Form and Meter
This poem, for all its whimsy, is mighty regular. "Jabberwocky" is written solely in quatrains (four-line stanzas) that have a regular ABAB, CDCD, EFEF rhyme scheme. The lines themselves are mostly...
Speaker
The situation surrounding "who's talking?" in this poem is a bit of a mystery. In Through the Looking-Glass (which happens to be the actual book where "Jabberwocky" was published), Alice simply fin...
Setting
We are, literally, in Wonderland for this poem.What does that mean for you the reader? Well, it means that we're nowhere real, which is both exhilarating and a little frightening. On the one hand,...
Sound Check
The lilting rhythm of "Jabberwocky" helps the narrator's cause. It makes the poem easy to remember (so that he can tell it to you around that campfire), and it keeps the story moving forward at a r...
What's Up With the Title?
Just like most epics with a central character, "Jabberwocky" is simply titled after the most significant thing in the poem – the giant monster foe. The title of this poem forces us to reckon...
Calling Card
This poem is instantly recognizable in the English-speaking world because of one thing: all the nonsense words. Made up words are Carroll's signature. His use of combined words and the lilting rhyt...
Tough-O-Meter
Once you get past the nonsense language of the thing, the poem is a simple and straightforward narrative. It is, when you get right down to it, not pure nonsense at all. It makes sense, and coheres...
Brain Snacks
Sex Rating
Nothing to see here, guys. Just some monsters and a little gore.