So I asked the Internet Oracle:
'Twas brillig and the slithy toves
did gyre and gimble in the wabe.
All mimsy were the borogoves,
So why did the mome raths outgrabe?
And in response, thus spake the Oracle:
At long last, THE QUESTION!
Almost. But close enough that I won't even complain about your lack of
grovel. I'm going to assume that you asked THE REAL QUESTION, which is: What
does the Jabberwocky poem mean?
People have been asking each other about the Jabberwocky since shortly after
1872, when Lewis Carroll wrote it. But... Believe it or not... You are the
VERY FIRST PERSON to ask The Internet Oracle about it.
According to some people, the poem is "pure nonsense." But that is not
true... Just because some of the words were not (and are still not) in
common usage, doesn't mean that the poem is pure nonsense. Obviously words
and phrases like "beware" and "my son" and "jaws that bite" have meaning.
Even if you believe that some of the words are nonsense, you must not jump
to the conclusion that the entire poem is nonsense! So the nonsense is
impure at best.
In fact, every word in this poem has a meaning... And you don't have to be
high on cocaine to understand it, either. (It helps, but it isn't
necessary.) You just need to decode the obscure words, for the meaning to
become clear.
Let's tackle them in alphabetical order.
"Borogoves" is simply a place where farmers grow Boros.
"Brillig" is a combination of "brilliant" and "kellog". I'm sure that you
know what "brilliant" means. Please let the name "kellog" fool you -- this
is not "Kelloggs", a manufacturer of breakfast foods. "kellog" is an
olde-English term meaning "so smart that he appears to be insane... But he
isn't."
"Burbled" is one of the many sounds made by babies.
"Frumious Bandersnatch" is an obsolete name for a Puffin (commonly, but
inaccurately, called a Penguin today... In fact, a Puffin and a Penguin are
similar, but different).
"Gimble" simply means to move, especially in response to wind blowing.
"Gyre" simply means to move, especially in response to wind blowing.
(Redundant? Yes... But poetic.)
"Jabberwock" is really the only made-up word in the entire poem. It refers
to a fictional person, as depicted in the rest of the poem.
"Jubjub bird" is now extinct... You don't need to beware it anymore.
"Manxome" is a male "Womanxome." See "Womanxome" (below) for more details.
"Mimsy" is a character that used to hang out with "Mork."
"Mome raves" If you ever won $25,000 at a Mome table, you'd rave too.
"Outgrabe" Clearly the opposite of "Ingrabe." See "Ingrabe" (above) for more
details.
"Slithy" does not have anything to do with "slimy." Instead, it is a pun...
It really means "pleasant harmony", as in music. If you lived in the 19th
century, and you heard the word "slithy" sung in just the right notes, you
would hear harmony... It's impossible to hear this today, so you'll have to
take my word for it.
"Toves" is a place where you bury dead doves.
"Tulgey" means having more-than-average tulgeness.
"Tumtum tree" refers to a totem pole.
"Uffish" refers to a personality trait.
"Vorpal" is a type of stone used to sharpen swords.
"Wabe" is a type of liquor
"Whiffling" refers to a ball with holes in it, so that it can be thrown
further (but less accurately) than an equivalent ball without holes.
So, putting these together, and destroying the rhythm and rhymes in order to
improve clarity, we have:
It was brilliantly insane, and the pleasant harmony dove graveyard
Did move and move in the liquor:
All Mork's-friend were the Boros farm,
And the winning gamblers didn't Ingrabe.
"Beware the Jabberwock, my son!
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
Beware the extinct bird, and shun
The Puffin!"
He took his very sharp sword in hand:
Long time the male womanxome foe he sought --
So rested he by the totem pole,
And stood awhile in thought.
And, as in personality thought he stood,
The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,
Came a ball with holes through the more-than-average tulgey wood,
And made a baby sound as it came!
One, two! One, two! And through and through
The very sharp blade made a sound like "snicker-snack!"
He left it dead, and with its head
He went galloping at full speed back.
"And, has thou slain the Jabberwock?
Come to my arms, my very happy boy!
O happy day! Yippee! Yahoo!'
He chortled in his joy.
It was brilliantly insane, and the pleasant harmony dove graveyard
Did move and move in the liquor:
All Mork's-friend were the Boros farm,
And the winning gamblers didn't Ingrabe.
As you can see, it now makes perfect sense.
[AllanW]
You owe the Oracle a Vorpal Tumtum Tree and an Uffish Womanxome.
(Thanks to the Oracle, I've become more addicted to wonderland. Now I must find er...a Totem Pole and a personalty traited thing.)
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QueenOfMallets
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