Victorians! discussion

This is about Lewis Carroll's (author), Henry Holiday's (illustrator) and Joseph Swain's (engraver) tragicomedy The Hunting of the Snark (1876).

I think that the poem is not only funny. Henry Holiday even wrote: »L.C. forgot that “the Snark” is a tragedy and [should] on no account be made jovial.« What you think about that? And is The Hunting of the Snark important Victorian literature?

The Hunting of the Snark is an overlooked classic parable of human folly that is as timely as ever. We are all at the mercy of the most powerful Bellman ever. Let us not forget that Lewis Carroll was one of the leading logicians of the age and a clergyman as well. The presentation may be in the form of humorous lampoon. but it is serious in the consequences of the Bellman‘s reckless failure of leadership.

Martin wrote: "The Hunting of the Snark is an overlooked classic parable of human folly that is as timely as ever. We are all at the mercy of the most powerful Bellman ever. Let us not forget that Lewis Carroll w..."

I fully agree. However, Carroll's Bellman probably was driven by some kind of (religious?) idea. The 21st century Bellman you refer to seemingly is driven by nothing else than his ego. What he tells us three times is true.

Back to the original Ballade: Henry Holiday's illustrations should be better understood as well. I think that in his illustrations he gave hints which help to interpret Carroll's ballade. And at least one of these pictorial hints is a reference to a cruel event in the early history of the Church of England.

Thank you for those insightful comments and the links to further discussion. It does seem very likely that Carroll intended to expose religious fanaticism and its dangers and futility. The Victorian Age was a period of many misguided and quixotic ventures in the name of religion.

The illustrations do testify to the influences of art on later art, whether intended or subliminal. In the case of the illustration of Cranmer‘s Execution, the Holliday illustration seems to have carried over subtle echoes in a somewhat similar context. Perhaps I am missing something here.

Martin wrote: "... The illustrations do testify to the influences of art on later art, whether intended or subliminal. ..."

Thank you too. I myself still have the feeling that I am missing something. I am an amateur, an electronics engineer. I have no education in analyzing arts and literature. And I am a German, which doesn't make it easier to understand the writings of an author like Lewis Carroll.

But nevertheless, I recently I published an article in the Knight Letter (of the Lewis Carroll Society of North America) about a probably quite intentional pictorial reference. They asked me to write that article. More is here: http://nose.snrk.de.

Martin wrote: "Thank you for those insightful comments and the links to further discussion. It does seem very likely that Carroll intended to expose religious fanaticism and its dangers and futility. The Victoria..."

By now one of my findings (https://snrk.de/faiths-victorie-in-ro...) is mentioned in the website of the British Museum. Henry Holiday hid a pictorial reference to Thomas Cranmer's burning in his illustration to the last "fit" of Lewis Carroll's "The Hunting of the Snark". He did that in parallel to the Rev. Dodgson's textual references to Cranmer's Forty-Two Articles.