Jabberwocky

Study Guide

Literary Devices

Structure

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Literary Devices Structure

“Jabberwocky” is a mock-serious poem that tells the story of a ferocious monster and a young boy’s quest to slay it. The poem therefore follows a narrative structure that is modeled on the archetypal story of the hero’s journey. Scholars of folklore have defined this archetype in great detail. In essence, though, the hero’s journey begins with a call to adventure, which leads the hero to leave their familiar world behind and depart into the unknown. Far from home, the hero faces challenges that have a revelatory and transformative effect. Upon completion of their quest, the hero returns home fundamentally changed. Despite being compressed into just seven stanzas, the story related in “Jabberwocky” contains many of the basic structural elements that define the hero’s journey. The boy is called to adventure when his father tells him, “Beware the Jabberwock, my son!” (line 5). He then leaves home and seeks out the monster in the faraway “tulgey wood” (line 15). There, he encounters the Jabberwock and overcomes the creature in battle. The boy then returns home a hero, and his father celebrates his heroic achievement.

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