THE HUNTING of THE SNARK - An Agony in Eight Fits - Preface - Fit the First

Sep 21, 2026

A preface and opening “fit” of Lewis Carroll’s nonsense epic explains how its whimsical elements came about, including a humorous origin story involving the ship’s bowsprit and the Bellman’s strict adherence to a naval code. It also offers guidance on pronunciation of key invented words and discusses wordplay, including portmanteau logic, through examples from other familiar texts. The landing introduces a crew with varied roles and the character of a forgetful man.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryStory & Novel

FormatPDF

Pages40

Reading Time1 h 2 min

AccessFree to download

PREFACE

Fit the First: THE LANDING

THE HUNTINGOF THE SNARK Lewis Carroll The Hunting ofThe SnarkAn Agony in Eight Fits 气 The Hunting ofThe SnarkAn Agony in Eight Fits By Lewis Carroll Copyright CLewis CarrollFirst in Satya Books Paperback 2017 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may bereproduced, stored in a retrieval system,or transmitted,in any form or by any means,electronic,mechanical,photocopying,recording or otherwise,without the priorpermission of the publishers. )4.12 # PREFACE If—and the thing is wildly possible—the charge of writingnonsense were ever brought against the author of this briefbut instructive poem,it would be based,I feel convinced,on the line (in p.6) “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 amincapable of such a deed:I will not(as I might)point to thestrong moral purpose of this poem itself,to the arithmeticalprinciples so cautiously inculcated in it,or to its nobleteachings in Natural History—I will take the more prosaiccourse of simply explaining how it happened. The Bellman,who was almost morbidly sensitive aboutappearances,used to have the bowsprit unshipped onceor twice a week to be revarnished,and it more than oncehappened,when the time came for replacing it,that no oneon board could remember which end of the ship it belongedto.They knew it was not of the slightest use to appeal tothe Bellman about it—he would only refer to his NavalCode,and read out in pathetic tones Admiralty Instructionswhich none of them had ever been able to understand—soit generally ended in its being fastened on,anyhow,acrossthe rudder.The helmsman used to stand by with tears inhis eyes;he knew it was all wrong,but alas!Rule 42 of theCode,"No one shall speak to the Man at the Helm,"had beencompleted by the Bellman himself with the words“and theMan at the Helm shall speak to no one."So remonstrancewas impossible,and no steering could be done till the next varnishing day.During these bewildering intervals the shipusually sailed backwards. As this poem is to some extent connected with the lay ofthe Jabberwock,let me take this opportunity of answeringa question that has often been asked me,how to pronounce“slithy toves.”The“i"”in"slithy”is long,as in “writhe”;and “toves”is pronounced so as to rhyme with“groves.”Again,the first “o”in“borogoves”is pronounced like the"o"in "borrow."I have heard people try to give it the soundof the “o"in"worry”.Such is Human Perversity. This also seems a fitting occasion to notice the otherhard words in that poem.Humpty-Dumpty's theory,of twomeanings packed into one word like a portmanteau,seemsto me the right explanation for all. For instance,take the two words“fuming”and"furious."Make up your mind that you will say both words,but leave it unsettled which you will first.Now open yourmouth and speak.If your thoughts incline ever so littletowards "fuming,"you will say"fuming-furious;"if theyturn,by even a hair's breadth,towards "furious,"you willsay "furious-fuming;"but if you have the rarest of gifts,aperfectly balanced mind,you will say “frumious.” Supposing that,when Pistol uttered the well-knownwords— “Under which king,Bezonian?Speak or die!” Justice Shallow had felt certain that it was either Williamor Richard,but had not been able to settle which,so that hecould not possibly say either name before the other,can itbe doubted that,rather than die,he would have gasped out“Rilchiam!” 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 tideBy 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." The crew was complete:it included a Boots—A maker of Bonnets and Hoods— A Barrister,brought to arran

FAQs

What humorous incident does the Preface describe to explain the poem’s nonsense?

The Bellman unshipped the bowsprit to be revarnished, and sometimes nobody could remember which end it belonged to, so it was fastened across the rudder, forcing the ship to sail backwards during delays.

How does the Preface instruct readers to pronounce “slithy toves”?

It says the “i” in “slithy” is long like “writhe,” and “toves” rhymes with “groves.” It also gives pronunciation guidance for words like “borogoves” and notes human attempts that vary.

What is the central wordplay idea explained in the Preface?

It describes a portmanteau-like theory: combine two meanings that can be said in different orders, then balance attention so a blended word can emerge (e.g., “fuming” and “furious” leading to “frumious”).

Sep 21, 2026

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