by Lewis Carroll
(from Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There, 1872)
`Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.
"Beware the Jabberwock, my son!
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun
The frumious Bandersnatch!"
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.
And, as in uffish thought he stood,
The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,
Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,
And burbled as it came!
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.
"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 the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.
I really enjoy this poem, but I can't tell you why. It's amazing to me that you get a sense of fear, of suspense, of joy ... all from a nonsense poem. None of it makes real sense, but you get the sense of it. Now, that's talent. Thanks, Mr. Carroll.
2 comments:
“None of it makes real sense, but you get the sense of it.” I am impressed that you do because I sure don’t! LOL!
Here’s my offering of a nonsense poem, which I had heard as a kid from my older brother:
------------------------------------------------------------
Ladies and gentlemen, skinny and stout,
I will tell you a tale I know nothing about.
Admission is free, so pay at the door.
Pull up a chair and sit on the floor.
One bright day in the middle of the night,
Two dead men got up to fight.
A blind man came to watch fair play,
A mute man came to shout "Hooray!"
Back to back the men faced each other,
Drew their swords and shot each other.
A deaf policeman who heard the noise
Rushed up slowly to stop the boys.
A man with no legs came walking by
And kicked the lawman in the thigh.
A hearse came to cart the dead men away,
But they ran for their lives and are still gone today.
I watched from the corner of a big round table,
The only eyewitness to facts of my fable.
If you don't believe my lies are true,
Just ask the blind man--he saw it, too!
It almost has the sense of how we read. There are many examples of having sentences with the words misspelled, but with the correct letters, yet you're still able to read and understand the sentence. This poem is mostly nonsensical words, but you can still feel what the words are expressing. God has given us many amazing ways to glorify Him.
Post a Comment