View source for The Hunting of the Snark

{{Short description|1876 nonsense poem by Lewis Carroll}}
{{About|the poem by Lewis Carroll|the musical based on that poem|The Hunting of the Snark (musical)}}
{{Use British English|date=September 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2024}}
{{Infobox book
| image               = The Hunting of the Snark (cover).jpg
| image_size          = <!-- custom size for image (defaults to 220px) -->
| caption             = Cover of first edition
| author              = [[Lewis Carroll]]
| illustrator         = [[Henry Holiday]]
| cover_artist        = Henry Holiday
| country             = United Kingdom
| language            = English
| genre               = [[Nonsense poetry]]
| publisher           = [[Macmillan Publishers]]
| release_date        = 29 March 1876
| media_type          = <!-- MMedia type (paperback, hardback) -->
| pages               = <!-- Pages (prefer 1st edition) -->
| oclc                = 2035667
| wikisource          = The Hunting of the Snark
}}

'''''The Hunting of the Snark''''', subtitled ''An Agony, in Eight Fits'', is a poem by the English writer [[Lewis Carroll]]. It is typically categorised<!-- Discussed on talkpage as a way to encompass other views. Please discuss before removing; thank you. :) --> as a [[nonsense verse|nonsense poem]]. Written between 1874 and 1876, it borrows the setting, some creatures, and eight [[portmanteau]] words from Carroll's earlier poem "[[Jabberwocky]]" in his children's novel ''[[Through the Looking-Glass]]'' (1871).

[[Macmillan Publishers|Macmillan]] published ''The Hunting of the Snark'' in the United Kingdom at the end of March 1876, with nine illustrations by [[Henry Holiday]]. It had mixed reviews from reviewers, who found it strange. The first printing of the poem consisted of 10,000 copies. There were two reprints by the conclusion of the year; in total, the poem was reprinted 17 times between 1876 and 1908. The poem also has been adapted for musicals, movies, opera, plays, and music.

The narrative follows a crew of ten trying to hunt the Snark, a creature which may turn out to be a highly dangerous ''Boojum''. The only crew member to find the Snark quietly vanishes, leading the narrator to explain that the Snark was a Boojum after all.

Carroll dedicated the poem to young [[Gertrude Chataway]], whom he met in the English seaside town [[Sandown]] on the [[Isle of Wight]] in 1875. Included with many copies of the first edition of the poem was Carroll's religious [[Tract (literature)|tract]], ''An Easter Greeting to Every Child Who Loves "Alice"''.

Various meanings in the poem have been proposed, among them [[Existential angst#Angst|existential angst]], an allegory for [[tuberculosis]], and a mockery of the [[Tichborne case]].

While Carroll denied knowing the meaning behind the poem,{{sfn|Gardner|2006|p=xxxvii}} he agreed in an 1897 reply to a reader's letter with an interpretation of the poem as an [[allegory]] for the pursuit of happiness.<ref name="Letter2MaryBarber">Letter by C. L. Dodgson to Mary Barber, January 12, 1897: "To the best of my recollection, I had no other meaning in my mind, when I wrote it: but people have since tried to find the meanings in it. The one I like best (which I think is partly my own) is that it may be taken as an Allegory for the Pursuit of Happiness."</ref>{{sfn|Gardner|2006|p=xxxviii}} Henry Holiday, the illustrator of the poem, considered the poem a "tragedy".{{efn|Holiday's handwritten note on a letter from C. L. Dodgson: "L.C. has forgotten that "the Snark" is a tragedy&nbsp;...".<ref>{{cite web |title=Lot&nbsp;646: Carroll, Lewis [Charles Lutwidge Dodgson] ''The Hunting of the Snark: An Agony in Eight Fits''. Macmillan, 1876 |date=15 July 2014 |publisher=Sotheby's |url=http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2014/english-literature-history-childrens-books-illustrations-l14404/lot.646.html |access-date=14 January 2016}}</ref>}}

== Plot ==

=== Setting ===

''The Hunting of the Snark'' shares its fictional setting with Lewis Carroll's earlier poem "[[Jabberwocky]]" published in his 1871 children's novel ''[[Through the Looking-Glass]]''.{{sfn|Lennon|1962|p=176}} Eight nonsense words from "Jabberwocky" appear in ''The Hunting of the Snark'': ''[[bandersnatch]], beamish, frumious, galumphing, [[jubjub bird|jubjub]], mimsiest'' (which previously appeared as ''mimsy'' in "Jabberwocky"), ''outgrabe'', and ''uffish''.{{sfn|Lennon|1962|p=242}} In a letter to the mother of his young friend [[Gertrude Chataway]], Carroll described the domain of the Snark as "an island frequented by the jubjub and the bandersnatch{{snd}}no doubt the very island where the jabberwock was slain."{{sfn|Gardner|2006|p=7}}

=== Characters ===

The crew consists of ten members, where all but one description of the members begin with the letter B:{{sfn|Kelly|1990|p=67}} a [[Town crier|Bellman]], the leader; a [[Shoeshiner|Boots]]{{efn|In his German translation of ''The Hunting of the Snark'',<ref>Günther Flemming, ''Alice'', vol. 3: ''Die Jagd nach dem Schnark (Lewis Carroll), Aliceana & Essays zu Leben und Werk''. Translated from English and commentated. (Berlin, 2013) {{ISBN|978-3-8442-6493-7}}</ref> Günther Flemming assumes on p. 161 that "Boots" is a portmanteau word for "Bonnets and Hoods", and that therefore the Snark hunting party only consists of nine members, not of ten members.}} (the only member of the crew without an illustration);{{sfn|Gardner|2006|p=17}} a maker of [[Bonnet (headgear)|Bonnet]]s and Hoods (the only description which does not begin with the letter B); a [[Barrister]], who settles arguments among the crew; a [[Appraiser|Broker]], who can appraise the goods of the crew; a [[Billiards|Billiard]]-marker, who is greatly skilled; a [[Banker]], who possesses all of the crew's money; a [[Beaver]], who makes lace and has saved the crew from disaster several times; a [[Baker]], who can only bake wedding cake, forgets his belongings and his name, but possesses courage; and a [[Butcher]], who can only kill beavers.{{sfn|Carroll|1898|pp=8–14}}

<gallery>
File:Snark Bellman.jpg|Bellman
File:Snark Bonnet Maker.jpg|Maker of Bonnets and Hoods
File:Snark Barrister.jpg|Barrister
File:Snark Broker.jpg|Broker
File:Snark Billiard Marker.jpg|Billiard-marker
File:Snark Banker.jpg|Banker
File:Snark Beaver.jpg|Beaver
File:Snark Baker.jpg|Baker
File:Snark Butcher.jpg|Butcher
</gallery>

=== Summary ===
{{Listen |filename=The Hunting of the Snark.ogg |title=The Hunting of the Snark |description=The poem read by Robert Garrison, from the [[LibriVox]] project.}}
[[File:Lewis Carroll - Henry Holiday - Hunting of the Snark - Plate 6.jpg|thumb|400px|right|Henry Holiday's illustration of the hunt. Note accompanying Hope (midground, with anchor) and Care (background, shrouded).]]

