From: "Dan'l Danehy-Oakes" 
Subject: RE: (urth) PEACE: oh wabe!
Date: Wed, 30 Oct 2002 09:14:26 -0800

> >Hey, does this mean it is pronounced "WAY-bee," to rhyme 
> with "baby"?  
> >I thought it was "WAYB" to rhyme with "babe"!
> 
> "WAYB" is, of course, the canonical pronunciation. Considering that I 
> made a special effort to phrase my explanation above in such a way as 
> to prevent anyone reading it from arriving at "WAY-bee," the depth of 
> my failure is all the more humiliating. 

Two points in support of the estimable Ansley's prescribed 
prounciation:

a) "Wabe" needs to rhyme with "outgrabe," whose origin (if it can
be called that - past tense of "to outgribe") does not in any way
suggest it should be pronounced "out-GRAY-bee."

b) Rhythmically, "Jabberwocky" is structured:
        baDA baDA baDA baDA
        baDA baDA baDA baDA
        baDA baDA baDA baDA
        baDA baDA baDA
The rhythm is _extremely_ regular. Ignoring "wabe," the only 
possible exception occurs the final line of stanza 2, "the 
frumious Bandersnatch;" however, as the adjective can be 
pronounced "FROOM-yuss," there is no real irregularity. For
"wabe" to be pronounced bisyllabically, then, and especially
with an unstressed second syllable, would create a lone 
irregularity in a pome whose rhythm is otherwise extremely, 
almost obsessively, regular.

--The Pedantic Blattid


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