From too much love of living
From hope and fear set free
We thank with brief thanksgiving
Whatever gods may be;
That no life lives forever,
That dead men rise up never,
That even the weariest river
Winds somewhere safe to sea.
–Swinburne
*'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe,
All mimsy were the borogroves
And the mome raths ougtgrabe.
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 manxsome foe he sought
Then rested he by the TumTum tree
And stood awhile in thought.
And as in uffish thought he stood,
The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,
Came whuffling through the tulgey wood
And burbled as it came!
One two! One two! And through and through
His vorpal blade went snicker snack!
He left it dead, and with its head
He went galumphing back.
“And hast thou slain the Jabberwock?
Come to my arms, my beamish boy!
O frabjous day! Callooh, callay!”
He chortled in his joy.
Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe,
All mimsy were the borogroves
And the mome raths ougtgrabe.*
Did you know that “Jabberwocky” can be sung perfectly to the tune of “Greensleeves?” It can, try it!
Fury said to a mouse
that he met in the house,
“Let us both go to law, I will prosecute you!
Come, I’ll take no denial, we must have a trial,
for really this morning I’ve nothing to do!”
Said the mouse to the cur, “Such a trial, dear sir,
without jury or judge would be wasting our breath!”
“I’ll be judge, I’ll be jury,” said cunning old Fury,
“I’ll try the whole cause and condemn you to death!”
–Both from “Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland, and Through The Looking Glass”
I know quite a lot of “The Walrus and the Carpenter” as well, but not all of it…
Don’t even get me started on Monty Python! 