After crossing the sea guided by the Bellman's map of the Ocean (a blank sheet of paper) the hunting party arrives in a strange land, and the Bellman tells them the five signs by which a snark{{efn| Carroll did not give the word ''"[[wiktionary:snark|snark]]"'' any meaning. The word "snarking" had been used in 1866 to describe a sound.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Sermons in Stones |journal=[[Notes and Queries]]|date=29 September 1866 |series=Series&nbsp;3 |volume=10 |issue=248 |page=248 |doi=10.1093/nq/s3-X.248.248-f |url=https://archive.org/stream/s3notesqueries10londuoft#page/247/mode/1up|author=Anon}}</ref> The word "snarky" was used to mean "crotchety or snappish" in the early part of the 20th century, but that usage was later replaced by its current meaning of "sarcastic, impertinent or irreverent";<ref>{{cite web |title=Definition of ''Snarky'' |publisher=Merriam-Webster |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/snarky#etymology |access-date=22 January 2019}}</ref> that adjective in turn has been back-formed to the noun "snark", meaning "an attitude or expression of mocking irreverence and sarcasm".<ref>{{cite web |title=Definition of ''Snark'' |publisher=Merriam-Webster |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/snark |access-date=22 January 2019}}</ref>|group="snark meaning"}} can be identified. The Bellman warns them that some snarks are highly dangerous boojums; on hearing this, the Baker faints. Once revived, the Baker recalls that his uncle warned him that if the Snark turns out to be a boojum, the hunter will "softly and suddenly vanish away, and never be met with again".{{sfn|Carroll|1898|p=23}} The Baker confesses that this possibility terrifies him.

The hunt begins:
<blockquote><poem>
They sought it with thimbles, they sought it with care;
They pursued it with forks and hope;
They threatened its life with a railway-share;{{efn|A reference to the [[Railway Mania]] of the time.<ref>[https://home.barclays/news/2018/11/ledger-legends--j-m-barrie--beatrix-potter-and-lewis-carroll/ "Ledger Legends: J. M. Barrie, Beatrix Potter and Lewis Carroll"], 23 November 2018, [[Barclays]]</ref>}}
They charmed it with smiles and soap.{{sfn|Carroll|1876|p=79}}
</poem></blockquote>
Along the way, the Butcher and Beaver, previously mutually wary, become fast friends after they hear the cry of a [[jubjub bird]] and the Butcher ends up giving the Beaver a lesson on maths and zoology. The Barrister, meanwhile, sleeps, and dreams of witnessing a court trial of a pig accused of deserting its [[sty]], with a snark as its defence lawyer.

During the hunt, the Banker is attacked by a [[bandersnatch]], and loses his sanity after trying to bribe the creature.

The Baker rushes ahead of the party and calls out that he has found a snark, but when the others arrive, he has mysteriously disappeared.
<blockquote><poem>
They hunted till darkness came on, but they found
Not a button, or feather, or mark,
By which they could tell that they stood on the ground
Where the Baker had met with the Snark.

In the midst of the word he was trying to say,
In the midst of his laughter and glee,
He had softly and suddenly vanished away—
For the Snark was a Boojum, you see.{{sfn|Carroll|1876|p=83}}
</poem></blockquote>

== Development ==
Two explanations of which event in Carroll's life gave rise to ''The Hunting of the Snark'' have been offered. Biographer [[Morton N. Cohen]] connects the creation of ''The Hunting of the Snark'' with the illness of Carroll's cousin and [[Godparent|godson]], the twenty-two-year-old Charlie Wilcox.{{sfn|Cohen|1995|p=403}} On 17&nbsp;July 1874, Carroll travelled to [[Guildford]], Surrey, to care for him for six weeks, while the young man struggled with [[tuberculosis]].{{sfn|Cohen|1995|pp=403–404}}<ref name="Hark the Snark">{{cite book |title=Lewis Carroll Observed |editor-last=Guiliano|editor-first=Edward|editor-link=Edward Guiliano|author-last=Cohen |author-first=Morton N. |year=1976 |chapter=Hark the Snark |publisher=Clarkson N. Potter Publishers|location=New York|pages=[https://archive.org/details/lewiscarrollobse00guil/page/92 92–110] |isbn=0-517-52497-X |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/lewiscarrollobse00guil/page/92}}</ref> The next day, while taking a walk in the morning after only a few hours of sleep, Carroll thought of the poem's final line: "For the Snark ''was'' a Boojum, you see."{{sfn|Cohen|1995|p=404}}

[[E. Fuller Torrey]] and Judy Miller suggest that the event that inspired the poem was the sudden death of Carroll's beloved uncle, [[Robert Wilfred Skeffington Lutwidge]], caused by a patient in 1873 during Lutwidge's time as an inspector of lunatic asylums. They support their analysis with parts of the poem, such as the Baker's uncle's advice to seek the snark with "thimbles, forks, and soap", which, according to Torrey and Miller, were all items the lunatic asylum inspectors checked during their visits.<ref>{{cite book |first1=E. Fuller |last1=Torrey|author1-link=E. Fuller Torrey|first2=Judy |last2=Miller |year=2001 |title=The Invisible Plague: The rise of mental illness from 1750 to the present |place=New Brunswick |publisher=[[Rutgers University Press]] |isbn=0-8135-3003-2 |pages=91–92}}</ref>

Holiday and Carroll had some disagreements on the artwork. Carroll initially objected to Holiday's [[personification]] of hope and care, but agreed to the change, when Holiday explained that he had only intended to add another layer of meaning to the word "with".<ref name="Henry Holiday excerpts"/> However, Carroll refused his illustration of the boojum, preferring that the creature go without a depiction,{{sfn|Clark|1979|pp=196–97}} and made him change his initial portrayal of the Broker, as it could have been perceived as [[antisemitic]].{{sfn|Gardner|2006|page=17}}

When finally published, the poem comprised 141&nbsp;stanzas of four lines each,{{sfn|Kelly|1990|p=22}} with [[internal rhyme]]s in the first and third lines of irregular stanzas appearing in the poem from the second fit onwards.{{sfn|Lennon|1962|pp=240–5}} Martin Gardner{{sfn|Gardner|2006|loc=annotation 58}} annotated to ''The Hunting of the Snark'' that [[Elizabeth Sewell (writer)|Elizabeth Sewell]] pointed out in ''The Field of Nonsense'' (1973) that a line in Carroll's poem has a similarity to a line in a limerick ("There was an old man of Port Grigor...") by Edward Lear.

