The Hunting of the Snark
Plate No.1 from the Henry Holiday illustrations | |
Original Title: | The Hunting of the Snark (An Agony in 8 Fits) |
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Written by: | Lewis Carroll |
Central Theme: | |
Synopsis: | A ragtag group hunts the Snark |
Genre(s): | Narrative Poem |
First published: | March 29, 1876 |
More Information | |
Source: | Read The Hunting of the Snark here |
"The Hunting of the Snark (An Agony in 8 Fits)" is a Narrative Poem by Lewis Carroll, telling the story of a group of unnamed adventurers as they search for the elusive Snark, a vaguely-described creature which lives on a remote island. The poem may be considered a Spiritual Successor to "Jabberwocky" from Through the Looking Glass, and contains several of the same creatures that are mentioned in "Jabberwocky".
Worth noting is how the poem was constructed - the page quote is the last line, which was the first line that Carroll thought of. The rest of the poem was made to build up to it.
"Friends, Romans, and countrymen, lend me your ears!" |
- Aluminum Christmas Trees: Modern viewers are often confused as to what a bathing machine is, seeing as they haven't been used since locker rooms became common. They're also mentioned briefly in the Alice books.
- Anthropomorphic Personification: One illustration portrays the crew with two goddesses, who are supposed to represent Hope and Care.
- Author Avatar: Many literary scholars believe, with good reason, that the Baker is a caricature of Carroll himself. The biggest evidence of this comes in Fit 3 where he says, "A dear uncle of mine, after whom I was named..."; Carroll's full name was Charles Luttwidge Dodgson, and he had an uncle whose first name was Luttwidge.
- Bit Character: The Billiard Marker and Bonnet Maker really don't do much during the whole story. One member of the crew, the Boots, could well be The Ghost; he's mentioned once, but doesn't even appear in any illustrations.
- Bunny Ears Lawyer: All the crew, to a certain degree, but the Butcher especially. He's described as someone who "looked an incredible dunce", but is able to teach the Beaver "more in five minutes far more than all books would have taught it in seventy years."
- Captain Obvious/As You Know:
"We have sailed many months, we have sailed many weeks, |
He came as a Butcher: but gravely declared, |
- Courtroom Antic: The Barrister's dream.
- Crippling Overspecialization: Pretty much everyone on board who got any useful skill in the first place.
- Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": Most of the characters.
- Feigning Intelligence:
He was thoughtful and grave--but the orders he gave |
- Fire-Forged Friends: The Butcher and Beaver become this after the former gives the latter a lesson in mathematics in Fit 5.
- For Doom the Bell Tolls: As well as several mentions in the text, it's notable that the Bellman's bell is in every single illustration.
- Hey, You: Played with, due to the Baker having forgotten his own name:
He would answer to "Hi!" or to any loud cry, |
- This also leads to an I Have Many Names:
His intimate friends called him "Candle-ends," |
- Incredibly Lame Pun: From the Bellman
The Bellman perceived that their spirits were low, |
- Also, snarks look grave at them.
- The Musical: One was made of it in The Eighties.
- No Sense of Humor: Snarks have a hard time understanding jokes, as the Bellman explains:
The third is its slowness in taking a jest. |
- Ragtag Bunch of Misfits: The story follows a crew of 10 people (or, rather, 9 people and one Beaver) of vastly different backgrounds and skills.
- Rule of Three:
"Just the place for a Snark!" the Bellman cried, |
"Just the place for a Snark! I have said it twice: |
- True Companions: The Beaver and the Butcher become this:
Such friends, as the Beaver and Butcher became, |
- Theme Initials: Everyone's appellation starts with a B.
- World of Chaos