Saturday, December 13, 2008

Quotation

This week's book passage is from The Jabberwocky:

Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.

Now technically The Jabberwocky is a poem within a book, so the book would be Through the Looking Glass, but that whole book is like some kind of awful awful acid trip of madness. Also I didn't actually read it this week.

But how can you not love that part of the poem? I want to gyre and gimble! I don't know what the hell a mome rath is (other than those adorable little pom-pom things from the Disney version of Alice in Wonderland) but I'm so glad for them that they outgrabe. Now, read this poem ten times fast while spinning around in a circle (aka "outgrabing") and see if your day isn't just a little bit more insane!

UPDATE: I'm very sad to report that apparently Lewis Carroll did invent some definitions for his made-up words, but they aren't very good. I like my imagined definitions better. If, however, you wish to learn what a "mome rath" really is, here's where to find out.

2 comments:

Kristina P. said...

Can I tell you that I don't like Alice and Wonderland and The Jabberwockey? Like you said, they both seem like acid trips.

POOTIE POOTWELL said...

All this time I've been saying "O frabulous joy!" and really it's "O frabjous day!" - no wonder my F.E.C. hasn't ever found me - he probably scorned me for misquoting years ago...