The Hunting of the Snark: An Agony in Eight Fits

Carroll, Lewis, 1832-1898Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

Rating 4.4

Word count: 29K words
Chapters: 3

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.The Hunting of the Snark: An Agony in Eight Fits by Lewis CarrollAuthor: Carroll, Lewis, 1832-1898,Language: English, Class: PR: Language and Literatures: English literature, Release Date: Jun 25, 2008

Editor's review

The Hunting of the Snark is a long nonsense narrative poem that Lewis Carroll wrote after the Alice books; its subtitle "An Agony in Eight Fits" is itself a parody of epic convention. It tells of a mixed crew who sail out to hunt a creature called the Snark, and the whole poem is full of coined words, logical traps and unresolved suspense; its sudden turn at the end is a famous anticlimax in English literature. Carroll's humor works not through plot but through language dismantling itself: passages such as the crew list, the map and the speech make one laugh with straight-faced absurdity. Its value lies in showing the union of Victorian English poetic form with nonsensical imagination; it poses a great challenge to translators, and reading the original lets one feel the play of sound and coinage more fully. The Gutenberg edition is the public-domain original text, suitable as material for an introduction to English poetry, appreciation of humorous literature, or translation studies. Note that its absurdity and dark humor may not suit every reader's expectations.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who like the Alice books and want to read more by Carroll
Literature enthusiasts studying English nonsense literature and nonsense verse
Translation learners who need an English poem for analysis of rhythm and coinage
Parents willing to discuss bizarre imagination and wordplay together when reading with children

Not a good fit for

Readers who prefer a complete plot and a clear ending; this poem ends with an anticlimax
English beginners who want detailed annotations; the original has many coined words and allusions
Serious poetry readers uninterested in dark humor and absurd logic

Reading tips

First read straight through without worrying about full understanding, to feel the rhythm and absurdity; on the second pass, look up the coined words and allusions.
Read in light of Carroll's habitual wordplay, and pay attention to the puns and logical traps in passages such as the crew names and the map.
Read aloud in sections with others; the eight-fit structure lends itself well to small-group shared reading and discussion.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

What kind of creature is the Snark, exactly?

The poem never gives a definite answer, and that is precisely the joke at its heart: the hunters' descriptions of the Snark contradict one another, and the ending brings an unexpected twist. Carroll deliberately denies the reader a clear definition; while reading, one need not insist on solving it, but should attend to the wordplay and the suspense.

Can I understand it without having read Alice?

Yes. The poem stands on its own and has no plot connection with Alice; it is linked only by a shared absurd style and delight in language. Readers unfamiliar with Carroll may at first find his coinages and logical jokes hard to get used to; it is advisable to read once for the rhythm, then consult relevant annotations.

Is this book suitable for children?

The text itself is an absurd humorous poem, and many passages are close to the spirit of nursery rhymes; young readers can enjoy its bizarre imagination. But the coined words, logical paradoxes and dark ending may need an adult to read along and explain. Whether it suits a child depends on their English reading level and their acceptance of absurd content.

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About the author

Carroll, Lewis, 1832-1898 Author

Lewis Carroll (Carroll, Lewis, 1832–1898) is an English writer known for children's literature and nonsense narrative. The collection holds 26 of his works, with Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and its sequel Through the Looking-Glass as representative titles, alongside derived texts such as The Nursery Alice and translations into Finnish, French, Esperanto, and other languages, showing their wide circulation. His writing is distinguished by logical games, verbal puns, and bizarre imagination; through dreams and transformations it disrupts everyday order, and beneath the seemingly light fairy tale lie reflections on rules, growing up, and identity. These works are often classed as inspirational coming-of-age literature, yet are better regarded as classic fantasy that transcends age. Public information on the details of his life is limited, so this note focuses on the themes, style, and lasting influence of his works.