Jabberwocky Game Instructions
Jabberwocky
’Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.
“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 manxome foe he sought—
So 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 whiffling through the tulgey wood,
And burbled as it came!
One, two! One, two! And through and through
The 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 borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.
Instructions
1. Choose a word from the poem. Find a word that’s fun to say and gets your imagination going! Now say that word out loud.
2. Experiment with the sounds of the word.
Things to Try:
Exaggerate the vowels
Only say the consonants
Say it slowly
Say it as fast as you can
Say the word as loudly as you can
Sing the word
Whispering the word
3. Experiment with using your body to express the word.
Things to Try:
Focus on one body part at a time - hands, arms, feet, legs, head,
Move your face to show the word
Make the movements as big as you can
Make the movements a small as possible
Move fast!
Move slowly…
Move around the room like the word: walking, jumping, crouching, hopping, etc.
4. Now say the poem using the voice and movements you discovered through the experiments. For extra fun, you can try bringing a different quality to each verse. Here are the ones we did, but feel free to make up your own!
Perform Freely
’Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.
Play with quietness
“Beware the Jabberwock, my son!
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun
The frumious Bandersnatch!”
Play with slowing down
He took his vorpal sword in hand:
Long time the manxome foe he sought—
So rested he by the Tumtum tree,
And stood awhile in thought.
Play with speeding up
And as in uffish thought he stood,
The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,
Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,
And burbled as it came!
Play with breaking up the rhythm of the poetry
One, two! One, two! And through and through
The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!
He left it dead, and with its head
He went galumphing back.
Play with loudness
“And hast thou slain the Jabberwock?
Come to my arms, my beamish boy!
O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!”
He chortled in his joy.
Perform freely
’Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.