=== Illustrations ===
To illustrate the poem Carroll chose [[Henry Holiday]], whom he had met in 1869<ref name="Henry Holiday excerpts"/> or 1870.{{sfn|Clark|1979|pp=196–7}} At the time Carroll approached him to ask if he could create three illustrations for the poem, Carroll had completed three "[[Fitt (poetry)|fits]]", as he called the parts of his poem{{snd}}''fit'' can mean either [[canto]] or convulsion{{sfn|Gardner|2006|p=11}}{{snd}}"The Landing", "The Hunting", and "The Vanishing".{{sfn|Clark|1979|pp=196–7}} He intended to title it ''The Boojum'' and include it in his fantasy novel ''[[Sylvie and Bruno]]'', which was unfinished at the time.{{sfn|Clark|1979|pp=196–7}} However, in late October 1875, Carroll thought about having it published during [[Christmas]]; this proved impossible, as the wood engraving for the illustrations needed three months to be complete.{{sfn|Gardner|2006|page=xxx}} By the time Holiday had completed the sketches and sent them to Carroll, Carroll had already created a new fit requiring an illustration. They worked this way until Holiday had created nine illustrations as well as the front cover and the back cover of the book.<ref name="Henry Holiday excerpts">{{harvc|last=Holiday|first=Henry|author-link=Henry Holiday|chapter=Excerpts from Henry Holiday's ''Reminiscences of my Life''|in=Gardner|year=2006|pages=113–115}}</ref> Thus, among the ten illustrations shown below, one illustration is not by Holiday.<ref>The front page of ''The Hunting of the Snark'' (1876) states: "with nine illustrations by Henry Holiday". The assumption is that the "Ocean Chart" (aka "The Bellman's Map") has been arranged by Carroll. Source: {{cite journal |first=Doug |last=Howick |date=Winter 2011 |title=A perfect and absolute mystery |journal=[[Knight Letter]]|issue=87 |page=5 |issn=0193-886X |url=https://archive.org/details/knightletterno8717lewi/page/4/mode/2up}}</ref> The "Ocean Chart" is typographic art whereas [[Electrotyping|electrotypes]] made from [[Joseph Swain (engraver)|Joseph Swain]]'s woodblock engravings were used to print Holiday's illustrations.

<gallery mode="packed" heights="250px">
File:Lewis Carroll - Henry Holiday - Hunting of the Snark - Plate 1.jpg|The Bellman landing the Banker by entwining a finger in the Banker's hair
File:Lewis Carroll - Henry Holiday - Hunting of the Snark - Plate 2.jpg
File:Lewis Carroll - Henry Holiday - Hunting of the Snark - Plate 3.jpg|The Butcher (left) and the Beaver (right) looking sideways
File:Lewis Carroll - Henry Holiday - Hunting of the Snark - Plate 4.jpg|The ocean chart (which is blank)
File:Lewis Carroll - Henry Holiday - Hunting of the Snark - Plate 5.jpg|The Baker whose belongings were left behind on the beach
File:Lewis Carroll - Henry Holiday - Hunting of the Snark - Plate 6.jpg
File:Lewis Carroll - Henry Holiday - Hunting of the Snark - Plate 7.jpg|The Butcher doing maths
File:Lewis Carroll - Henry Holiday - Hunting of the Snark - Plate 8.jpg|The Barrister's dream of the trial of the pig, with the Snark shown draped in a cloth in the foreground acting as defence barrister; the Bellman's bell is ringing in his ear in the lower left
File:Lewis Carroll - Henry Holiday - Hunting of the Snark - Plate 9.jpg|The Bellman, Banker, and Butcher holding the Beaver
File:Lewis Carroll - Henry Holiday - Hunting of the Snark - Plate 10.jpg
</gallery>

There is no depiction of the Snark, nor of Boots. However, based on a draft<ref>{{cite web |title=Concept draft |url=http://www.ipernity.com/doc/goetzkluge/32765945}} shows a redrawn image from a concept draft by C.&nbsp;L. Dodgson (a.k.a. Lewis Carroll). The drawing was part of a lot consisting of an 1876 edition of the "Hunting of the Snark" and a letter (dated 1876-01-04) by Dodgson to Henry Holiday. The lot was auctioned by Doyle New York (Rare Books, Autographs & Photographs – Sale 13BP04 – Lot 553) offered in November&nbsp;2013.</ref> by Carroll, the snark was allowed to show up in an illustration by Holiday, where it appeared in a dream of the Barrister.

The illustration to the chapter ''The Banker's Fate'' might contain pictorial allusions to the etching ''The Image Breakers'' by [[Marcus Gheeraerts the Elder]],<ref name="MarysaDemoor">{{cite book |first=Marysa |last=Demoor|year=2022 |title=A Cross-Cultural History of Britain and Belgium, 1815-1918: Mudscapes and Artistic Entanglement |chapter=Surrealist Entanglements (chapter 7) |pages=184 to 186, 194, 199 (footnote 20) |publisher=Palgrave MacMillan / Springer nature |doi=10.1007/978-3-030-87926-6 |url=https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-030-87926-6 |isbn=978-3-030-87926-6}}</ref> to [[William Sidney Mount]]'s painting ''The Bone Player'' and to a photograph by [[Duchenne de Boulogne|Benjamin Duchenne]] used for a drawing in [[Charles Darwin|Charles Darwin's]] 1872 book ''[[The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals]]''.<ref name="KnightLetter99">{{cite journal |last=Kluge |first=Goetz |title=Nose is a Nose is a Nose |url=https://archive.org/details/knightletterno9929lewi/page/n33/mode/2up |journal=[[Knight Letter]]|date=December 2017 |number=99 |page=30~31 |issn=0193-886X}} {{cite web |url=https://snrk.de/knight-letter-links/kl-fall2017 |title=Author's page}}</ref>

