Descriptions of The Snark
The poem describes several varieties of snark. Some have feathers and bite, and some have whiskers and scratch. The boojum is a particular variety of snark, which causes the baker at the end of the poem to "softly and suddenly vanish away, and never be met with again."
The snark's flavour is meager and hollow, but crisp (apparently like a coat too tight in the waist), with a flavour of will-o-the-wisp. It is sometimes served with greens. It also sleeps late into the day. While the snark is very ambitious, and has very little sense of humor, it is very fond of bathing-machines, and constantly carries them about wherever it goes. It is also handy for striking a light; the Annotated Snark suggests that this could mean either that its skin is useful for striking matches on, or that it breathes fire.
The domain of the snark is an island filled with chasms and crags, very distant from England. On the same island may also be found other creatures such as the jubjub and bandersnatch. The snark is a peculiar creature that cannot be captured in a commonplace way. Above all, courage is required during a snark hunt. The most common method is to seek it with thimbles, care, forks, and hope. One may also "threaten its life with a railway share" or "charm it with smiles and soap".
Read more about this topic: Snark (Lewis Carroll)
Famous quotes containing the words descriptions of, descriptions and/or snark:
“The fundamental laws of physics do not describe true facts about reality. Rendered as descriptions of facts, they are false; amended to be true, they lose their explanatory force.”
—Nancy Cartwright (b. 1945)
“Our Lamaze instructor . . . assured our class . . . that our cervix muscles would become “naturally numb” as they swelled and stretched, and deep breathing would turn the final explosions of pain into “manageable discomfort.” This descriptions turned out to be as accurate as, say a steward advising passengers aboard the Titanic to prepare for a brisk but bracing swim.”
—Mary Kay Blakely (20th century)
“So the Snark found the verdict, although as it owned,
It was spent with the toils of the day:
When it said the word ‘GUILTY!’ the Jury all groaned,
And some of them fainted away.”
—Lewis Carroll [Charles Lutwidge Dodgson] (1832–1898)