Lewis Carroll is most famous for his novel Alice in Wonderland. Carroll has a creative and playful approach to writing, which is the reason why his writing seems as if it is intended for children. Carroll's "childish" effect in his writing is not what separates him from other authors; actually, it is his use of language, especially in his well-known poem "Jabberwocky." Most of this poem is nonsensical words, but that is what makes it fun and enjoyable. A large amount of the words in this poem do not exist, as in Carroll made them up. The nonsense words, rhyming, and characters are what make this seem like a children a story. The language Carroll uses creates may cause different interpretations but they all lead to the same theme of men and their masculinity. The kid in the story is trying to show his parents his masculinity by going out and killing the monster in the woods.

When you first read the Jabberwocky you notice a lot of words that are odd. Carroll's use of vocabulary and word choice is of often the first aspect the reader notices. To create this fantasy world, Carroll cleverly uses vocabulary. He uses words such as "brillig", "slithy", and many more much like them (1). Many of the words used are either a combination of two words or words that are meant to sound like others. This creates a playful or childish tone within the poem. Some of the words used can be interpreted in different ways; such as the word, "raths" (4). To me it sounds like a combination of "rats" and "moths", but other people I have talked to say that it is some type of plants. That just shows how these made-up words will not change the plot of the story, but can alter the interpretation of parts of it.

Carroll's use of  language also creates a strong sense of imagery. Imagery plays an important element in the poem, it is made apparent from the beginning that this story is taking place in some fantasy world. Within the first line, he brings the reader into a place where imagination is essential. The first two lines of the poem actually include a lot imagery, the reason you are able to tell is because of the sentence structure. Within the first two lines their are adjective, nouns, and verbs, which are all words that help create an image in your head. Also in the first stanza he uses the phrase, "And the mome raths outgrabe" to create a vivid image in your head. These images are completely based of the interpretations of these fake words, which is the interesting part of the poem (4). Everyone will "see" a different image in their mind of what they think the setting is or where it is. When Carroll says, "He took his vorpal sword in hand" it creates an image of masculinity because swords are often connected to bravery or strength (9). The imagery throughout the story is very sharp, even though Carroll uses made-up words.

Along with imagery Carroll's language creates, he also uses a lot of words that symbolize other ideas. I  believe the jabberwock represents the kid and his father's fears. On the surface, this poem is a story of a kid going out and killing a monster but, if you dig deeper it is a story about a kid going out and "killing" his fears. Prior to the kid going out to the woods, his father talks about: "Beware the Jabberwock, my son!/ The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!/ Beware the jubjub bird, and shun/ The furious Bandersnatch!", which is really his father expressing his fears about what is in the woods. His son wants to show his masculinity, just as any young boy wants to do, by going out and slaying the jabberwock.

 The story of a kid going out and killing his "fears" is the main theme in this story. All young boys want to show their strength or how masculine they are. The kid in this story accomplishes that by going and killing the jabberwock, even after receiving the warning from his dad. Carroll uses language in a way that creates a playful and childish tone, but at the same time uses language as a way of backing up the theme of men and their masculinity. He also uses vocabulary, imagery, and symbolism all help support the underlying theme of the poem. The jabberwock's head is seen as his trophy, or him finally becoming more masculine, "He left it dead, and with its head/ He went galumphing back" (19-20).

