Help with Jabberwocky?

Question

I have already memorized Jabberwocky (well, mostly, anyway), but I am not sure what Lewis Carroll meant by some of the lines. I know the poem has quite a few portmanteaus, and I understand the first few lines, but some of the words I'd like to know what mean, such as "O frabjous day!" or "frumious Bandersnatch."

Jabberwocky, by Lewis Carroll

'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.

Answer 1

Carrol created the word frabjous. it is a blend of fair, fabullous and joyous. (portmanteau)
A bandersnatch is an animal Carrol created. It is swift and has a long neck and snapping jaws. It was also in his poem 'Hunting Of The Snark'
Frumious is a portmanteau of furious and fuming

Answer 2

Great question. You know Lewis Carroll was under the influence of silosypum, or, mushrooms (I'm not kidding) during this time.

I'm not sure what frabjous, is, but I've wondered if a bandersnatch was a dragon, or, the demons he hallucinated about while under the spell of mushrooms.

All my life, sometimes out of nowhere I'll blurt out passages of Jabberwocky, and folks look at me strangely

Answer 3

If you can find a copy of "The Annotated Alice" it has a complete translation. Brillig: evening; toves: badgers; etc.

http://www.amazon.com/Annotated-Alice-Definitive-Lewis-Carroll/dp/0393048470/sr=1-1/qid=1165867420/ref=pd_bbs_1/105-9345133-0111628?ie=UTF8&s=books

Answer 4

The speech of the Jabberwocky is a superb example of nonsense rhyme in which nonsense words take on meaning that is in no way enshrined in the lexicon of the language in which it is presented. In other words, they mean what you want them to mean.

Answer 5

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jabberwocky

This explains a lot.