Jabberwocky, by Lewis Carroll Poetry Jabberwocky, by Lewis Carroll

Overview of Poetic Terms WRITE EACH TERM AND DEFINITION Alliteration: the occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words. (i.e. Suzy saw sea shells by the sea shore.) Consonance: refers to repetitive sounds produced by consonants within a sentence or phrase. This repetition often takes place in quick succession such as in pitter, patter.. Onomatopoeia: the formation of a word from a sound associated with what is named (e.g., cuckoo, sizzle ). Repetition: the action of repeating something that has already been said or written. Rhyme: correspondence of sound between words or the endings of words, especially when these are used at the ends of lines of poetry. Rhythm: a strong, regular, repeated pattern of movement or sound. (i.e. Ruth listened to the rhythm of his breathing)

Summary Jabberwocky is one of the many non-sense poems in Lewis Carroll’s novel Through the Looking Glass, the sequel to Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Carroll uses made-up words to tell the story of a boy who kills a fierce monster- the Jabberwock.

About the Poet Lewis Carroll was born Charles Lutwidge Dodgson in Chesire, England, in 1832. He was a renowned Victorian author and poet. He is best known for his novel Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and its sequel, Through the Looking Glass.

Discuss Genre and Set Purpose Nonsense poem- Uses invented language TEXT FOCUS: Onomatopoeia- A literary device in which words, such as bang and buzz, sound like their meanings. Poets can also invent words to express precise meaning. These words help readers hear, as well as see what’s happening in the poem. SET PURPOSE: Envision the boy’s adventure with the Jabberwock

Vocabulary WRITE THESE TERMS IN YOUR NOTES Shun: to deliberately avoid or ignore someone or something Foe: enemy Sought: looked for

Guided Practice What should the boy be aware of? What sounds does the boy’s blade make as he fights the Jabberwock? What kind of figurative language is this? How do you know? What happens to the Jabberwock?

Analyze the Text Read Stanza 1: The fun of this poem is that it allows us to play with language. For example, what do you think Did gyre and gimble in the wabe may mean? Reread Stanza 5: How does the boy walk back after he has killed the Jabberwock? Why do you think the poet chose galumphing instead of walking? Reread the first and last stanza: What do you notice about these stanzas? NOTE: The repeated stanza is a refrain. Jabberwocky has traditional poetic structure despite its invented language.

Writing Activity With a partner, discuss how the poem uses nonsense words and onomatopoeia to tell a story. Explain your own ideas and understanding of the words based on the text. Choose a stanza and rewrite it as a paragraph in standard English, citing details and quoting accurately to support the “translation”