Comments | kellyrfineman: Jabberwocky by Lewis Carroll

kellyrfineman

Jabberwocky by Lewis Carroll

Apr 05, 2010 09:47

Yesterday's poem, "The butterfly obtains" by Emily Dickinson, got me thinking about butterflies and caterpillars (whence butterflies come), and about the latest movie version of Alice in Wonderland, which I mentioned on my blog after I first saw it in 2D with M. (I have since seen it in 3D with hubby, and copied down quite a few quotes while there ( Read more... )

carroll, analysis of poems, building a poetry collection, nonsense poems, national poetry month, poetry

Comments 26

jamarattigan April 5 2010, 13:59:40 UTC

I used to begin my college expository writing classes by reciting this poem. It's great for teaching diction and connotation/denotation, for reminding everyone to simply revel in the sound and musicality of words. Then I would ask my students to make up their own word (after I gave them its definition).

kellyrfineman April 5 2010, 18:55:58 UTC

You lost me at connotation/denotation. *sighs* Now I have to go off and learn about them. Ah well, it's good to learn something new every day, right?

ex_lgburns April 5 2010, 14:42:35 UTC

Oh, I am so, so glad you posted this, Kelly.

My sons (grade 5) have been working on a big poetry project for Language Arts class, and I got them two picture book versions of JABBERWOCKY at the library. I hadn't read it since a failed attempt at reading Alice books back in the day. Anyway, the thrilling part came when reading the poem out loud to my daughter. It was so much fun to read out loud, even though I hadn't a clue what the words meant. And she thought so, too!

We read the poem hundreds of times, puzzling it all the while, but mostly just reading it out loud in dramatic fashion to whomever would listen ... for the fun of it. And the next time we hit the library, she checked out Alice Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass; we will be recommending as titles at her Mother & Daughter book club next month. I can't wait to show all those second graders and their moms this Muppet clip ... after Cat and I perform our version, of course!

kellyrfineman April 5 2010, 18:54:38 UTC

I'm so glad you're all enjoying Jabberwocky. I assume that one of the books was the one by Christopher Myers, where he sets it on a basketball court? (His author's note, which is a joke, set off a minor maelstrom in the NY Times when the Lewis Carroll Association of North America got involved. I thought it was funny, and posted about it at the time.)

ex_lgburns June 23 2010, 16:18:45 UTC

We Burnses finally watched Alice in Wonderland, and are more hooked than ever on the idea of reading the books. Our book club peeps are hesitant, but my daughter and I are going to force the issue this month! This morning we watched the muppets clip again and giggled through their rendition of our favorite poem ...

kellyrfineman June 23 2010, 16:52:59 UTC

There are so many great illustrated editions of the book out there that I'm sure you could sell them on the idea of reading at least one of them - I just added the Camille Rose Garcia version (which looks a bit Goth) to my collection this year, but there are far more "traditional" looks out there.

And it's a classic piece of literature that so many kids love - and so many writers are inspired by - that it seems like an excellent fit for a mother/daughter club.

Thread 5

But I like your digression.... slatts April 5 2010, 15:24:14 UTC

...as I didn't know that and now that I do...

Re: But I like your digression.... kellyrfineman April 5 2010, 18:51:15 UTC

I didn't know that particular bit about the English to Latin to English until only recently. I thought it was pretty cool!

I thought it was pretty cool! slatts April 5 2010, 18:52:56 UTC

Indeed!

You're one of my favorite geeks!

:-D

Re: I thought it was pretty cool! kellyrfineman April 5 2010, 18:55:00 UTC

Thank you, kind sir!

wordsrmylife April 5 2010, 16:29:57 UTC

Great presentation. I'll be covering "Jabberwocky" later in the month, and you'll get a link.

kellyrfineman April 5 2010, 18:50:36 UTC

A link! A link! My kingdom for a link!

Oh. Right. I don't actually have a kingdom. But I do have gratitude for the thought!

heatherbird April 5 2010, 17:34:45 UTC

I love this poem, as my mom and her oldest brother always find little ways to stick it into letters and birthday cards. My favorite restaurant in Charlottesville during college was called Jabberwocky, and that's the main reason it was my favorite- that and the decor, which included lots of twinkle lights all Alice-inspired artwork.

Anyway, I love the poem now as a teacher because it's helpful in teaching kids about using context clues to determine word meanings, something even eighth graders continue to struggle with.

kellyrfineman April 5 2010, 18:49:55 UTC

I've recited this poem to 1st graders and to 8th graders and to all ages in between. There's so much in play here that they all get something out of it. And even the young ones figure out the general story (boy slays monster, wins approval of grown-up). So cool.

Have you seen the dance troupe called the Jabberwockies on America's Best Dance Crew? They rock - they usually wear masks, if memory serves.

And how very, very cool that your mom and uncle find ways to add it to cards. I'd love a card saying "O frabjous day!" :)