Lewis Carroll is most famous for his novel Alice in Wonderland. Carroll has a creative and playful approach to writing, which is a reason why his writing seems as if it is intended for children. Carroll's "childish" effect he has in her writing is not what separates him from other authors though; actually, its his use of language, especially in his well-known poem "Jabberwocky". In all honesty, this is whole poem is just nonsense, but that is what makes it fun and enjoyable. That might sound odd to say about such a well-known poem, but a large amount of the words included in this poem are words that Carroll made up on his own or are a combination of others words. All the nonsense words, rhyming, and characters may make this seem like a poem parents would read to their young kids. The use of language in the poem is the reason there are so many different interpretations of what is going on in the poem. 

The first stanza of Carroll's poem is by far the most widely interpreted part of the poem. The use of vocabulary and word choice, especially in this first stanza, is the large reason why. Carroll uses words such as, "brillig", "slithy", "toves", "gyre", and many more. These are all words that were made up by the author. Real words easily could have been used in their place, but Carroll uses these fantasy words so he is able to create a "childish" feeling. Also the use of these fake words leaves a lot of the story to the imagination of the reader. In the first stanza Carroll is trying to talk about other creatures that are out in the forest and describe the mood. The first stanza is definitely setting the stage and describing the setting for the rest of the poem. When the poem says, "'Twas brillig", it kind of sounds like the word "brilliant". By that he means it was brilliant, which means that it was a nice sunny day outside. the next part of that line says something about "slithy toves". My interpretation is that it sounds like some kind of plant or tree that is in the woods. "Toves" kind of sounds likes grove which is a small group of trees, while "slithy" is some type of adjective to describe the trees. In the next line, Carroll says "Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;", which sounds like the animals in the forest are moving carefully around. The word "gimble" sounds like nimble, which means being agile or light. Lastly, "wabe" sounds like it can be related to a swampy area because it reminds me of water because it kind of sounds like wave. The next line talks about "mimsy were the borogoves". I believe this sounds like a bird is flying around. Next, it says "mome maths outgabe" which means that something along the lines of the silent rats are trying to leave. "Mome" reminds me of none, which also reminds me of silence. "Raths" sounds a lot like rats and outage makes me think of someone leaving because of the word "out". Overall, it seems like Carroll is trying to describe a settings where it is very nice outside but the animals in the forest or swampy area are wary and trying to leave. In Stanza 2 is in a completely different place and much easier to interpret. In this stanza we have a dad and his son conversing, and the dad is warning his son of all the bad creatures that live in the forest. 

At this point in the story we have no idea what the jabberwocky is, all we can do is assume it is an animal or monster because how much that has been talked about. It is obvious the parent has seen it or at least knows what it is. The jabberwocky is described a scary animal because of the use of the phrases, "jaws that bite" and "claws that catch". The father also warns his son of more creatures in the forest. This stanza has a serious tone because of the author's use of the word "beware." that word is not typically used in light situation, which makes the tone feel very serious and dangerous. The father mentions some animal called a "jubjub bird", It definitely stands for some time of scary or spooky bird; therefore, I believe it is a spooky owl. Carroll goes on to describe the "frumious Bandersnatch", frumious sounds like a combination of fuming and furious, so the concept of vicious and angry animals is continued, and "Bandersnatch" reminds me off a baboon. So maybe the father is warning his son of a vicious baboon that is in the forest also. It is pretty obvious that the kid is being warned by his parents about the dangers of the forest.

The language in the next stanza is pretty straight forward. The kid is going hunting for these animals or creatures and takes out his sword to prepare himself and rested under a tree waiting for his moment to strike. One of the first phrases that catches my eye is "vorpal sword", obviously we know what a sword is. That leaves the word "vorpal" to our imagination which sounds violent, so maybe its just a violent sword or a powerful sword. The last weird word would be "manxome", and looking at the context of the line it could be mean mysterious or scary. For the most part this is easy to understand besides a couple words.

The jabberwocky is kind of described as a dragon like creature here, this is the most description we get up to this point. the jabberwocky is explained as having "eyes of flame". Also, by the way the monster is described using that phrases, it makes it seem as if the jabberwocky is the definite villain in the story and the kid is the hero. The only other words that may have altered the interpretation of this stanza would be the use of "whiffling" and "burbled". whiffling sounds like a noise of some sort so maybe its making noises as the jabberwocky approaches the kid. "Burbled" is definitely some kind of threatening word, the jabberwocky is threatening the kid and approaching him. 

The kid is swinging his sword at the jabberwocky which is described as, "One, two! One, two!" It's quite obvious that mimics the swinging of the child's sword. "Through and through" shows that he is making contact with monster and doing damage. Th second half of of the stanza is after he kills the jabberwocky. Overall, the kid is swinging the sword and fighting the jabberwocky. After he kills it, he takes his head and goes back to family joyfully, yet clumsily. You know he is going back clumsily because of the use of the word galumphing, which makes sense since he is carrying back a monsters head to his family.

The setting has now changed and the kid is back home with his parents. It starts with the parents asking a rather dumb question, did you kill it? Obviously he did he came home with the jabberwocky's head. His parents then give him a hug because they ask for their "beamish boy" to come to they arms. The word "frabjous" is used in the next line, which kinda sounds like fabulous! and then they follow with onomatopoeia by saying, "Callooh!" and "Callay!" which obviously celebrating the death of the jabberwocky!

The last stanza is a repeat of the first stanza. This is another reason for so many different interpretations. I believe that it means their is a possibility of more evil in the forest or more jabberwockies. I think it means that everyone should stay on their toes and just because he killed one doesn't mean everyone is safe.

The Jabberwocky is a story about a young kid who goes out a slays a monster in the forest and celebrates the killing with his family. Carroll's use of language leaves his poem up to many different interpretations. It gives the poem a children's book feeling. Which is why Carroll is often seen as such a creative write.

