Hunting of the Snark

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Item number (ASIN): 033359293X
Author: Lewis Carroll
Creator: Henry Holiday, Illustrator
Edition: facsim.e.
Format: Import
ISBN: 033359293X
Manufacturer: Macmillan, London
Number Of Pages: 80
Package Dimensions: Array
Publication Date: October 8, 1993
Publisher: Macmillan, London
Binding: Hardcover

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Average Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Rating:

- It is possible that the author was laying a trap
The poem is Lewis Carroll's and Henry Holiday's (and Joseph Swain's) masterpiece (5 stars). In the 2010 Evertype edition I miss the "Easter Greeting" (minus one star; the publisher chose to publish it in his edition of Alice's Adventures under Ground), which Carroll inserted into the already printed book perhaps in order to defuse that explosive ballad a bit. Hint: Compare Holiday's "Billiard marker" with Henry George Liddell, Carroll's boss at Christ Church College. There are many more conundrums in the poem and in the illustrations. Three quotes, which are related to this book: (1) "Are these strange words from a writer of such tales as 'Alice'? And is this a strange letter to find in a book of nonsense? It may be so. Some perhaps may blame me for thus mixing together things grave and gay; others may smile and think it odd that any one should speak of solemn things at all ... And if I have written anything to add to those stores of innocent and healthy amusement that are laid up in books for the children I love so well, it is surely something I may hope to look back upon without shame and sorrow (as how much of life must then be recalled!) when my turn comes to walk through the valley of shadows." (Lewis Carroll, 1876) This is from the "Easter Greeting". (2) "Perhaps I may venture, for a moment, to use a more serious tone, and to point out that there are mental troubles, much worse than mere worry, for which an absorbing subject of thought may serve as a remedy. There are skeptical thoughts, which seem for the moment to uproot the firmest faith; there are blasphemous thoughts, which dart unbidden into the most reverent souls; there are unholy thoughts, which torture, with their hateful presence, the fancy that would fain be pure. Against all these some real mental work is a most helpful ally." (Charles Lutwidge Dodgson: Pillow Problems and a Tangled Tale, 1885, p. XV) Sometimes I have the feeling, that friends of "The Hunting of the Snark" are afraid of "overanalysis". Some even may fear, that the Snark may have to leave the public library. But even if one day we would speak openly about all its textual and graphical elements, the book still will be one of the greatest children books in the library. This is, because Carroll and Holiday did not place these elements into the Snark for their personal satisfaction. Henry Holiday gave us a hint: (3) "It is possible that the author was half-consciously laying a trap, so readily did he take to the inventing of puzzles and things enigmatic; but to those who knew the man, or who have devined him correctly through his writings, the explanation is fairly simple." (Henry Holiday on Lewis Carroll's "The Hunting of the Snark", January 29th, 1898) In the preface to the Snark, Carroll points to his intentions by pretending, that he would not point to them: "I will not (as I might) point to the strong moral purpose of this poem itself, to the arithmetical principles so cautiously inculcated in it, or to its noble teachings in Natural History." (As a logician, Carroll of course knows, how such a sentence works.) I think that Carroll was very serious about this statement. It is not ironical. The book holds the readers and the beholders of the Snark ballad responsible for the meanig which THEY give to the poem and to the illustrations. That is how Carroll's and Holiday's "nonsense" works. Keep this in mind and do not underestimate the Snark or assume any inproper intentions on the side of the authors. The book just tells the readers (and they beholders of the illustrations), what they have in their mind. Take Holiday's warning about Carroll's traps serious, then you can enjoy the book without getting caught by the Boojum. In the Snark edition published by Evertype you won't find serious analysis. That is fine, the book has been published to offer plain Snark to the whole family. (That is why I miss the Easter Greeting.) Those who want to dig deeper should turn to Martin Gardener's "Annotaded Snark" (1981): Charles Mitchell's "The Designs for the Snark" in the 1981 Kaufmann edition of the Annotaded Snark still is a great collection of information on the Snark poem and its illustrations. Links: Victorian Approaches to Religion As Reflected in the Art of the Pre-Raphaelites (Philosphiae Doctores)|Art and Visual Perception: A Psychology of the Creative Eye, The New Version, Second edition, Revised and Enlarged|Lewis Carroll & his Illustrators: Collaborations & Correspondence 1865-1898.|The Pre-Raphaelite Illustrators: The Published Graphic Art of the English Pre-Raphaelites and Their Associates With Critical Biographical Essays and Illustrated Catalogues of the|Arne Nordheim: Hunting Of The Snark (Music Sales America)|Arne Nordheim: The Return Of The Snark (contemporary composition for trombone and tape recorder)|Nyndk: The Hunting of the Snark (Jazz, B002S395C6)

Rating:

- Great poem, poor presentation
The one-star rating is only for the appearance of this edition on the Kindle 2. It is the one available for free from amazon.com. The text is riddled with extraneous characters. None of the delightful drawings are included. One does get what one pays for.

Rating:

- Other Books
The Hunting of the Snark is a whacky piece of poetical silliness by Lewis Caroll. Complete nonsense, no-one knows what a Snark is, or why Snark hunters hunt it, or why anyone would want to become a Snark hunter to start with. Anyway, the poem is definitely amusing at times with some of the humour he slips in.

Rating:

- Carroll's Short and Sweet Chaucer Imitation
The Hunting of the Snark seems to be a very, very short imitation of The Canterbury Tales. The first chapter (titled a fit) introduces all of the occupations of all the different people going on a journey. However, instead of going on a general pilgrimage and telling tales along the way, their trip is very specific to hunting. The Baker actually attempts to tell a story, but the Bellman (who leads the group) says there's no time for storytelling. They have to catch the Snark before nightfall. Along with the Bellman and Baker, a Banker, a Bonnet-maker, a Butcher, a Boots, a Billiard-maker, a Barrister, a Broker, and a Beaver tag along to hunt for the Snark. The Beaver is afraid of getting cut by the Butcher, so he puts on a dagger-proof coat and talks to the Banker about buying an insurance policy. The Beaver is involved in a hilarious scene with the Butcher later, when the two attempt to compute sums. But perhaps the funniest scene of the entire book is in the Barrister's dream when the Snark declares sentence on a pig, only to find out the pig has been dead long before the trial even began. I'd highly recommend this short poem for Carroll fans, even though it's not big enough to contain but a small portion of what's to be found in the Alice books.

Rating:

- The best nonsense I've ever read
I have read a great deal of nonsense in the past, but this was by far the best nonsense that I have ever read. There is no point, no meaning, no sense, and no boringness. It is a delightful poem (which is well written and very fun to read aloud) about a crew on a ship hunting a snark. The crew includes a captain who only rings a bell, a beaver, a cook who only cooks beavers (the beaver and the cook did not get along well), a man afraid that the snark would turn into a boojum and make him disappear, etc. As you can tell, this makes for an insanely silly poem. The subtitle is rather fitting, as my sides were definitely hurting from laughter when I was done. Well done Mr. Carroll. Overall grade: A+