"Jabberwocky" is a nonsensical ballad written by the English poet Lewis Carroll in 1871. The poem appears in his novel, Through the Looking Glass, and What Alice Found There, the sequel to the famous Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. In "Jabberwocky," Carroll uses nonsensical words throughout a typical ballad form to tell a tale of good versus evil, which culminates in the killing of the fearsome Jabberwock. The poem is often praised not only for its creative language, but for its highly sonic and memorizable nature, appealing just as much to our ears as it does to our imaginations.
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The Full Text of “Jabberwocky”
1’Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
2 Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:
3All mimsy were the borogoves,
4 And the mome raths outgrabe.
5“Beware the Jabberwock, my son!
6 The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
7Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun
8 The frumious Bandersnatch!”
9He took his vorpal sword in hand;
10 Long time the manxome foe he sought—
11So rested he by the Tumtum tree
12 And stood awhile in thought.
13And, as in uffish thought he stood,
14 The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,
15Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,
16 And burbled as it came!
17One, two! One, two! And through and through
18 The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!
19He left it dead, and with its head
20 He went galumphing back.
21“And hast thou slain the Jabberwock?
22 Come to my arms, my beamish boy!
23O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!”
24 He chortled in his joy.
25’Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
26 Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:
27All mimsy were the borogoves,
28 And the mome raths outgrabe.
The Full Text of “Jabberwocky”
1’Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
2 Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:
3All mimsy were the borogoves,
4 And the mome raths outgrabe.
5“Beware the Jabberwock, my son!
6 The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
7Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun
8 The frumious Bandersnatch!”
9He took his vorpal sword in hand;
10 Long time the manxome foe he sought—
11So rested he by the Tumtum tree
12 And stood awhile in thought.
13And, as in uffish thought he stood,
14 The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,
15Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,
16 And burbled as it came!
17One, two! One, two! And through and through
18 The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!
19He left it dead, and with its head
20 He went galumphing back.
21“And hast thou slain the Jabberwock?
22 Come to my arms, my beamish boy!
23O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!”
24 He chortled in his joy.
25’Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
26 Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:
27All mimsy were the borogoves,
28 And the mome raths outgrabe.
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“Jabberwocky” Summary
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“Jabberwocky” Themes
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Good vs. Evil
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Nonsense and Storytelling
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Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “Jabberwocky”
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Lines 1-4
’Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe. -
Lines 5-8
“Beware the Jabberwock, my son!
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun
The frumious Bandersnatch!” -
Lines 9-12
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. -
Lines 13-16
And, as in uffish thought he stood,
The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,
Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,
And burbled as it came! -
Lines 17-20
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. -
Lines 21-24
“And hast thou slain the Jabberwock?
Come to my arms, my beamish boy!
O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!”
He chortled in his joy. -
Lines 25-28
’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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“Jabberwocky” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language
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Alliteration
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Assonance
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End-Stopped Line
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Cacophony
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Imagery
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Climax (Figure of Speech)
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Repetition
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Caesura
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Enjambment
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“Jabberwocky” Vocabulary
Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.
- Brillig
- Slithy
- Toves
- Gyre
- Gimble
- Wabe
- Mimsy
- Borogoves
- Mome
- Raths
- Outgrabe
- Jabberwock
- Jubjub Bird
- Frumious
- Bandersnatch
- Vorpal
- Manxome
- Whiffling and Burbled
- Tulgey
- Snicker-Snack
- Galumphing
- Beamish
- Frabjous
- Callooh and Callay
- Chortled
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- See where this vocabulary word appears in the poem.
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Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “Jabberwocky”
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Form
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Meter
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Rhyme Scheme
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“Jabberwocky” Speaker
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“Jabberwocky” Setting
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Literary and Historical Context of “Jabberwocky”
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More “Jabberwocky” Resources
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External Resources
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Lewis Carroll Biography and Works — The Academy of American Poets website, apart from being a premier resource for all things poetry, has information about Carroll's biography and notable works.
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Nonsense Literature — This website, created by Carleton College, contains a solid overview of nonsense literature in the context of Carroll's "Alice" books.
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Benedict Cumberbatch Reading "Jabberwocky" — A youtube video of British actor Benedict Cumberbatch's elegant reading of Carroll's poem.
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Illustration of the Jabberwock by John Tenniel — Although there are many depictions of Carroll's mysterious monster, John Tenniel's is perhaps the most iconic.
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Link to "The Hunting of the Snark" — This much longer poem by Lewis Carroll explains many of the odd words found in "Jabberwocky."
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