things should be?  What say you?  And, yes I really wish I lived in Wonderland, -I often wander through the woods, searching for rabbit holes large enough to fall down...




Poem and photo credits via Jabberwocky

Comments

mooderino said…
Agree! Love to go to Wonderland. Let me know if you find the right hole.
- mood
Moody Writing
Bish Denham said…
I'm coming with you! Chortle, a wonderful word coined by Carroll when he wrote the poem. In high school, for some assignment or other, I made an illustrated dictionary of all the non-sense words. Wish I still had it.
Danette said…
How about this one: "All Moanday, Tearday, Wailsday, Thumpsday, Frightday, Shatterday."
— James Joyce
I think you are spot on! Playing with words is exactly what the writer should be doing!! Words are our business after all and if we don't play with them- who will?
Lori M. Lee said…
Oh totally agree. Love that poem. Also loved hearing Johnny Depp recite it in a Scottish accent *__*
Kiernan said…
I love this poem as well! And I agree - we should all practicing making-up words. :-)
TS Hendrik said…
I remember when my nephew was 9 he read the poem. Absolutely hated it. Complained that it didn't make any sense. I always loved it and comforted him with the fact that at the very least I was getting entertainment out of him.
rivercat said…
The hunting of the snark by carroll is pretty wild... a lot of my poems start out as gibberish, and some of them end that way too !
Great Post :)

Crying With A Sense Of Human
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Melissa Amateis said…
If we all remembered how we used to play as children - imagined words and all - just a little bit more often, this world would be a better place!
Awesome! I came here from the A to Z blog and saw you did Jabberwocky. I did the Jabberwock as well!

Very Awesome! Came here from the whole A to Z and was pleased to see you did the Jabberwock as well!

J is for Jabberwock

I'll put a link up on my post to yours as well.

Tim
Laura S. said…
Hello, I found you through the A to Z Blogfest! Great choice for J. I love Wonderland! It's been awhile since I've read Alice though. I think it's time to re-read about her delightful adventures!

I remember studying "Jabberwocky" in school and afterwards I spent weeks writing nonsensical poetry, hahaha. I'll have to dig up some of it! It's hilarious.
Trisha said…
Jabberwocky is such a great word! :)
MTeacress said…
I'm curious what you thought of the most recent Alice in Wonderland movie. I thought it was fantastic, and enjoy watching it, looking for things I missed, and remembering my favorite parts. :)
Carol Riggs said…
I loooove Jabberwocky! So creative and inventive. :o)
Talei said…
Hi Everyone - thanks for such lovely comments, always wonderful to read through. I have followed everyone's comments back thus far. Please do yell if I missed you. ;-)

Tx
Hi - I've found you through the A to Z. :)

Jabberwocky is the first poem I ever memorized (at the age of 9) and I love it still!

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