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Jabberwocky Figurative Language

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Jabberwocky Figurative Language

Read the poem extract below. Then answer the questions using evidence from the words. Some words are invented, so use their sounds and the clues around them to work out what they might suggest.

Poem extract

‘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.

Explore the language

Look closely at how Carroll’s word choices create sound, images and mood.

1.Choose one word from the extract that imitates or suggests a sound when spoken aloud. Explain what sound it suggests.
2.Which sound technique is most noticeable in the repeated starting consonant sounds in “The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!”?
  • Alliteration
  • Rhyme
  • Simile
  • Personification
3.The word “slithy” blends the ideas of slimy and lithe. What might it suggest about the toves?
4.In “The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!”, what does the repetition of “that” help emphasise?
5.True or false: “Beware the Jabberwock” is a warning that helps create a feeling of danger.
TrueFalse
6.The word “frumious” combines furious and fuming. Which description best fits the mood it gives the Bandersnatch?
  • Calm and sleepy
  • Angry and threatening
  • Cheerful and playful
  • Shy and uncertain
7.Find one example of alliteration in the extract and explain what it makes you notice or imagine.
8.“He took his vorpal sword in hand” is not a simile. What does the unusual adjective “vorpal” make the sword seem like?
9.Complete the idea: invented words can still help a reader imagine a scene because…
10.Choose one invented word from the extract. Write it down and explain what you think it might mean, using a clue from the poem.
11.Create a new nonsense word for a creature’s movement. Write a sentence using it, then explain what its sound suggests.

3 printable pages

  • Jabberwocky Figurative Language, page 1 of 3: Poem extract, Explore the language

    Page 1

  • Jabberwocky Figurative Language, page 2 of 3: 3. The word “slithy” blends the ideas of slimy and lithe. What might it suggest about the…

    Page 2

  • Jabberwocky Figurative Language, page 3 of 3: 10. Choose one invented word from the extract. Write it down and explain what you think…

    Page 3

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