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The
Hunting of the Snark
(excerpts)
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by
Lewis Carroll
[Comments by John Stringer. For more information on the structure
of long verse click
here.] |
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FIT
THE FIRST
The Landing
"Just the place for a Snark!" the Bellman cried,
As he landed his crew with care;
Supporting each man on the top of the tide
By a finger entwined in his hair.
"Just the place for a Snark! I have said it twice:
That alone should encourage the crew.
Just the place for a Snark! I have said it thrice:
What I tell you three times is true."
But,
in FIT THE SECOND the Bellman warns of the danger if the Snark is
in fact a Boojum, to the great alarm of the Baker, who (as we learn
in FIT THE THIRD) had been warned by an uncle that if he met with
a Boojum he would "softly and suddenly vanish away". Which leads us
to the close of the poem in:
FIT
THE EIGHTH
The Vanishing
"It's a Snark!" was the sound that first came to their ears,
And seemed almost too good to be true.
Then followed a torrent of laughter and cheers:
Then the ominous words "It's a Boo-"
Then, silence. Some fancied they heard in the air
A weary and wandering sigh
That sounded like "-jum!" but others declare
It was only a breeze that went by.
They hunted till darkness came on, but they found
Not a button, or feather, or mark,
By which they could tell that they stood on the ground
Where the Baker had met with the Snark.
In the midst of the word he was trying to say
In the midst of his laughter and glee,
He had softly and suddenly vanished away----
For the Snark was a Boojum, you see.
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