Alliteration pervades each stanza of this poem, imbuing it with a catchy auditory quality that engages readers in the sound of these nonsensical words. Without it, the poem's nonsense words would likely seem rather threatening in their unfamiliarity rather than invitingly interesting. By employing so much alliteration, "Jabberwocky" becomes just as concerned with language itself, and its potential to create meaning through sound, as it does with a general plot.
One especially important example of alliteration occurs in the second stanza. The /b/ of "Beware" connects to the /b/ in "bite," "bird," and "Bandersnatch," all of which have evil connotations within the poem.
Similarly, "Jabberwock," "jaws," and "Jubjub" are connected through their initial /j/ sound, while "claws" and "catch" share a hard /c/ sound. These alliterative links signal that these beings are indeed worthy of bewaring, and intensifies their menacing qualities. Rather than offer us a specific description of a fearsome beast, the poem chooses to invoke fear via sound, letting the harsh, hard /c/ sound communicate meaning.
Other examples of alliteration (and consonance, for that matter) include "Callooh" and "Callay," which the hero's father uses to convey his happiness at the death of the Jabberwock. This pairing, as well as ones like "gyre" and "gimble," show Carroll more at play rather than in the process of conveying a specific meaning. The poem's questing narrative is certainly serious, but we cannot help but imagine Carroll enjoying himself in creating these attractive word sounds. This playful tendency even pokes fun at the heroic questing tale, nudging "Jabberwocky" into the realm of parody. In doing so, the linguistic playfulness and whimsy seem to matter more to this poem than the actual plot of the ballad, which is admittedly blurry thanks to the nonsensical words used to describe it. Even though the reader is met with unfamiliar words from the poem's onset, the appealing language allows for consistent engagement and intrigue throughout. The poem may not actually want to make sense at all, but rather sound interesting enough for our imaginations to wonder and wander.