=== Publication history ===
{{Quote box|align=right|source=—Lewis Carroll, ''The Hunting of the Snark''|quote={{Clear}}<poem style="margin-left: 4px; margin-bottom: -1.5em; margin-top: -0.5em">
Girt with a boyish garb for boyish task
Eager she wields her spade: yet loves as well
Rest on a friendly knee, intent to ask
The tale he loves to tell.
&nbsp;
</poem>
{{hidden begin}}
<poem>
Rude spirits of the seething outer strife,
Unmeet to read her pure and simple spright,
Deem, if you list, such hours a waste of life
Empty of all delight!

Chat on, sweet Maid, and rescue from annoy
Hearts that by wiser talk are unbeguiled.
Ah, happy he who owns that tenderest joy,
The heart-love of a child!

Away fond thoughts, and vex my soul no more!
Work claims my wakeful nights, my busy days—
Albeit bright memories of that sunlit short
Yet haunt my dreaming gaze! </poem>{{hidden end}}
}}
Upon the printing of the book on 29 March 1876, Carroll gave away eighty signed copies to his favourite young friends; in a typical fashion, he signed them with short poems, many of them [[acrostic]]s of the child's name.{{Sfn|Gardner|2006|p=xxx}} He dedicated ''The Hunting of the Snark'' to [[Gertrude Chataway]], whom he had befriended in summer 1875 at the English seaside town [[Sandown]] on the [[Isle of Wight]].{{sfn|Gardner|2006|p=5}} He finished the dedication a month after befriending her, a double [[acrostic]] poem that not only spelled out her name, but contained a [[syllable]] of her name in the first line of each stanza.{{sfn|Gardner|2006|pp=5–6}} The stanza of his first draft concluded "''Rest on a friendly knee, the tale to ask / That he delights to tell.''"{{sfn|Gardner|2006|p=7}} The poem was printed in ''The Hunting of the Snark'' with permission from Chataway's mother.{{sfn|Gardner|2006|p=7}}

Included with many copies of the first edition of ''The Hunting of the Snark'' was Carroll's three-page, religious [[Tract (literature)|tract]] to his young readers, ''An Easter Greeting to Every Child Who Loves "Alice"''.{{sfn|Gardner|2006|p=73}}<ref>{{cite web |first=Lewis |last=Carroll |author-link=Lewis Carroll |title=An Easter Greeting to Every Child who Loves "Alice" |url=http://www.snrk.de/snarkhunt/#easter}}</ref> Largely written on 5&nbsp;February 1876, ''An Easter Greeting'' explores the concept of innocence and [[Eternal life (Christianity)|eternal life]] through biblical [[allusion]]s and literary allusions to [[Romanticism|Romantic]] writers [[William Blake]] and [[William Wordsworth]].{{sfn|Cohen|1995|p=403}}{{sfn|Gardner|2006|p=73}} Gardner suggests that Carroll included the tract as a way of balancing the dark tone of the poem.{{sfn|Gardner|2006|p=73}} Scholar Selwyn Goodacre speculates that, as many copies of first-edition of the poem contain the tract, there is a possibility that all first editions originally had a copy of ''An Easter Greeting''.<ref name="Listing & Translations"/>

== Reception and legacy ==
[[File:SnarkRear.svg|thumb|Rear book cover]]
The first printing of ''The Hunting of the Snark'' consisted of 10,000 copies.{{sfn|Clark|1979|pp=198–9}} By the conclusion of 1876, it had seen two reprints, with a total of 18,000<ref name="Dodgson handbook">{{cite book |last1=Williams |first1=Sidney Herbert |last2=Madan |first2=Falconer |year=1979 |title=Handbook of the literature of the Rev. C. L. Dodgson |location=Folkestone, England|publisher=Dawson |page=[https://archive.org/details/lewiscarrollhand00will_0/page/68 68] |isbn=978-0-7129-0906-8 |oclc=5754676 |url=https://archive.org/details/lewiscarrollhand00will_0/page/68 |via=Internet Archive}}</ref> or 19,000&nbsp;copies circulating.{{sfn|Clark|1979|pp=198–9}} In total, the poem was reprinted seventeen times between 1876 and 1908.<ref name="Dodgson handbook"/>

''The Hunting of the Snark'' received largely mixed reviews from Carroll's contemporary reviewers.<ref name="Hark the Snark"/> ''[[The Academy (periodical)|The Academy]]''{{'}}s [[Andrew Lang]] criticised Carroll's decision to use poetry instead of prose and its too appealing title.<ref name="Hark the Snark"/> ''[[The Athenaeum (British magazine)|The Athenaeum]]'' described it as "the most bewildering of modern poetry", wondering "if he has merely been inspired to reduce to idiotcy as many readers and more especially reviewers, as possible".<ref name="Hark the Snark"/> According to ''[[Vanity Fair (British magazine)|Vanity Fair]]'', Carroll's work had progressively worsened after ''[[Alice's Adventures in Wonderland]]'' (1865), with ''The Hunting of the Snark'' being the worst of his works and "not worthy [of] the name of nonsense".<ref name="Hark the Snark"/> While ''[[The Spectator]]'' wrote that the poem's final line had the potential to become a [[proverb]], it criticised the poem as "a failure" that might have succeeded with more work from the author.<ref name="Hark the Snark"/> ''[[Saturday Review (London)|The Saturday Review]]'' wrote that the poem offered "endless speculation" as to the true identity of the Snark, although the unnamed reviewer felt that the familiar nature of Carroll's nonsense weakened its effect for the reader.<ref name="Hark the Snark"/> Conversely, ''[[The Graphic]]'' praised the poem as a welcome departure from the ''Alice'' books, and called it "a glorious piece of nonsense", that could appeal to all ''Alice'' fans.<ref name="Hark the Snark"/>

