Friday, September 13, 2013

Snarky

What I tell you three times is true.
~Lewis Carroll

For Poetry Friday, a catchy little song about snark-hunting:


Lewis Carroll's The Hunting of the Snark: An Agony in Eight Fits, which has some of the same creatures and words as The Jabberwocky, describes "the impossible voyage of an improbable crew to find an inconceivable creature." What creature? The Snark, of course. The trouble with Snarks is that some of them are Boojums:

"'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!'

* The text of Lewis Carroll's The Hunting of the Snark
* An annotated version
* An illustrated version
* An audio version
* The Hunting of the Snark, an online game
* I quoted The Hunting of the Snark in a post about maps

The crew consists of a Bellman, a Boots, a Bonnet-maker, a Barrister, a Broker, a Billiard-marker, a Banker, a Butcher, a Baker, and a Beaver. The women are Hope and Care.
The Hunting Party:

Spoiler Warning! :-)
It was a Boojum:


Teach Mentor Texts is our Poetry Friday round-up host.

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14 comments:

  1. Linda BSeptember 13, 2013 at 10:03 AM

    Lots of laughs on Poetry Friday today! Love those costumes of the orchestra and the performers-what a cute little ditty! The boojums in my life are unusual trees in Sonora, Mexico. Discovered them on a school trip! Reminded me of Dr. Seuss!

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  2. Michelle Heidenrich BarnesSeptember 13, 2013 at 10:42 AM

    Lewis Carroll + Billy Connolly = HAPPY. Thanks :)

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  3. Liz SteinglassSeptember 13, 2013 at 10:54 AM

    Fabulous. I have to admit a real love of "An Agony in Eight Fits." Maybe because I witnessed a personal performance this very morning.

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  4. BJ LeeSeptember 13, 2013 at 11:31 AM

    Thanks for this post! I haven't revisited the Snark in quite awhile!

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  5. jamaSeptember 13, 2013 at 1:01 PM

    Such fun. Cornelius was a little disappointed that the crew didn't include a bear.

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  6. Tara @ A Teaching LifeSeptember 13, 2013 at 9:24 PM

    Such fun...whether a snark or a boojum !

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  7. Violet N.September 13, 2013 at 9:34 PM

    You drill down into topics in the most interesting way! I never know what to expect here--always an adventure.

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  8. GatheringBooksSeptember 13, 2013 at 9:48 PM

    It's funny that being "snarky" now means being disagreeable in a seemingly-hip and acceptably-sarcastic manner. Thanks for sharing the video clip as well! :)

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  9. Heidi MordhorstSeptember 14, 2013 at 7:06 AM

    How, how is it that I have never actually encountered more than the title of this great work. The video is Carroll meets Gilbert and Sullivan--I wonder if it's ever been performed whole?

    Thanks, Tabatha!

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  10. KeriSeptember 14, 2013 at 11:32 AM

    A treat, as always, Tabatha! The costumes and enthusiasm of the conductor made me smile! The tune is sure to be in my head all day.

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  11. Bridget MageeSeptember 14, 2013 at 10:37 PM

    What a fun post, Tabatha! Thank you for this bit of brilliance. =)

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  12. Mary LeeSeptember 15, 2013 at 6:18 AM

    So. Much. Fun.

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  13. Diane MayrSeptember 15, 2013 at 9:56 AM

    Love it!

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  14. Goetz KlugeSeptember 16, 2013 at 6:35 PM

    How about taking another look at Henry Holiday's illustrations to The Hunting of the Snark?

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