The other day, Granny J. and I were talking about the lost pastime of memorization. When we were children, the adults around us routinely memorzsed poetry and even passages from essays. People used to read aloud to one another, or quote poetry aloud while sitting on front porches drinking lemonade as light slid into darkness on long, humid, summer evenings. It seems that everyone in my family, eventually including myself, memorized Lewis Carroll's ..
Jabberwocky.
*
'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.
*
"Beware the Jabberwock, my son!
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun
The frumious Bandersnatch!"
*
He took his vorpal sword in hand:
Long time the manxome foe he sought --
So rested he by the Tumtum tree.
And stood awhile in thought.
*
And as in uffish thought he stood,
Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,
Came wiffling through the tulgey wood,
And burbled as it came!
*
One, two! One, two! And through and through
The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!
He left it dead, and with its head
He went galumphing back.
*
And hast thou slain the Jabberwock?
Come to my arms, my beamish boy
frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!"
He chortled in his joy.
*
'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.
*
I can't remember if this appears in Alice in Wonderland or Through the Looking Glass, but to this day my Mom and I will cry Callooh! Callay! when we're feeling joyful, while the words galumping and beamish have a permanent place in our vocabularies.
10 comments:
One of my favorites:
If I had the heaven's embroidered cloths, enwrought with gold and silver light.
The blue and the dim and the dark cloths of night and light and the half-light. I would spread those cloths under your feet.
But I being poor have only my dreams. I have spread my dreams under your feet. Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.
The one that always remains with me is from The Walrus and the Carpenter - "The time has come," the Walrus said,"To talk of many things.Of shoes,and ships, and sealing-wax,Of cabbages and kings"
Love the words that have such special sounds to them...galumping...I think I will start using that one.
We just finished enjoying this poem in our homeschooling poetry lesson using 'A Child's Instruction to Poetry' and then ironically, we chose to find a Mystery Letterbox called 'Alburwocky' recently. What fun!
But before that, we had never heard of this poem before.
I can honestly say that it's one of my favorite's now. :)
Thanks for posting a jolly good 'J' word/subject :)
~Lisa
New Mexico
PS:
You asked how to add things to your side-bar, so here's my basic knowledge of how to do it. (I'm sort of a techno-phobe, so I know just enough to get me by. lol!):
1)Got to 'Dashboard' (click on the link in the upper right corner)
2)Click on 'Layout'
3)Click on 'Add a Gadget'
4)Scroll down to 'Picture', Click on it.
5)You should have saved the picture/award to your "Pictures" folder or even to the "Desktop"
6)So, now click "Browse"
7)Once you find your photo (where you left it. lol!), then click 'Open'.
8)It will then load it. Be patient.
9)Then just click 'Save'
And if you want to move any of your 'Gadget' photos around, all you have to do is Right-click on it, keeping your finger down, while lifting the box to wherever you want it (up or down the column).
I hope my instructions weren't too confusing.
If you need anymore help, just let me know. I'll try to help :)
I'm sure that the educators say that memorizing is such a deadly dull drill for youngsters -- though look at all the banal words to popular music that they learn instead...
Tombo, that's lovely..and really romantic:)
MB, I do love that one too! Sad ending to both though!
Photo, it is a fun word and beamish isn't bad either..as in come to me my beamish grandchild..
Lisa, isn't it funny how you see or hear about something for the first time and then right away it crops up repeatedly?
Thanks for responding to my plea for help .. I used to have the option 'add an element' in layout, but,...there is something wrong at my place as layout doesn't invite me to add anything. I have looked about in HELP but no solution yet. At least I know now that it's supposed to be there! I was feeling very confused....
GJ, there are so many ways to entertain themseles too... After TV, there was no going back,,,but they do sing and they have very quick fingers:)
Gosh, we grew up on "Oh, frabjous day! Callooo! Callay!" as well. And we galumphed through the house, too. such deprived childhoods...
She..the very first thing that I remember memorizing was "The Night Before Christmas" long before I started attending school.
Now, I think we just don't make the effort.
May all your days be ones where you and your mom can cry, "Callooh! Callay!"
Right now, I think I'm going to galumph out to the kitchen for some pecan pie! :)
OSD..those were the days:)
Jan, do you recite The Night Before Christmas for your family at Christmas? That would make a great tradition. I know I'd like to hear it:)
Pecan pie..sigh:)
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