If-and the thing is wildly possible-the charge of writing nonsense were ever brought against the author of this brief but instructive poem, it would be based, I feel convinced, on the line (in p. 18) "Then the bowsprit got mixed with the rudder sometimes." In view of this painful possibility, I will not (as I might) appeal indignantly to my other writings as a proof that I am incapable of such a deed: I will not (as I might) point to the strong moral purpose of this poem itself, to the arithmetical principles so cautiously inculcated in it, or to its noble teachings in Natural History-I will take the more prosaic course of simply explaining how it happened. The Bellman, who was almost morbidly sensitive about appearances, used to have the bowsprit unshipped once or twice a week to be revarnished, and it more than once happened, when the time came for replacing it, that no one on board could remember which end of the ship it belonged to. They knew it was not of the slightest use to appeal to the Bellman about it-he would only refer to his Naval Code, and read out in pathetic tones Admiralty Instructions which none of them had ever xbeen able to understand-so it generally ended in its being fastened on, anyhow, across the rudder. The helmsman1 used to stand by with tears in his eyes: he knew it was all wrong, but alas! Rule 42 of the Code, "No one shall speak to the Man at the Helm," had been completed by the Bellman himself with the words "and the Man at the Helm shall speak to no one." So remonstrance was impossible, and no steering could be done till the next varnishing day. During these bewildering intervals the ship usually sailed backwards. Contents: FIT I - The Landing, FIT II - The Bellman's Speech, FIT III - The Baker's Tale, FIT IV - The Hunting, FIT V - The Beaver's Lesson, FIT VI - The Barrister's Dream, FIT VII - The Banker's Fate, FIT VIII - The Vanishing

The most ineffective journey-filled with the most ineffective instructions and advice-in all the world of literature. How can you boil something in sawdust? How can you threaten a life with a railway-share? How can you rouse someone with mustard and cress? Why should a man's friends call him 'candle-ends' and his enemies 'toasted-cheese'? But... What if this nonsense poem has a deeper meaning? A prophetic meaning? About a peril that would appear a century after its publication...? Allan Williams' visual and verbal commentary-startling and adult-ingeniously discovers evidence that this is primarily about a sexual journey, and the dangers such a journey may encounter...

Lewis Carroll’s classic nonsense poem The Hunting of the Snark follows a band of oafish misfits as they undertake an epic quest to catch a fantastical creature known as the Snark. Led by the bombastic and bewildering Bellman, the crew sets out with enthusiasm, a blank map—and no clear idea of what they’re doing. This newly illustrated edition contains all the delightful darkness and droll sarcasm of Carroll’s original text; and yet, wood engraver George A. Walker cleverly reimagines the tale through his illustrations, drawing from the world of presidential politics to recast the story. In so doing, Walker creates an irresistible commentary on contemporary America, memorializing a baffling political climate and providing a sharp new way of looking at a familiar poem.

An Allegory For the Search of Happiness “They sought it with thimbles, they sought it with care; / They pursued it with forks and hope; / They threatened its life with a railway-share; / They charmed it with smiles and soap.” - Lewis Carroll, The Hunting of the Snark: An Agony in Eight Fits Ten members depart on a journey to hunt the Snark, a fictional animal nobody can describe. The leader Bellman has a map, a blank paper that points to a strange land where the Snark can be found. They split up in their attempt to hunt the animal. But will they find it? ,This book has been professionally formatted for e-readers and contains a bonus book club leadership guide and discussion questions. We hope you’ll share this book with your friends, neighbors and colleagues and can’t wait to hear what you have to say about it.

This volume offers spatial theories of the emergent based on a careful close reading of the complete works of nineteenth-century writer and mathematician Lewis Carroll—from his nonsense fiction, to his work on logic and geometry, including his two short pamphlets on architecture. Drawing on selected key moments in our philosophical tradition, including phenomenology and sociospatial theories, Caroline Dionne interrogates the relationship between words and spaces, highlighting the crucial role of language in processes of placemaking. Through an interdisciplinary method that relates literary and language theories to theories of space and placemaking, with emphasis on the social and political experience of architectural spaces, Dionne investigates Carroll’s most famous children’s books, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There, in relation to his lesser-known publications on geometry and architecture. The book will be of interest to scholars working in design theory, design history, architecture, and literary theory and criticism.

This new collection of the letters that Lewis Carroll wrote to the illustrators and prospective illustrators of his books affords fresh insights into Carroll's complex character, traces the history of the books that became great classics of the Victorian era, and charts the sometimes tempestuous seas of Carroll's relationships with his correspondents. Carroll, a meticulous artist, made detailed demands upon his illustrators, who included John Tenniel, Henry Holiday, Arthur Burdett Frost, Harry Furniss, and Gertrude Thomson.Lewis Carroll and His Illustrators reveals the author as an expert in the details of book production in an age in which new technologies repeatedly altered the publishing process. Morton N. Cohen and Edward Wakeling's general introduction to the volume looks at Lewis Carroll the man and touches on his place in Victorian publishing. Each group of letters is preceded by an introduction that includes a brief biography of the artist and a summary of his or her collaboration with Carroll. Many of the letters include Carroll's own sketches as aids to his collaborators. Comparison of these sketches with the artists' final drawings, also included, shed light on the genesis of the illustrations. Some letters from the illustrators to Carroll, also printed here, add greater insight into the process.

Accessibly written, this book outlines the theoretical foundations and operational principles of structuralism and semiology whilst demonstrating the astonishing productive power of these two tools used in combination.

'Native speakers' and 'native users' are playing the same game, sharing, as they do, the model of the Standard Language.

Includes Manchester bibliography for 1880-85 by Charles William Sutton.