| Jabberwock | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
| Naming | |||
| Others | Jabberwocky | ||
| Binomen | N/A | ||
| Morphology | |||
| Body type | Draconic | ||
| Intelligence | |||
| Sentience | Sentient | ||
| Sapience | Unknown | ||
| Ecology | |||
| Place of origin | Looking-Glass Land | ||
| Habitat | Forests | ||
| Diet | Carnivorous (presumed) | ||
| Locomotion | Bipedal Flight | ||
| Status | DD | ||
| Behind the Scenes | |||
| Universe | Alice's Adventures | ||
| Created by | Lewis Carroll | ||
| Designed by | John Tenniel | ||
| “ | And as in uffish thought he stood, The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame, Came whiffling through the tulgey wood, And burbled as it came! |
” |
— "Jabberwocky" poem, fourth stanza
| ||
The Jabberwock is a menacing creature, generally portrayed as a dragon-like beast, that is slayed by the protagonist of the poem "Jabberwocky". Alice finds this poem in a book in the dream-world that exists on the other side of the looking-glass, written in mirror-writing. When she holds the page in front of the mirror, she's able to read it, but finds the story difficult to comprehend due to a large number of nonexistent and nonsensical words.
Biology[]
The poem doesn't describe the Jabberwock in detail, save for being an extremely dangerous beast and having "jaws that bite [and] claws that catch". It's also mentioned as having "eyes of flame". It lives in the same woods as other perilous species such as the Jubjub Bird and the Bandersnatch. The protagonist manages to kill it with a "vorpal sword".
In the original book's illustration by John Tenniel, the Jabberwock is portrayed as a huge, reptilian beast with membranous bat-like wings that appear too small to support its weight in flight. It has gauntish limbs, a long sinuous neck and a long tail. Its body is covered in scales, but curiously, it appears to be wearing a waistcoat. Its feet are plantigrade, with three clawed toes, while its hands have four long dexterous clawed fingers. Its round head, resting atop the serpentine neck, possesses blank insectoid eyes, a mouth equipped with upper and lower incisor teeth like those of a rodent, a pair of long thin antennae, long whiskers on its cheeks and a pair of short tentacles or feelers protruding from the sides of its mouth.
Many other illustrators and depictions in adaptations have followed Tenniel's template to some degree, although others have opted to portray it as a more traditional dragon.
Appearances[]
- Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There, by Lewis Carroll (1871)
- Jabberwocky (1977)
- The Muppet Show, s05e03 (1980)
- Alice in Wonderland (1985)
- Alice Through the Looking Glass (1987)
- Jabberwock (2011)
Gallery[]
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