Thursday 8 October 2015

National Poetry Day...and some news!

I write today for two reasons. Firstly, to wish you all a happy National Poetry Day, I have acknowledged the day by thinking about the poems which most resonate with me, and I’ve chosen The Jabberwocky as my poem of choice. And secondly, to acknowledge our current transition to my favourite season, autumn. The season that brings me back to life.

The Jabberwocky

The Jabberwocky is from of my comfort read, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, more specifically, Through the Looking Glass. I love how the words, if I can even call Carroll’s wonderful jumbles of letters, words, just flow over each other. I love how in the book it’s written in mirror language, and it can’t just be read off the page. I love how it’s potentially one of the greatest nonsense poems of all time (sorry Mr Lear!).
 
 
I share Alice’s view of the poem, but I love the images it fills my head with, whether I can make sense of them or not:

“It seems very pretty," she said when she had finished it, "but it's rather hard to understand!" (You see she didn't like to confess, even to herself, that she couldn't make it out at all.) "Somehow it seems to fill my head with ideas—only I don't exactly know what they are! However, somebody killed something: that's clear, at any rate


The 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.

 
Autumn

Autumn is the season which pulls me out of that summer slump. I’m not a fan of summer; I’m a big fan of feeling cosy, something which summer cruelly steals away from me.

There’s something magical about autumn though. Not just the cliché of the leaves changing colour and the days getting shorter, although I do enjoy the experience; but more than that. There’s a crispness in the air which clears my mind and helps me to focus, something which I struggle with during the summer months. Almost like hibernating in reverse!

This autumn brings the return of conker searching, kicking up the leaves and jumping in puddles.

More significantly, it brings the start of my studies towards a BA (Hons) in English Literature and Creative Writing. I have been studying for two weeks now, and to have my mind so absorbed into a particular subject is really exciting for me. I’ll be studying part-time over the next 6 years, which seems like such a huge amount of time, but I know that it’ll be well worth the investment.

I decided to study for a degree for three reasons:

1. I have always had a small regret that I never attended university back when I was 18. Looking back, I wasn’t in the right frame of mind then, and definitely would not have got the results I wanted. Now I am determined to get the results that I want, and definitely in the right place to do so.

2. I think it’s important to set a good example to my children. Learning never stops, no matter how old you get. I hope that I inspire them to continue learning long after they have left the classroom behind.

3. As part of my career, a degree will improve my skills, increase my knowledge and allow me to progress.
 

So here I am, giddily enjoying autumn and the exciting things it brings for me. I pull on my scarf and coat, give a little smile, and wander away…

“Autumn days when the grass is jewelled and the silk inside a chestnut shell…”

No comments:

Post a Comment