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As a literary term, ambiguity refers to a type of meaning in which a word, clause, phrase, sentence, poem, character, plot, narrative, or story is not clearly defined or explained in a straightforward way, such that it is open to more than one possible interpretation. This definition may also be extended, to a degree, to include concepts like meaning and identity. In other words, what something “means,” whether it be a poem or a particular life experience, may be difficult to ascertain given the fact that one is unable to clearly define or completely understand it.
The language in “Jabberwocky” fits the definition of ambiguity; on first read, it appears incomprehensible. However, the strategic manner in which Carroll uses his neologisms, the context in which they occur, and the associations one instinctively makes when confronted with sounds that sound like words, compels one to attribute meaning to the so-called incomprehensible. It is also the ambiguity itself that gives the words such power, and that compels one to engage with the poem to better understand the words.
The poem’s ambiguous language is enhanced, or deepened, by the unnamed characters, the strange, episodic story of which they are a part, and the absence of any discernable motive explaining why the Jabberwock is being hunted, or sought out, in the first place.
For example, Stanza 1 establishes the setting in which the narrative occurs. The stanza gives the impression that it is about a place; and in this place, “things”— probably animal-like things—are doing “stuff,” or are engaged in some kind of activity. What the “things” are and what they are doing specifically is a matter left to the reader. Though ambiguous, it’s also understandable; it does not read entirely as nonsense.
Then, in Stanza 3, the son sets off, after having received advice from his father in Stanza 2 to slay the Jabberwock. The son is victorious in this endeavor, returns home to his father with the Jabberwock’s head, and life carries on as it had at the beginning of the poem, apparently, as Stanza 7 resets the scene. The narrative is read almost exclusively as being about the killing of the Jabberwock, and, thematically speaking, the poem is often held to be about courage or love, the struggle between good and evil, fantasy versus reality, man versus nature, the heroic quest or the hero’s journey, violence, even storytelling and nonsense. And such readings are correct, or at least valid. They do not, however, always account for the overwhelmingly ambiguous nature of the poem.
Note all of the things the reader does not know yet. For example, who are the father and son? And why is the son setting off—at the behest of, or at the very least with the approval of the father—on this journey? That the son in Stanza 2 is about to embark on a specific journey with what may fairly be understood to be a specific purpose is implied. But to what purpose? Is the son about to undergo a rite of passage? For example, is it by killing the Jabberwock that the son becomes a man? Or must the son kill the Jabberwock in order to become a member of the tribe, or a vested member of the village? Or must the son kill the Jabberwock because it is a family tradition? Perhaps it is the traditional task the family of which the father and son are a part to patrol the “tulgey” wood and hunt down and kill any evil Jabberwocks they come upon, to keep their village, or homestead, safe. What does this mean in terms of the son’s development? And how old is the son, anyway? Is he an 11-year-old boy, or a 21-year-old young man? The ambiguity of the situation only deepens as one takes an even closer look at Stanza 2.
For example, how does the reader know that the son is setting out to kill the Jabberwock? True, the title of the poem is “Jabberwocky.” The word “Jabberwocky,” however, given the applicable rules of grammar, is best read as an adjective. The fantastic monster described in Stanza 2 is a Jabberwock, a noun. Is the title, then, a description of the hunt? Probably. Stanza 2, however, may also be read as a list of fantastic monsters the son must watch out for while on his quest, listed in ascending order of dangerousness, the last being more dangerous than the first. The first monster mentioned as well as the only monster to be described in a straightforward way is the Jabberwock. Lines 5 and 6 may be read as saying beware the Jabberwock, and specifically, when or if you do encounter it, watch out for its jaws and claws. Line 7, though, implies the Jubjub bird is a bit more dangerous than the Jabberwock, in that less is known about it; and, consequently, because less is known about it, the less that may be done to prepare for an encounter with it, or to avoid it. Finally, Lines 7 and 8 tell the son to completely avoid the “frumious Bandersnatch.” Of the three fantastic monsters mentioned in Stanza 2, the Bandersnatch is the only one given an adjective—an adjective apparently used to describe a dangerous negative quality. And the father’s advice to the son regarding the Bandersnatch is simply to stay away from it, to avoid it completely.
To recap Stanza 2, then, it is possible that the Jabberwock, rather than being the most dangerous beast one may encounter in the tulgey wood (as may be inferred from the poem’s title) is rather the least dangerous, most often encountered, and best known of the three fantastic monsters. The Jubjub bird is also a known denizen of the wilds into which the son plans to venture forth, but little is known about it except that it too is dangerous. It may have jaws and claws as perilous as a Jabberwock’s, or its fearsome appendages could be much deadlier; no one knows. And, regarding the Bandersnatch? It must be avoided completely, if possible, because it is a “frumious” creature, capable of whatever one takes the description of “frumious” to describe or imply. The son, in other words, is setting off on an adventure, the implied goal of which is to at least encounter, if not kill, a Jabberwock, which it turns out, is the most well known, and therefore most commonly encountered, fantastic monster in the wood, as well as the least dangerous; for what reason the reader does not or cannot (and by poems end, will not) know. It could be something else. It is ambiguous.
