Boojum. Jabberwocky. Chortle. Sound familiar? These outlandish words first appeared in Lewis Carroll’s children’s book, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, in 1865 (“Lewis Carroll Biography”). The Alice books, translated into dozens of languages, “are quoted more than any other English work, after that of William Shakespeare” (Homes). Charles Dodgson, better known by his pseudonym Lewis Carroll, authored the first children’s books that did not have an overly moralistic nature. Furthermore, he legitimized the genre of nonsense in literature (Holmes). In addition to writing children’s books, Carroll also wrote poetry. A duality characterizes Lewis Carroll’s life and poetry: Charles Dodgson, the repressed, quiet mathematician and Lewis Carroll, the writer who wished to remain a child and live in Wonderland forever (Kelly 6).
Carroll entered the world on January 27, 1832, in the parsonage of Daresbury, Cheshire, to Reverend Charles Dodgson and Francis Jane Lutwidge. Carroll, the eldest son of eleven children, grew up in “an upper-crust family,” described by biographer Morton Cohen as
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In line 1, “brillig” specifically translates to “four o’clock in the afternoon,” while “vorpal” means “deadly or sharp” (“Lewis Carroll”). Additionally, Carroll frequently used portmanteaus, a method of creating compound words. For instance, “frabjous” (line 23) combines the words “fair,” “fabulous,” and “joyous” together. “Gallop” and “triumphant” merge into “galumphing” (line 20). (Holmes) Carroll also created nonsense creatures, each with its own name and physical characteristics. A few examples include “toves,” “borogoves,” “mome raths” and the poem’s namesake, the “Jabberwock.” (“Lewis Carroll”). Carroll’s development of new words and creatures gives “Jabberwock” an air of complete nonsense. Carroll’s nonsense poetry functions as a “game whose rules change according to Carroll’s fancy”