Anyone know what this quote from Jabberwocky is talking about?

Question

“Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.”—Jabberwocky, by Lewis Carroll

Answer 1

When you start looking into what some of these words mean, don't read too much into the definitions you find that are close.

The words "Gyro" as in "gyroscope" and "gimbal" as in a device that keeps things on level despite the vessel they are attached to rolling in waves or in the air, both came from this poem. Those words were used in this poem before they had any meaning at all.

To better understand the entirety, you have to realize that Carroll was writing mostly for children, so you need to read it as a child. The words don't need to have their own meanings, let your imagination supply the meanings. That's the point of using made-up words.

Finally, look into Alice's encounter with Humpty-Dumpty, which goes like this:

"When I use a word," Humpty Dumpty said in a rather a scornful tone, "it means just what I choose it to mean -- neither more nor less.

"The question is," said Alice, "whether you can make words mean different things."

"The question is," said Humpty Dumpty, "which is to be master -- that's all."

Carroll was master of words, to the extent that he could invent them entirely. Don't try to know what they mean, because you can't know what they mean. Again, in the words of Humpty, "Of course you don't -- till I tell you."

It's to be enjoyed, not dissected.

Answer 2

""Jabberwocky" is a poem of nonsense verse written by Lewis Carroll, and found as a part of his novel Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There (1871). It is generally considered to be one of the greatest nonsense poems written in the English language. This poem is used in many schools to teach students about the use of portmanteaux."

I think it means nothing at all, go to wikipedia and youll find the meaning of some of the made up words by Lewis Carrol

Answer 3

I did research on this poem when I was in high school. There are some definitions given by Lewis Carroll and explanations in the book, but what it really comes down to is that you can only actually base definitions of each of the odd words on the way they are used in the poem. It is relatively easy to decipher whether the words are used as verbs, nouns or what have you. That is how I went about writing my paper. Nobody really expects you to take that route, and so it seems more impressive than it actually is :)

Answer 4

no sorry, its a nonsense rhyme isn't it, supposedly people associated it with lewis carrol and jack the ripper

Answer 5

You should of asked this last year when I knew about it. Now I have no idea! :'''(