"The Hunting of the Snark" has in common some elements with Carroll's other works. It shares its author's love of puns on the word "fit" with ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'',{{sfn|Gardner|2006|page=12}} and mentions of "candle-ends" and "toasted cheese" with his supernatural poem ''[[Phantasmagoria (poem)|Phantasmagoria]]''.{{sfn|Gardner|2006|page=22}} Additionally all three works include the number "[[42 (number)#Popular culture|42]]".{{sfn|Gardner|2006|page=37}} Another of Carroll's children's novels, ''[[Sylvie and Bruno Concluded]]'' (1893) makes a reference to the Boojum.{{sfn|Gardner|2006|page=34}}

Other illustrators of ''The Hunting of the Snark'' include [[Peter Newell]] (1903), Edward A. Wilson (1932), [[Mervyn Peake]] (1941), Aldren Watson (1952), [[Tove Jansson]] (1959), [[Helen Oxenbury]] (1970), Byron Sewell (1974), John Minnion (1974), [[Harold Jones (artist)|Harold Jones]] (1975), [[Ralph Steadman]] (1975), [[Quentin Blake]] (1976), [[Frank Hinder]] (1989), Brian Puttock (1997)<ref name="Listing & Translations" /> and Jeffrey Fisher (special edition Folio Society London 2010).

=== Cultural impact ===
<!-- Please, let's limit any mentions to major ones, not minor ones (e.g. one line by one character) Thank you. :) -->
[[File:Cirio columnaris, boojum tree.jpg|thumb|upright|The [[Boojum tree]] in [[Baja California]], Mexico, takes its name from the poem.{{sfn|Gardner|2006|page=35}}]]

''The Hunting of the Snark'' has seen various adaptations into musicals, opera, theatre, plays, and music,<ref name="Listing & Translations">{{harvc|last=Goodacre|first=Selwyn|year=2006|chapter=The Listing of the Snark|in=Gardner|pages=117–147}}</ref> including a piece for trombone by Norwegian composer [[Arne Nordheim]] (1975)<ref>{{cite web |first=Arne |last=Nordheim|author-link=Arne Nordheim|title=Nordheim list of works|website=Arnenordheim.com |url=http://www.arnenordheim.com/list.htm |access-date=7 January 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120207061314/http://www.arnenordheim.com/list.htm |archive-date=7 February 2012}}</ref> a jazz rendition (2009),<ref>{{cite web |title=NYNDK {{pipe}} The Hunting of the Snark |publisher=All About Jazz |date=13 December 2009 |url=http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=34946 |access-date=7 January 2012}}</ref> and (in French translation{{snd}}''La chasse au Snark'') with music by [[Michel Puig]] for five actresses, eight actors and an instrumental ensemble of five players, premiered at the [[Festival d'Avignon]] in 1971.<ref>{{cite web |title=La Chasse au Snark |website=[[Centre de documentation de la musique contemporaine]] |url=http://catalogue.cdmc.asso.fr/EXPLOITATION/doc/ALOES/0041390/chasse-au-snark-la |access-date=6 May 2018}}</ref> The poem was turned into a £2&nbsp;million budget [[West End theatre|West End]] musical ''[[The Hunting of the Snark (musical)|The Hunting of the Snark]]'' by Mike Batt. In 2023 a film was released by Simon Davison.<ref>Internet Movie Database: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt22171734/</ref><ref name="TheSnarkologistV001F005">{{cite periodical |last=DaVison |first=Simon |date=April 2023 |title=The Hunting of the Snark: a New Film Adaption |periodical=The Snarkologist |volume=1, Fit 5 |pages= 34–35 |issn=2564-0011 |url=https://snarkology.net/journal/v1f5/}}</ref>

The poem has inspired literature, such as Jack London's ''[[The Cruise of the Snark]]'' (1911),<ref name="Listing & Translations"/> the [[science-fiction]] short story "Chaos, Coordinated" (1947) by John MacDougal,{{sfn|Gardner|2006|page=16}} (collective pseudonym of [[James Blish]] and [[Robert A. W. Lowndes]]) [[Elspeth Huxley]]'s ''With Forks and Hope'' (1964){{sfn|Gardner|2006|page=42}} and the title of [[Kate Wilhelm]]'s novella "With Thimbles, with Forks and Hope."<ref>{{cite book |last=Wilhelm |first=Kate |year=1984 |title=Listen, listen |publisher=Berkley Books |location=New York<!-- too early for ISBN |isbn=0-425-07327-0 -->|oclc=11638445}}</ref> American author [[Edith Wharton]] (1862–1937) was fond of the poem as a child.{{sfn|Gardner|2006|page=16}} Australian brothers, composer [[Martin Wesley-Smith|Martin]] and librettist [[Peter Wesley-Smith]] based their 1986 opera/musical comedy ''Boojum!'' for the [[Adelaide Festival]] on the ''Snark'' and ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland''.<ref>[https://www.victorianopera.com.au/untangling-the-chaos-of-lewis-carroll-in-boojum/ "Untangling the chaos of Lewis Carroll"], interview with [[Stuart Maunder]] by Susie Harris, November 2025, [[Victorian Opera (Melbourne)]];<br />[https://www.australianmusiccentre.com.au/work/wesley-smith-martin-boojum "''Boojum! : nonsense, truth and Lewis Carroll''"], work details, [[Australian Music Centre]]</ref>

