1. Bellringer Make up your own word.
Define your word and use it in a sentence.

2. “Jabberwocky”
By Lewis Caroll

3. Objectives
I can determine the meanings and/or connotations of words based on their context.
I can analyze a writer’s purpose for using figurative language.
I can analyze a poem for both tone and mood—differentiating between the two concepts.

4. “Jabberwocky” by Lewis Caroll
’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.

5. The Beginning…
’Twas brillig, and the slithy toves Did gyre and gimble in the wabe: All mimsy were the borogoves, And the mome raths outgrabe.
What on earth is Caroll talking about?
Are there any words in this stanza that you DO understand?
What tone does this set for the poem?
Why do you think he chose to begin the poem this way?
Who do you think is the speaker in this stanza?

6. Content Questions
Give two reasons why the protagonist is warned to “beware the Jabberwock.”
Describe in your own words the encounter between the boy and the Jabberwock.
The person who had warned the boy returns at the end of the poem. What is that person’s reaction to what has happened?

7. Processing Questions
Who do you think is the speaker in the first and last stanzas?
How were you able to determine what was happening in the poem despite nonsense words?
Where have you seen similar plots before—child versus beast? Why do you think this is such a popular plot?

8. Poetry Devices Questions
Take two minutes to try to chart the rhyme scheme of the poem.
How would you describe this rhyme scheme?
Why do you think Lewis Caroll chose to use this type of rhyme scheme?
Do you see any other sound devices used in this poem?

9. Critical Thinking Question
Why do you think Lewis Caroll used repetition with the first and last stanzas?
Consider mood and/or tone to answer this question.

11. Bellringer
What is the difference in consonance and alliteration?

12. “The Bells”
By Edgar Allan Poe

13. I.
Hear the sledges with the bells-- Silver bells! What a world of merriment their melody foretells! How they tinkle, tinkle, tinkle, In the icy air of night! While the stars that oversprinkle All the heavens, seem to twinkle With a crystalline delight; Keeping time, time, time, In a sort of Runic rhyme, To the tintinnabulation that so musically wells From the bells, bells, bells, bells, Bells, bells, bells-- From the jingling and the tinkling of the bells.

14. II.
Hear the mellow wedding bells Golden bells! What a world of happiness their harmony foretells! Through the balmy air of night How they ring out their delight! From the molten-golden notes, And all in tune, What a liquid ditty floats To the turtle-dove that listens, while she gloats On the moon! Oh, from out the sounding cells, What a gush of euphony voluminously wells! How it swells! How it dwells On the Future! how it tells Of the rapture that impels To the swinging and the ringing Of the bells, bells, bells, Of the bells, bells, bells, bells, Bells, bells, bells-- To the rhyming and the chiming of the bells!

15. III.
Hear the loud alarum bells-- Brazen bells! What tale of terror, now, their turbulency tells! In the startled ear of night How they scream out their affright! Too much horrified to speak, They can only shriek, shriek, Out of tune, In a clamorous appealing to the mercy of the fire, In a mad expostulation with the deaf and frantic fire, Leaping higher, higher, higher, With a desperate desire, And a resolute endeavor Now--now to sit or never, By the side of the pale-faced moon. Oh, the bells, bells, bells!
What a tale their terror tells Of Despair! How they clang, and clash, and roar! What a horror they outpour On the bosom of the palpitating air! Yet the ear, it fully knows, By the twanging, And the clanging, How the danger ebbs and flows; Yet, the ear distinctly tells, In the jangling, And the wrangling, How the danger sinks and swells, By the sinking or the swelling in the anger of the bells-- Of the bells-- Of the bells, bells, bells, bells, Bells, bells, bells-- In the clamour and the clangour of the bells!

16. IV.
Hear the tolling of the bells-- Iron bells! What a world of solemn thought their monody compels! In the silence of the night, How we shiver with affright At the melancholy meaning of their tone! For every sound that floats From the rust within their throats Is a groan. And the people--ah, the people-- They that dwell up in the steeple, All alone, And who, tolling, tolling, tolling, In that muffled monotone, Feel a glory in so rolling On the human heart a stone-- They are neither man nor woman-- They are neither brute nor human-- They are Ghouls:-- And their king it is who tolls; And he rolls, rolls, rolls, rolls, Rolls
A pæan from the bells! And his merry bosom swells With the pæan of the bells! And he dances, and he yells; Keeping time, time, time, In a sort of Runic rhyme, To the pæan of the bells-- Of the bells: Keeping time, time, time, In a sort of Runic rhyme, To the throbbing of the bells-- Of the bells, bells, bells-- To the sobbing of the bells; Keeping time, time, time, As he knells, knells, knells, In a happy Runic rhyme, To the rolling of the bells-- Of the bells, bells, bells-- To the tolling of the bells, Of the bells, bells, bells, bells-- Bells, bells, bells-- To the moaning and the groaning of the bells.

17. Content Questions
Find the line in each stanza that tells the time of day when the bells are ringing.
Name three metals from which the different bells are made.
What type of bell is ringing in each stanza?
Describe the beings that live in the steeple in the fourth stanza.

18. Style Questions
What letters, words, and lines imitate the sounds of different types of bells?
What mood is created in each of the four stanzas?
Do you think this poem’s focus is on meaning or sound? Why?
Find at least one example of alliteration in each stanza.

19. Style Questions Continued
How does alliteration and repetition work to help the mood and meaning of this poem?
In what ways are the four stanzas parallel?
How is the format of this poem different from “The Bells”?

20. Critical Thinking Question
How does this poem VISUALLY represent sound?
Hint #1: You do not have to READ a single word in the poem to answer this question.
Hint #2: Turn the poem sideways.

21. Exit Ticket
Which of the two poems that we studied, “Jabberwocky” or “The Bells,” do you think does a better job of establishing mood? Why? Explain your opinion using details from the poems.
NOTE: There is no wrong answer as long as you defend it well!