The Hunting of the Snark published by Macmillan in the United Kingdom in late March 1876, with illustrations by Henry Holiday. It had mixed reviews from reviewers who found it strange. The first printing of "The Hunting of the Snark" consisted of 10,000 copies. There were two reprintings by the conclusion of the year; in total, the poem was reprinted 17 times between 1876 and 1908. Carroll often denied knowing the meaning behind the poem; however, in an 1896 reply to one letter, he agreed with one interpretation of the poem as an allegory for the search for happiness. Scholars have found various meanings in
The Mouse's Tale The Mouse's Tale "The Mouse's Tale" is a concrete poem by Lewis Carroll which appears in his novel "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland". Though no formal title for the poem is given in the novel, the chapter title refers to "A Long Tale" and the Mouse introduces it by saying, "Mine is a long and sad tale!" Alice thinks the Mouse means its "tail", which makes her imagine the poem in its twisted, tail-like shape, as shown on the right: In the tale, the Mouse (speaking of itself in the third person) explains how a cur called Fury plotted to condemn