Poetry

"The self-same moment I could pray; And from my neck so free The Albatross fell off, and sank Like lead into the sea."

"O happy living things! no tongue Their beauty might declare: A spring of love gushed from my heart, And I blessed them unaware: Sure my kind saint took pity on me, And I blessed them unaware."

"Within the shadow of the ship I watched their rich attire: Blue, glossy green, and velvet black, They coiled and swam; and every track Was a flash of golden fire."

"Beyond the shadow of the ship, I watched the water-snakes: They moved in tracks of shining white, And when they reared, the elfish light Fell off in hoary flakes."

"The moving Moon went up the sky, And no where did abide: Softly she was going up, And a star or two beside."

"An orphan's curse would drag to Hell A spirit from on high; But oh! more horrible than that Is a curse in a dead man's eye! Seven days, seven nights, I saw that curse, And yet I could not die."

"The many men, so beautiful! And they all dead did lie: And a thousand thousand slimy things Lived on; and so did I."

"Alone, alone, all, all alone, Alone on a wide wide sea! And never a saint took pity on My soul in agony."

"I fear thee, ancient Mariner! I fear thy skinny hand! And thou art long, and lank, and brown, As is the ribbed sea-sand."

"One after one, by the star-dogged Moon, Too quick for groan or sigh, Each turned his face with a ghastly pang, And cursed me with his eye."

"The hornèd Moon, with one bright star Within the nether tip."

"We listened and looked sideways up! Fear at my heart, as at a cup, My life-blood seemed to sip!"

"The Sun's rim dips; the stars rush out: At one stride comes the dark; With far-heard whisper, o'er the sea. Off shot the spectre-bark."

""The game is done! I've won, I've won!" Quoth she, and whistles thrice."

"As this poem is to some extent connected with the lay of the Jabberwock, let me take this opportunity of answering a question that has often been asked me, how to pronounce "slithy toves." The "i" in "slithy" is long, as in "writhe"; and "toves" is pronounced so as to rhyme with "groves." Again, the first "o" in "borogoves" is pronounced like the "o" in "borrow." I have heard people try to give it the sound of the "o" in "worry." Such is Human Perversity."

"His crew are simply Tom, Dick and Harry, with the Baker as Everyman. We are all there, all in the same boat, all heading in the wrong direction, going the wrong way."

"Much fruitless speculation has been spent over supposed hidden meanings in Lewis Carroll's Hunting of the Snark. The inclination to search for these was strictly natural, though the search was destined to fail."

"The Hunting of the Snark is a poem over which an unstable, sensitive soul might very well go mad."

"Although Lewis Carroll thought of The Hunting of the Snark as a nonsense ballad for children, it is hard to imagine - in fact one shudders to imagine - a child of today reading and enjoying it."

"The Snark has proved itself a stout warrior and has grown in stature as the years pass by; time has dignified it and brought it the respect of generations of Snarkists."

"In answer to your question, "What did you mean the Snark was?" will you tell your friend that I meant that the Snark was a Boojum. I trust that she and you will now feel quite satisfied and happy."

"As to the meaning of the Snark? I'm very much afraid I didn't mean anything but nonsense!"

"I was walking on a hillside, alone, one bright summer day, when suddenly there came into my head one line of verse—one solitary line—“For the Snark was a Boojum, you see.” I knew not what it meant, then: I know not what it means, now; but I wrote it down: and, sometime afterwards, the rest of the stanza occurred to me, that being its last line: and so by degrees, at odd moments during the next year or two, the rest of the poem pieced itself together, that being its last stanza."

"Erect and sublime, for one moment of time. In the next, that wild figure they saw (As if stung by a spasm) plunge into a chasm While they waited and listened in awe."It's a snark!" was the sound that first came to their ears And seemed almost too good to be true. Then followed a torrent of laughter and cheers Then the ominous words: "It's a boo--"Then, silence. Some fancied they heard in the air A weary and wandering sigh That sounded like "--jum!" But the others declare It was only a breeze that went by."

"He was black in the face, and they scarcely could trace The least likeness to what he had been: While so great was his fright that his waistcoat turned white— A wonderful thing to be seen!"

"He dreamed that he stood in a shadowy Court, Where the Snark, with a glass in its eye, Dressed in gown, bands, and wig, was defending a pig On the charge of deserting its sty."

"As to temper the Jubjub's a desperate bird, Since it lives in perpetual passion: Its taste in costume is entirely absurd — It is ages ahead of the fashion."

"Taking three as the subject to reason about, (A convenient number to state) We add seven, and ten, and then multiply out By one-thousand diminished by eight."The result we proceed to divide, as you see, By nine-hundred and ninety and two, Then subtract seventeen, and the answer must be Exactly and perfectly true."The method employed I would gladly explain (While I have it so clear in my head) If I had but the time, and you had but the brain, But much yet remains to be said."

