Which term best describes Jabberwocky as a type of poetry?

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

Answer: (A)

Genre in poetry is defined by how language is used and how the piece is shaped, not just by its subject. Jabberwocky is best described as a nonsense poem because it plays with words that are invented or used in unusual ways to create whimsy and mood, even when the meanings aren’t clear. The emphasis on sound, imagination, and linguistic play is the hallmark of nonsense poetry, something Lewis Carroll is famous for. The other terms don’t fit: a sonnet has a strict 14-line form and a formal rhyme pattern that this poem doesn’t follow; an epic is a long, serious narrative about heroic deeds, which this work isn’t; a limerick is a short, five-line verse with a specific AABBA rhyme and brisk rhythm, which this poem also does not employ.