Poet
Lewis Carroll
English poet · 1832–1898
JabberwockyThe Walrus and the Carpenter
Lewis Carroll — the pen name of Oxford mathematician Charles Dodgson — wrote the Alice books and, inside them, the greatest nonsense poem in English: "Jabberwocky."
Its invented words were so good that several ("chortle," "galumph") simply entered the dictionary. Generations of readers have proved you can understand a poem perfectly without understanding half its words.
10 poems by Lewis Carroll
Full text, free to read — all in the public domain.
- A Game of FivesFive little girls, of Five, Four, Three, Two, One:…18 lines
- A Sea DirgeThere are certain things — as, a spider, a ghost,…48 lines
- A ValentineSent to a friend who had complained that I was glad enough to see…44 lines
- Another Acrostic ( In the style of Father William )"Are you deaf, Father William!" the young man said,…13 lines
- Brother And Sister"SISTER, sister, go to bed!…24 lines
- Lays of SorrowThe day was wet, the rain fell souse…69 lines
- Phantasmagoria CANTO VII ( Sad Souvenaunce )"WHAT'S this?" I pondered. "Have I slept?…50 lines
- The Palace of HumbugLays of Mystery,…60 lines
- You Are Old, Father William"You are old, Father william," the young man said,…32 lines
- Chapter I’Twas brillig, and the slithy toves…28 lines