What are your thoughts on “Jabberwocky,” especially in regard to symbolism and figurative language?

INSTRUCTIONS (In case, it is not readable) (ONLY USE THE FILES ATTACHED)

It is generally conceived of as a “nonsense poem,” but as critic Karen Alkalay-Gut writes, “The first thing to strike the reader about the poem is not its senselessness but its grammatical and structural coherence.” Alkalay-Gut is viewing the poem through a Structuralist point of view, looking for literary and mythological patterns in the poem (which, as she notes, are relatively easy to see – it is a rather simple quest narrative beneath the linguistic innovation).

FIRST PAGE =

How does the plot of “Jabberwocky” work? Use the parts of Freytag’s Pyramid to help you.

Exposition –

Inciting Incident –

Rising Action –

Climax –

Falling Action –

Resolution –

SECOND PAGE =

You will also be reading the chapter entitled “Symbol and Figurative Language.” After delineating the plot, character, and setting for the question on the first page, look into how the poem works in a symbolic sense.

What are your thoughts on “Jabberwocky,” especially in regard to symbolism and figurative language? What symbols do we see? What figurative language do you detect?

THIRD PAGE =

Carroll actually gave some definitions to the nonsense words he included in the poem, describing them as portmanteaus – words constructed of two words that carry both meanings. An example would be “slithy,” which could be seen as a combination of the words “slimy” and “lithe.” “Slithy” carries both the sound and meaning of both of these words. However, it is, as Alkalay-Gut tells us, tempting to think that deciphering these portmanteaus will lead to a full understanding of the nonsense in the poem and thus the poem as a whole. That is not necessarily the case, as some of the nonsense words don’t appear to be portmanteaus, and some definitions Carroll gave are as nonsensical as the words themselves.

What is the function of nonsense in “Jabberwocky”? This question will center on the nonsense in a more functional way – not what the words mean, but the purpose of the nonsense. Why is it there? Why did Carroll write the poem in this way?

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You are to interpret “Jabberwocky” by using the critical approach of “Jungian and Myth Criticism”. Provide a view of the story through the lens of “Jungian and Myth Criticism” and use the text to support your ideas.

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