Jabberwocky

Today is the tenth day of the A to Z April Challenge for 2014. Participants post on the alphabet every day except Sunday. You can visit other fellow bloggers in this blog hop by clicking HERE.


I chose Fantasy for my theme and today is Jabberwocky.


"The Jabberwock with eyes of flame" is a creation of Lewis Carroll and appears in the poem "Jabberwocky" in the book Through The Looking Glass and What Alice Found There. 

 

  ’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 hast 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.

 My oldest brother used to recite this to us when we were young. I used to shiver at the "jaws that bite" and "claws that clutch" and "The worpal blade went snicker-snack!" I imagined the "Jabberwock with eyes of flame" many times on dark, spooky nights.

(I apologize for the fuzzy copy. I tried to get it to enlarge, but this was the best it would do.)