Sunday, May 20, 2007

What main advantage does the written version of "Jabberwocky" have over a cartoon, film, or video?

The main advantage of the written version of Lewis Carroll’s poem “Jabberwocky” is that it lends itself to the imagination of the readers. This is true of many written works as changes are made in various formats such as films and cartoons.


In the first stanza of the poem, Carroll creates the setting using nonsensical words. Even if you do not read Humpty Dumpty’s explanation of the words in his discussion with Alice in Wonderland, readers creates their own image of a magical place with imaginary creatures. This allows for readers to be enthralled by the slaying of the Jabberwocky creature which they have created in their own mind. When the “Jabberwocky” is portrayed in a cartoon or film, it becomes the figment of someone else’s imagination, which creates a preconceived notion of the fairy tale-like setting and characters. Allowing readers to create the likenesses of the characters and setting in their own minds lends to the wonderment that the poem provides as part of the larger work Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There. This can be seen when groups of children are asked to illustrate the poem after hearing it read to them. No two images are alike.

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