"You may charge me with murder — or want of sense - (we are all of us weak at times): But the slightest approach to a false pretence was never among my crimes!"I said it in Hebrew — I said it in Dutch — I said it in German and Greek: But I wholly forgot (and it vexes me much) That English is what you speak!"

"'You may seek it with thimbles — and seek it with care; You may hunt it with forks and hope; You may threaten its life with a railway-share; You may charm it with smiles and soap — '" ("That's exactly the method," the Bellman bold In a hasty parenthesis cried, "That's exactly the way I have always been told That the capture of Snarks should be tried!") "'But oh, beamish nephew, beware of the day, If your Snark be a Boojum! For then You will softly and suddenly vanish away, And never be met with again!'"

"Its habit of getting up late you'll agree That it carries too far, when I say That it frequently breakfasts at five o'clock tea, And dines on the following day."

"But the principal failing occurred in the sailing, And the Bellman, perplexed and distressed, Said he had hoped, at least, when the wind blew due East That the ship would not travel due West!"

"Then the bowsprit got mixed with the rudder sometimes: A thing, as the Bellman remarked, That frequently happens in tropical climes, When a vessel is, so to speak, "snarked.""

"He had bought a large map representing the sea, Without the least vestige of land: And the crew were much pleased when they found it to be A map they could all understand."What's the good of Mercator's North Poles and Equators, Tropics, zones, and Meridian lines?" (So the Bellman would cry) And the crew would reply: "They are merely conventional signs!"Other maps are such shapes, with their islands and capes! But we've got our brave captain to thank," (So the crew would protest) "that he's bought us the best — A perfect and absolute blank!""

"There was one who was famed for the number of things He forgot when he entered the ship: His umbrella, his watch, all his jewels and rings, And the clothes he had bought for the trip.He had forty-two boxes, all carefully packed, With his name painted clearly on each: But, since he omitted to mention the fact, They were all left behind on the beach.The loss of his clothes hardly mattered, because He had seven coats on when he came, With three pair of boots, but the worst of it was He had wholly forgotten his name."

"Just the place for a Snark!" the Bellman cried, As he landed his crew with care; Supporting each man on the top of the tide By a finger entwined in his hair."Just the place for a Snark! I have said it twice: That alone should encourage the crew. Just the place for a Snark! I have said it thrice: What I tell you three times is true."

"IF — and the thing is wildly possible — the charge of writing nonsense were ever brought against the author of this brief but instructive poem, it would be based, I feel convinced, on the line (in Fit the Second) "Then the bowsprit got mixed with the rudder sometimes." In view of this painful possibility, I will not (as I might) appeal indignantly to my other writings as a proof that I am incapable of such a deed: I will not (as I might) point to the strong moral purpose of this poem itself, to the arithmetical principles so cautiously inculcated in it, or to its noble teachings in Natural History — I will take the more prosaic course of simply explaining how it happened..."

"Chat on, sweet maid, and rescue from annoy Hearts that by wiser talk are unbeguiled! Ah, happy he who owns that tenderest joy, The heart-love of a child!"

"Were I to choose an auspicious image for the new millennium, I would choose this one: The sudden agile leap of the poet-philosopher who raises himself above the weight of the world, showing that with all his gravity he has the secret of lightness, and that what many consider to be the vitality of the times--noisy, aggressive, revving and roaring--belongs to the realm of death, like a cemetery for rusty, old cars"

"At this point we should remember that the idea of the world as composed of weightless atoms is striking just because we know the weight of things so well. So, too, we would be unable to appreciate the lightness of language if we could not appreciate language that has some weight."

"What you do really with paper can never quite come up to with what the paper offers. It's something about that broken package, in the way carton is torn, sort of invites you to come in. There's something about taking out that first sheet, that sort of changes that thing."

"Saving time is a good thing because the more time we save, the more we can afford to lose"

"For a ballad's a thing you expect to find lies in."

"Some people resemble ballads which are only sung for a certain time."

"Thespis, the first professor of our art, At country wakes sung ballads from a cart."

"The farmer's daughter hath soft brown hair (Butter and eggs and a pound of cheese) And I met with a ballad, I can't say where, That wholly consisted of lines like these."

"I've now got the music book ready, Do sit up and sing like a lady A recitative from Tancredi, And something about "Palpiti!" Sing forte when first you begin it, Piano the very next minute, They'll cry "What expression there's in it!" Don't sing English ballads to me!"

"I love a ballad but even too well; if it be doleful matter, merrily set down, or a very pleasant thing indeed, and sung lamentably."

"I have a passion for ballads. * * * They are the gypsy children of song, born under green hedgerows in the leafy lanes and bypaths of literature,—in the genial Summertime."

"I had rather be a kitten, and cry mew! Than one of these same metre ballad-mongers."