Additionally, it has also been alluded to in

* fiction, such as ''[[Perelandra]]'' (1943) by [[C. S. Lewis]];<ref>{{cite book |last=Lewis |first=C.S. |author-link=C. S. Lewis |year=1943 |title=Perelandra |title-link=Perelandra |series=Cosmic Trilogy |publisher=[[The Bodley Head]] |location=London, UK |page=14}}</ref> and ''[[Stand on Zanzibar]]'' by [[John Brunner (author)|John Brunner]]; in the sci-fi novel ''[[Startide Rising]]'' (1983) and its sequels the spaceship ''Streaker'' is described as a Snarkhunter-class exploration vessel. ''[[In the Ocean of Night]]'' by [[Gregory Benford]] it is prominent. In the 1966 short story "Jonah" ("Jonas" in French) by [[Gérard Klein]], "snark" is a term used for [[bioship]]s that go berserk.
* television, such as "[[List of Lewis episodes#Series 6: 2012|The Soul of Genius]]" episode of the British TV crime drama ''[[Lewis (TV series)|Lewis]]''<ref>{{cite web |last=Lacob |first=Jace |date=5 July 2012 |title='Inspector Lewis' on PBS's 'Masterpiece Mystery': TV's Smartest Sleuths |website=[[The Daily Beast]] |url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/07/05/inspector-lewis-on-pbs-masterpiece-mystery-tv-s-smartest-sleuths.html |access-date=9 July 2012}}</ref>
* court rulings, such as in [[Parhat v. Gates]] (2008)<ref name=CnnSnark2008-06-08>{{cite news
| url         = http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/06/30/court.poem/
| title       = Court cites nonsense poem in ruling for Gitmo detainee
| publisher   = [[CNN]]
| author      = Bill Mears
| date        = 30 June 2008
| access-date  = 22 August 2012
| archive-date = 4 November 2012
| archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20121104110037/http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/06/30/court.poem/
| url-status = live
| quote       = A federal appeals court has slammed the reliability of U.S. government intelligence documents, saying just because officials keep repeating their assertions does not make them true.}}</ref>
* a [[Boojum (superfluidity)|phenomenon in superfluidity]]<ref>{{cite book |first=N. David |last=Mermin |year=1990 |title=Boojums all the way through: Communicating science in a prosaic age |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=0-521-38880-5 |page=xii |url=https://archive.org/details/boojumsallwaythr0000merm |url-access=registration}}</ref>
* [[Snark (graph theory)|graph theory]], by the recreational mathematician [[Martin Gardner]]<ref>{{cite magazine |author-link=Martin Gardner |first=Martin |last=Gardner|year=1976 |title=Mathematical Games |title-link=Mathematical Games |magazine=[[Scientific American]] |issue=234 |volume=4 |pages=126–130 |doi=10.1038/scientificamerican0476-126 |bibcode=1976SciAm.234d.126G}}</ref>
* hydrology,<ref>{{cite journal
| last1      = Andréassian
| first1     = Vazken
| last2      = Le Moine
| first2     = Nicolas
| last3      = Mathevet
| first3     = Thibault
| last4      = Lerat
| first4     = Julien
| last5      = Berthet
| first5     = Lionel
| last6      = Perrin
| first6     = Charles
| year       = 2009
| title      = The hunting of the hydrological snark
| journal    = Hydrological Processes
| volume     = 23
| issue      = 4
| pages      = 651–654
| doi        = 10.1002/hyp.7217
| bibcode = 2009HyPr...23..651A
| s2cid = 128947665
}}</ref> with a group of French hydrologists publishing in a well-known scientific journal a prose analogue to Carroll's poem, mocking the rivalries existing in the academic community
* geography, a Snark Island and Boojum Rock exist in the [[Andaman and Nicobar Islands]] in the [[Bay of Bengal]]
* botany, the [[Boojum tree]] in [[Baja California]], Mexico{{sfn|Gardner|2006|page=35}}{{sfn|Gardner|2006|page=xxv}}
* [[Anime|Japanese animation]], such as ''[[Ghost Hound]]'' (2007–08)<ref>{{cite episode |title=[[List of Ghost Hound episodes#Episode list|For the Snark was a Boojum, you see]] |series=Ghost Hound |series-link=Ghost Hound |network=[[WOWOW]]| date=2008 |season=1 |number=13 |lang=ja}}</ref>
* video games, such as ''[[Half-Life (video game)|Half-Life]]'' (1998)<ref>{{cite web |title=Half-Life enemies |publisher=[[IGN Entertainment]] |work=[[GameSpy]] |url=http://planethalflife.gamespy.com/View.php?view=HLGameInfo.Detail&id=7&game=4 |access-date=11 October 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100410063004/http://planethalflife.gamespy.com/View.php?view=HLGameInfo.Detail&id=7&game=4 |archive-date=10 April 2010 }}</ref> and ''[[American McGee's Alice]]'' (2000)<ref>{{cite web |title=Enemies |series=Gameinfo |work=Down the Rabbit Hole |publisher=Gamespy |url=http://alice.planets.gamespy.com/info/enemies.shtml |access-date=2 June 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090406132610/http://alice.planets.gamespy.com/info/enemies.shtml |archive-date=6 April 2009}}</ref>
* A song, "[[Nine Funerals of the Citizen King]]", by [[Henry Cow]].<ref name=Masters>{{cite book |first=Marc |last=Masters |year=2007 |title=No Wave |publisher=Black Dog |page=334 |isbn=978-1-906155-02-5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mvs4AQAAIAAJ}}</ref>

== Analysis ==
[[File:Fit the Eigth - The Vanishing.png|thumb|left|alt=|In Holiday's illustration to the final ''fit'' of ''The Hunting of the Snark'', the Baker's hidden face and some part of the Boojum can be seen, according to some scholars.{{sfn|Kelly|1990|p=67}}{{sfn|Gardner|2006|p=70}}]]

Various themes have been suggested by scholars. According to biographer Florence Becker Lennon, the poem's "[[Motif (narrative)|motif]] of loss of name or identity" is typical of Carroll's work.{{sfn|Lennon|1962|p=243}} Richard Kelly writes that the poem contains a "theme of annihilation".{{sfn|Kelly|1990|p=27}} [[Martin Gardner]] writes that "the inadequacy of language, meaning, and symbol is a recurring theme in ''The Hunting of the Snark''".{{sfn|Gardner|2006|p={{page needed|date=November 2025}}}} Furthermore, [[Edward Guiliano]] feels that the ''Snark'' is within the nonsense tradition of [[Thomas Hood]] and, especially, [[W. S. Gilbert]], the librettist of the famous [[Gilbert and Sullivan]] team. According to him, a case can be made for a direct influence of Gilbert's ''[[Bab Ballads]]'' on ''The Hunting of the Snark'', based on the fact that Carroll was well-acquainted with the comic writing and the theatre of his age.<ref>{{cite book |first=Edward |last=Guiliano|author-link=Edward Guiliano|date=1987 |chapter=Lewis Carroll, laughter and despair, and the ''Hunting of the Snark'' |title=Lewis Carroll |editor-first=Harold |editor-last=Bloom |editor-link=Harold Bloom |publisher=Chelsea House |location=New York|chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/lewiscarroll00bloo |chapter-url-access=registration |page=[https://archive.org/details/lewiscarroll00bloo/page/124 124]|isbn=978-0-87754-689-4 }}</ref>

