Which term best describes Jabberwocky as a type of poetry?

Which term best describes Jabberwocky as a type of poetry?

• A. Nonsense Poem
• B. Sonnet
• C. Epic
• D. Limerick

Answer: (A)

Jabberwocky is best described as a nonsense poem because it uses invented words and playful language to create meaning through sound and mood rather than through conventional vocabulary. The imagery and rhythm carry the piece, even though many terms are unfamiliar or made up, which is the hallmark of nonsense verse. It isn’t a sonnet, since it doesn’t adhere to a 14-line fixed form with a strict rhyme and meter; it isn’t an epic, because it doesn’t tell a long, grand heroic tale; and it isn’t a limerick, since it doesn’t follow the short, five-line AABBA rhyme pattern. So the description that fits most naturally is nonsense poem.