Stanzas 3, 4, and 5 only heighten the sense of ambiguity in the poem, thereby furthering the theme. In Line 9, the son picks up his vorpal sword. “Vorpal” here functions as a modifier meant to describe his sword, which it may be doing in any one of several ways given the qualities commonly attributed to swords. Vorpal could describe its weight, its appearance, its shape, the sound it makes when it is swung in anger, etc. The way the word vorpal is used—grammatically and syntactically—implies meaning. What vorpal actually means, though, is ambiguous.
Stanza 3 continues as the son looks for his “manxome foe” for a long time, specifically for the duration of Line 10, before stopping to rest and think by the “Tumtum tree” in Lines 11 and 12. Does “manxome foe” refer to the Jabberwock or to the Jubjub bird, or to the Bandersnatch? Given the context (the poem titled “Jabberwocky”) in which “manxome foe” occurs, it refers to the Jabberwock. If this is the case, then “manxome foe” modifies Jabberwock; it specifies the Jabberwock as a foe and describes it as “manxome.” Again, given its usage, “manxome” cannot be said to be entirely meaningless in that valid meaning may be attributed to it by the reader. What it means, however, cannot be precisely determined. It is ambiguous.
The theme of ambiguity is furthered in Stanza 3 by the son’s decision, after having looked for the “manxome foe” for a long time, to rest by the “Tumtum tree.” Note that the Tumtum tree is named. It is not only named, but its name also begins with a capital “T.” It is a proper noun, a singularly identified tree amongst all of the trees the son, during the course of his adventure, is moving through. Why is the Tumtum tree so named? What is special about it that it should have a proper name? Are special powers attributed to it? Or does something special about its location (which the reader also does not know in relationship to anything else in the poem) make its being named useful? And why does the son choose to stop under the Tumtum tree in particular? The poem clearly states in Line 12 that he stands awhile in thought by the Tumtum tree. To think about what, to what end? To think about how tired he is, or to wonder, after having looked for so long, if and when or how he will ever find a creature so elusive that, per his father’s description, it is encountered more often and is better known than either of the other two fantastic monsters his father warned against? Once again, the specific details and the narrative description of what is going on is ambiguous at best and exemplify the manner by which the poem’s central theme of ambiguity allows reader input and creative expression.
Thematically speaking, “Jabberwocky” is also about growing up. It is most often described as a mock-epic, or mock-heroic ballad, in which a young man, or a boy, sets out on a journey or quest at the behest of his father. He engages in conflict, is victorious, and returns home to the joyous plaudits of his father, and, presumably, the acceptance of the community in which he grew up, and is now, in a manner of speaking, a fully vested member.
This brief summary describes what is often referred to thematically as “a journey” or a “hero’s quest,” a life-changing event in a person’s coming of age. Given that, for the reader, the hero of the story is often read as oneself, these characterizations of theme function as metaphorical representations of life itself. Growing up enters into the interpretation when one considers the ritualistic, rite of passage-like quality of the “Jabberwocky” narrative. The son (one assumes voluntarily) sets out on a journey or quest, the purpose of which is to encounter the Jabberwock and kill it, or by extension, be killed by it. He is successful, and he returns home to the praise of his father. And so life continues, a fundamental change (it is implied) having been deemed to have occurred, a change acknowledged by the community of which the son and his father are a part. The son has grown up, in some way.
This is a story pattern that describes the rites of passage or ritual behavior young people choose to endure all over the world. It is most easily identified in societies where young men, for example, must undergo circumcision as teenagers to be considered men. Such rituals, however, are not exclusive to primeval or first cultures. Modern, contemporary societies have their rites of passage as well. For example, in the United States, it is often considered a step towards adulthood when a young person of 16 to 18 years of age earns their driver’s license and is, consequently, allowed to drive a car. It marks the assumption of greater, adult-like responsibilities on the part of that young person, as well as an opportunity for greater personal freedom and self-determination.
The theme of growing up works well in conjunction with the overarching theme of ambiguity, in that, as has been previously alluded to, what something “means,” whether one is talking about a poem or a particular life experience, may be difficult to ascertain given the fact that one is unable to clearly define or completely understand it. Such is often the case with children like Alice, who are growing up.
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