Widely varying interpretations of ''The Hunting of the Snark'' have been suggested: an allegory for tuberculosis,{{sfn|Gardner|2006|p=xxiv}} a mockery of the [[Tichborne case]], a satire of the controversies between religion and science, the repression of Carroll's sexuality, and a piece against vivisection, among others.{{sfn|Cohen|1995|page=410}} According to Cohen, the poem represents a "voyage of life", with the Baker's disappearance caused by his violation of the laws of nature, by hoping to unravel its mysteries.{{sfn|Cohen|1995|pp=400–1}} Lennon sees ''The Hunting of the Snark'' as "a tragedy of frustration and bafflement", comparable to British actor [[Charlie Chaplin]]'s early comedies.{{sfn|Lennon|1962|p=241}}

According to Kelly, ''The Hunting of the Snark'' is "Carroll's comic rendition of his fears of disorder and chaos, with the comedy serving as a psychological defense against the devastating idea of personal annihilation."{{sfn|Kelly|1990|pp=66–7}} Kelly writes that the Bellman's Rule of Three (''"What I tell you three times is true"'') and starting each character's name with the letter&nbsp;'''B''' are "notable attempts to create a sense of order and meaning out of chaos".{{sfn|Kelly|1990|p=67}}

[[F. C. S. Schiller]], writing under the pseudonym "Snarkophilus Snobbs", interprets the poem as an allegory of Man's attempt to understand "the Absolute", and the members of the crew as representing different cultural approaches to the problem.<ref>{{cite book |author=Snarkophilus Snobbs (pseudonym of F.C.S. Schiller) |author-link=F. C. S. Schiller |chapter=A Commentary on the ''Snark'' |edition=reprint |title=The Annotated Hunting of the Snark, the Definitive Edition}}</ref> His interpretation of the Sixth Fit, "The Barrister's Dream" is particularly notable: He reads the trial of the pig for deserting its sty as symbolizing the ethical debate about whether [[suicide]] should be condemned as an immoral or culpable action. The pig who deserts its sty represents the suicidal person who abandons life. (Like the pig, he's guilty – but being dead, is not punishable.)

[[Martin Gardner]] sees the poem as dealing with [[Existential angst#Angst|existential angst]],{{sfn|Gardner|2006|p=xxxvi}} and states that the Baker may be Carroll's satire of himself, pointing to the fact that the Baker was named after a beloved uncle, as was Carroll, and that the two were around the same age at the time of the writing of the poem.{{sfn|Gardner|2006|pp=37–8}} Alternatively, Larry Shaw of the [[fan magazine]] ''Inside and Science Fiction Advertiser'' suggests that the Boots, being the Snark, actually murdered the Baker.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Shaw |first=Larry |date=September 1956 |title=The Baker Murder Case |journal=Inside and Science Fiction Advertiser |pages=4–12}}</ref>{{sfn|Gardner|2006|p=69}}

[[Darien Graham-Smith]] suggests that ''The Hunting of the Snark'' stands for science (e.g. Charles Darwin's research), where the Boojum stands for religiously unsettling results of scientific research (e.g. Charles Darwin's findings).<ref name="GrahamSmith">{{cite thesis
  | type = Ph.D.
  | last = Graham-Smith
  | first = Darien
  | title = Contextualising Carroll : the contradiction of science and religion in the life and works of Lewis Carroll
  | publisher = University of Wales
  | place = Bangor
  | year = 2005
  | url = https://research.bangor.ac.uk/portal/en/theses/contextualising-carroll--the-contradiction-of-science-and-religion-in-the-life-and-works-of-lewis-carroll(363ac769-aa1b-40d2-bb35-c5152c83fdab).html }}</ref>

Also allusions to religious issues had been suggested, like the Baker's 42&nbsp;boxes being an allusion to [[Thomas Cranmer]]'s ''Forty-Two Articles'' with a focus on the last article on eternal damnation,<ref name="TheCarrollian31">{{cite journal |last=Gardiner |first=Karen |date=July 2018 |title=Life, Eternity, and Everything: Hidden Eschatology in the Works of Lewis Carroll |journal=The Carrollian |number=31 |pages=25–41 |issn=1462-6519}}</ref> and Holiday's illustration to the last chapter containing a pictorial allusion to Cranmer's burning.<ref name="KnightLetter100">{{cite journal |last=Kluge |first=Goetz |date=July 2018 |title=Burning the Baker |journal=[[Knight Letter]]|number=100 |pages= 55–56 |issn=0193-886X |url=https://archive.org/details/knightletterno10030lewi/page/n57/mode/2up}} ({{cite web |title=Author's page |url=https://snrk.de/knight-letter-links/kl-spring2018}})</ref><ref>[[British Museum]], curator's comment on the print ''[https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_1855-0512-317 Faiths Victorie in Romes Crueltie]'': "This is one of a number of earlier prints used by Henry Holiday in his illustrations to Lewis Carroll, The Hunting of the Snark, 1876"</ref>

As for Henry Holiday's front cover illustration, it is suggested that it contains pictorial allusions to the ''Ditchley Portrait'' (c. 1592, by [[Marcus Gheeraerts the Younger]], location: [[National Portrait Gallery, London]], UK) and to an allegorical English School painting of ''Queen Elizabeth I at Old Age with an allegory of Death and Father Time'' (c. 1610, unknown artist, location: [[Corsham Court]], Wiltshire, UK). The back cover illustration could be a pictorial allusion to that portrait of the aged Queen as well.<ref name="IlluMag80">{{cite journal |last=Kluge |first=Goetz |date=February 2025 |title=The Queen and the Snark |journal=Illustration |number=80 |pages= 34–37 |issn=1745-5588}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[The Hunting of the Snark (musical)|''The Hunting of the Snark'' musical]] (1984–1986), written by [[Mike Batt]] based on the original poem.

