Vorpal sword facts for kids
The phrases "vorpal sword" and "vorpal blade" come from a famous nonsense poem called "Jabberwocky". This poem was written by Lewis Carroll in 1871. Even though the words sound important, Carroll never actually told anyone what "vorpal" really meant! Because of its cool sound, the term has been used in many other stories and games. For example, in the role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons, a "vorpal" blade is a super powerful weapon that can cut off an opponent's head with a lucky hit.
What is a Vorpal Sword?
Lewis Carroll published his book Through the Looking-Glass in 1871. At the beginning of the story, the main character, Alice, finds and reads the poem "Jabberwocky". Later, a character named Humpty Dumpty tries to explain some of the strange words in the poem to Alice, but it only makes her more confused!
One of the many made-up words in the poem is "vorpal". It's used twice to describe the sword that a young hero uses to kill the monster in the poem, the Jabberwock.
Here are the lines from the poem:
He took his vorpal sword in hand,
longtime the manxsome foe he sought
So rested he by the Tum-Tum Tree
And stood awhile in thought.
And later in the poem:
One, two! One, two! And through and through
The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!
He left it dead, and with his head
He went galumphing back.
Just like many other words in "Jabberwocky", readers have to guess what "vorpal" means from how it's used. Since it's the sword used by a hero to defeat a monster, most people think "vorpal" means something like "very sharp" or "deadly".
Carroll's Nonsense Words
Lewis Carroll himself explained that many words in his poem were "portmanteau words". This means he playfully combined two existing English words to make a new one. For example, he said "frumious" meant both "fuming" and "furious". He also said "mimsy" meant "flimsy" and "miserable", and "slithy" meant "lithe" (flexible) and "slimy".
However, Carroll never seemed to give a clear meaning for "vorpal". He once wrote, "I am afraid I can't explain 'vorpal blade' for you—nor yet 'tulgey wood'". One writer, Alexander L. Taylor, suggested that "vorpal" might have been made by taking letters from the words "verbal" and "gospel".
See also
In Spanish: Jabberwocky para niños
