Chills. The moment I saw the title of this poem chills ran through my body. My brother use to recite this to me when I was no more than five or six years old. He only did so because I begged him to tell it over and over again. I remember thinking how smart he was. The poem was full of words I'd never heard before and couldn't even attempt to understand what they mean. Then sometime in middle school I learned that half the words in the piece were non-sense words Carroll had scripted. But what great words they were: Jubjub bird, Bandersnatch and my favorite, the vorpal blade. We would play for hours in the woods behind our house. I was the brave hero fighting the Jabberwocky (well played by my brother). My trusty battery operated light saber was quickly transformed into the magnificent vorpal blade.
Carroll's poetry and works are such an important piece to American literature because they are full of imagination and wonder. Granted I find his most famous work,
Alice in Wonderland, to be a bit confusing and at times quite boring but at every turn there is a new creature or talisman to learn. "Jabberwocky" has enjoyed the spotlight so long because of it's vivid imagery and imagination. It's a poem that has sparked the quirky and adventurous thinking of many young heroes.
The below illustration was included with the original publication of
Alice in Wonderland. It was drawn by Sir John Tenniel along with a number of other pictures for the book.
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