Literary Devices Literary Devices    

Lesson 24: Foreshadowing: Jabberwocky

by Lewis Carroll

Performer: Librivox - Kara Shallenberg


'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.



TRANSLATION

It was 4PM, time for cooking dinner, the slimy and lithe

badger/lizard/corkscrew creatures spun and made holes in the grass.

The miserable/flimsy birds

and green pigs bellowed/whistled/sneezed.



Watch out for the Jabberwock son!

He bites and claws!

Watch out for the Jubjub bird, and avoid

the fuming/furious Bandersnatch (snapping creature that can extend its neck).



The son grabs his sword

and searches for his enemy for a long time.

He stops to rest by a Tumtum tree

And thinks for a bit.



As he's thinking and standing,

The fiery-eyed Jabberwock,

Comes wheezing/sniffling through the woods

and makes a bubbling sound.



The son strikes the Jabberwock four times, decapitating it.

The blade making a snicker-snack sound.

The son leaves the Jabberwock dead, and takes its head

and goes trotting/galloping back.



Dad asks if his son has really killed the Jabberwock.

Proud dad gives his son a hug.

Dad says, 'What a fair, fabulous, and joyous day! Hooray!'s

Dad chuckles with joy.



It was 4PM, time for cooking dinner, the slimy and lithe

badger/lizard/corkscrew creatures spun and made holes in the grass.

The miserable/flimsy birds

and green pigs bellowed/whistled/sneezed.

All returns to normal.

    Literary Devices Literary Devices    

Lesson 24: Foreshadowing: Jabberwocky

by Lewis Carroll

Performer: Librivox - Kara Shallenberg

Directions

Study the poem for one week.

Over the week:

  • Read or listen to the poem.
  • Review the synopsis.
  • Read about the poet.
  • Complete the enrichment activities.

Synopsis

Don't worry if you don't recognize the words in Lewis Carroll's nonsense poem, 'Jabberwocky.' Many of the words are made up (see the translation below the original poem in the lesson). In the poem, a father warns his son about the fiery-eyed, clawing, biting Jabberwock. The son ignores his father's advice, grabs his sword, and ventures out. After the son kills the Jabberwock, he brings the head back to his father. His father is very proud, and all returns to normal. With the father's warning, the poem employs foreshadowing to hint at the upcoming battle.

Concepts

Poets often use literary devices, defined as 'rules of thumb, convention, or structure that are employed in literature and storytelling.'

The nine literary devices we'll study include:

  1. Rhyming
  2. Alliteration
  3. Similes
  4. Metaphors
  5. Personification
  6. Foreshadowing
  7. Allusion
  8. Hyperbole
  9. Onomatopoeia

Foreshadowing is a literary device whereby an author drops hints or symbolic representations of plot developments to come later in the story.

Enrichment

Activity 1: Recite Poem Information

Recite the title of the poem and the name of the poet.

Activity 2: Study the Poem Picture

Study the poem picture and describe how it relates to the poem. How does the image differ from the poem?

Activity 3: Recite the Poem

Practice reciting the poem aloud.

Activity 4: Identify Foreshadowing in the Examples

Read aloud the examples below and predict the future event being foreshadowed.

  • As Barry worried about his gravely sick father, the sun broke through the clouds, illuminating Barry with its warm rays.
  • A rainbow sparkled over the outdoor graduation ceremony as the valedictorian gave her speech.
  • While he sprawled over the grass and fretted over her spelling test the next day, David spotted a four-leaf clover.
  • Painful headaches began plaguing Annie. They grew so bad, one day she couldn't get out of bed.
  • On the first day of school, I met a girl wearing the same NASA shirt and carrying the same Scooby Doo lunch box as me.

Activity 5: Identify the Rhyme Scheme

Review the poem and identify the pattern of its rhyming scheme. (e.g. ABBACDCD, etc.)

Activity 6: Identify Alliteration

Review the poem and point out any instances of alliteration.

Activity 7: Identify Foreshadowing

Review the poem excerpt. How does it foreshadow the future?

  • Beware the Jabberwock, my son - The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!

Activity 8: Complete Book Activities   

  • Click the crayon above, and complete pages 73-75 of 'Elementary Poetry 5: Literary Devices.'

References

  1. 'The Jabberwocky Translated.' Medium Blog Entry. https://medium.com/@Magisternihil/the-jabberwocky-translated-a4904f830683. n.p.
  2. 'Foreshadowing.' Wikipedia. Wikipedia.org. n.p.