The Hunting of the Snark
nonsense poem by Lewis Carroll From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
nonsense poem by Lewis Carroll From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Hunting of the Snark (An Agony in 8 Fits) is a nonsense poem written by Lewis Carroll, the pen name of Charles Lutwidge Dodgson.
 Cover of first edition | |
| Author | Lewis Carroll |
|---|---|
| Illustrator | Henry Holiday |
| Cover artist | Henry Holiday |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Nonsense poetry |
| Publisher | Macmillan |
Publication date | 29 March 1876 |
| OCLC | 2035667 |
| Text | The Hunting of the Snark at Wikisource |
The poem was written from 1874 to 1876. The setting, some creatures, and eight portmanteau words are taken from Carroll's earlier poem Jabberwocky in his children's novel Through the Looking-Glass (1871). The eight words are: bandersnatch, beamish, frumious, galumphing, jubjub, mimsiest (which previously appeared as mimsy in "Jabberwocky"), outgrabe and uffish.[1]
The first two stanzas contain one of the most famous quotations in nonsense poetry:
The Bellman refers the mediaeval use of a town crier or bellman. He would ring his bell, and shout Oyez, Oyez, Oyez! at set places in a town, and read out proclamations of legal decisions made by courts or the town council. This was necessary because most people were illiterate.
Another curiosity of the poem is that the crew of ten all have occupations beginning with the letter "B".
What I tell you three times is true: The idea of repetition as a grounds for truth is sometimes called the Bellman's theory. That, of course, is humour. All the same, repetition is a recurring trope in many kinds of discussion and argument.
The Hunting of the Snark has been many times adapted for the theatre, and many times referred to in fiction.
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