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}

== References ==
=== Citations ===
{{reflist}}

== Bibliography ==
* {{cite book |last=Carroll |first=Lewis |author-link=Lewis Carroll |year=1876 |title=The Hunting of the Snark, an Agony in Eight Fits|others=with nine illustrations by [[Henry Holiday]]|publisher=Macmillan and Co. |url=https://archive.org/details/huntingofsnarkan00carruoft/page/n7/mode/2up|access-date=6 November 2025}}
* {{cite book |last=Carroll |first=Lewis |author-link=Lewis Carroll|author-mask=1|orig-date=1876 |ref={{sfnref|Gardner|2006}} |title=The Annotated Hunting of the Snark|editor-first=Martin |editor-last=Gardner |editor-link=Martin Gardner |year=2006 |others=illustrations by Henry Holiday and others, introduction by [[Adam Gopnik]] |publisher=W. W. Norton |isbn=0-393-06242-2}}
* {{cite book |last=Carroll |first=Lewis |author-link=Lewis Carroll|author-mask=1|year=1898 |title=The Hunting of the Snark, an Agony in Eight Fits |others=illustrations by Henry Holiday |publisher=The Macmillan Company |url=https://archive.org/details/huntingsnarkana01holigoog |access-date=17 January 2008}}
* {{cite book |last=Clark |first=Anne |year=1979 |title=Lewis Carroll: A Life |location=New York, NY |publisher=Schocken Books |isbn=978-0-8052-3722-1 |oclc=4907762 |url=https://archive.org/details/lewiscarrollbiog00anne}}
* {{cite book |last=Cohen |first=Morton N. |year=1995 |title=Lewis Carroll: A Biography |publisher=[[Macmillan Publishers|Macmillan]] |isbn=0-333-62926-4}}
* {{cite book |last=Kelly |first=Richard |year=1990 |title=Lewis Carroll |chapter=Poetry: Approaching the void |location=Boston, MA |publisher=G. K. Hall & Co. |isbn=978-0-8057-6988-3 |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/lewiscarroll00rich}}
* {{cite book |last=Lennon |first=Florence Becker |year=1962 |title=The Life of Lewis Carroll: Victoria through the Looking-Glass |location=New York|publisher=Collier Books<!-- Too early for ISBN: |isbn=0-486-22838-X -->|oclc=656464}}

== Further reading ==
* {{cite book |first=Haydée |last=Faimberg |orig-date=1977 |chapter=The Telescoping of Generations: "The Snark was a Boojum" |year=2005 |title=Reading Lewis Carroll |pages=117–128 |publisher=Psychology Press |isbn=1-58391-752-7|ref=none}}
* {{cite book |last=Schweitzer |first=Louise |year=2012 |title=One Wild Flower|location=London, UK |publisher=Austin & Macauley |isbn=978-1-84963-146-4|ref=none}} In about one fourth of Schweitzer's doctoral thesis, several chapters are dedicated to ''The Hunting of the Snark'' (page 197 to 257).
* {{cite journal |last=Soto |first=Fernando |date=Autumn 2001 |title=The Consumption of the Snark and the Decline of Nonsense: A medico-linguistic reading of Carroll's 'Fitful Agony' |journal=The Carrollian |issue=8 |pages=9–50 |issn=1462-6519|ref=none}}
* {{cite journal |last=Tannenbaum |first=Alan |date=March 2024 |title=Baker for Butcher|page=83|journal=The Snarkologist |issue=V 1, Fit 7 | issn=0974-6773|URL=https://snarkology.net/documents/page83.pdf|ref=none}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category}}
{{wikisource |The Hunting of the Snark |''The Hunting of the Snark''}}
{{wikiquote}}

* {{cite book |url=http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/13 |title=The Hunting of the Snark |first=Lewis |last=Carroll |author-link=Lewis Carroll|ref=none}} – downloadable formats from Project Gutenberg
* {{cite web |url=http://lewiscarrollsociety.org.uk/ |title=The Lewis Carroll Society}}
* {{librivox book |title=Rhyme? And Reason |first=Lewis |last=Carroll |author-link=Lewis Carroll}} – collection in which the poem appears
* {{librivox book | title=The Hunting of the Snark |first=Lewis |last=Carroll |author-link=Lewis Carroll}}
* {{cite web |url=http://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/c/carroll/lewis/snark/complete.html |title=''The Hunting of the Snark'' in HTML with original illustrations |first=Lewis |last=Carroll |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160406110631/https://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/c/carroll/lewis/snark/complete.html |archive-date=6 April 2016 |author-link=Lewis Carroll|ref=none}} – {{cite web |url=https://snrk.de/snarkhunt |title=mirrored and extended version, with line numbering}} {{cite web |url=https://snrk.de/snarkhunt/#dedication |title=copy of Carroll's original dedication to Gertrude Chataway}}, and {{cite web |url=https://snrk.de/snarkhunt/#easter |title=Carroll's ''Easter greeting''}}
* {{cite web |url=http://justtheplaceforasnark.blogspot.com |title=''The Hunting of the Snark'' in BD form, with commentary for each stanza}}
* {{cite web |url=https://snrk.de/wp-content/uploads/archived/snarkillustrators.html |title=Illustrators of the Snark |first=Herbjørn |last=Andresen |year=2008|ref=none}}
* {{cite book |first=John |last=Tufail |year=2004 |title=The Illuminated Snark |url=http://contrariwise.wild-reality.net/articles/illuminatedsnark.pdf |quote=An enquiry into the relationship between text and illustration in ''The Hunting of the Snark''|ref=none}} – 36 pages. (see p.&nbsp;29 for examples of the usage of [[Simulacrum|simulacra]])
* {{cite web |url=https://www.sites.google.com/site/lewiscarrollillustratedsnark/home |title=Catalogue of the main illustrated editions of ''The Hunting of the Snark''}}
* {{cite web |url=http://www.chch.ox.ac.uk/other-works-lewis-carroll |title=High resolution scans}} – from woodblock prints provided by the [[Christ Church, Oxford|Christ Church]] Library
* {{cite web |url=http://snrk.de/HenryHolidaySnark.zip |title=Holiday's illustrations and the "Ocean Chart"}} – high resolution scans from an original 1876 edition
* {{cite web |url=https://lewiscarrollresources.net/snark |title=Lewis Carroll resources}} – website with textual analysis, bibliography and catalogue of illustrators
* {{cite web |url=https://snarkology.net |title=The Institute of Snarkology}} – website for organisation devoted to the study of the poem and snark-hunting.

{{Alice}}
{{Lewis Carroll}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hunting of the Snark, The}}
[[Category:1876 poems]]
[[Category:Alice's Adventures in Wonderland]]
[[Category:19th-century British children's literature]]
[[Category:British poems]]
[[Category:British humorous poems]]
[[Category:Poetry by Lewis Carroll]]
[[Category:Macmillan Publishers books]]
[[Category:Mock-heroic English poems]]
[[Category:Nonsense poetry]]
[[Category:Surreal comedy]]
[[Category:Jabberwocky]]