Charles Dickens: Poems & Plays in the monarchy of his Novels.

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Indranil Sarkar

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Charles Dickens at 18

Dickens is undoubtedly the most lovable of all English writers. He wrote 22 memorable novels. Our admiration to Dickens rests mainly on his unforgettable novels where he created 989 life-like characters and had furnished a vivid picture of Victorian London society with its virtues and vices. Hugh Walker once said, Dickenss novels never grow dust in the shelves. The statement holds good even in this

postmodern age when there is a general distaste on novel because of the lack of time. However, it would not be a
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surprise if anybody outright rejects to accept the fact that Dickens had tried his hands in writing plays and poems also. It is really very difficult to imagine Dickens anything but a novelist. But facts are sometimes stranger than fictions. Dickens is definitely one such case. He wrote at least 10(ten) poems and 7(seven) plays, hundreds of newspaper articles and stories as well. Dickens gave us altogether 989 round characters. In this regard he is next only to Shakespeare who created 1380 inimitable characters. His writing style is florid and poetic, with a strong comic touch. A Tale of two cities is an example of lyrical prose. In this regard he can be classed with Carlyle only. No other prose writer could have shown such a

versatile poetic sensibility. His character sketches with the single stroke of a distinctive phrase or a single sentence are
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really surprising. A single word like Murdstone brings out both the physical feature and mental make-up of a character in our minds eye. His satires of British aristocratic snobbery through phrases like Noble Refrigerator, and comparing orphans to stocks and shares, ordinary people to tug boats, or dinner-party guests to furniture are just some of Dickens's acclaimed flights of fancy. Many of his characters' names provide the reader with a hint of the roles played by him in advancing the storyline, such as Mr. Murdstone in the novel David Copperfield, which is clearly a combination of "murder" and stony coldness, Oliver Twist, Madam Defurge etc. His literary style is a mixture of fantasy and realism. The balanced use of humour and satire is indeed

exemplary. He was such a great wordsmith that even the satirized fellow could not help laughing in stead of being
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angry. Seven dramas and ten beautiful poems of Charles Dickens have been discovered so far. Although enjoying a monarchical status in the kingdom of English novels, Dickens first love was theatre. He even tried to be an actor. All through his life he was associated with theatre in various capacities---writer, actor, stage-director etc. In this regard one thing is very remarkable. He respected many of the lead actors of London theatre of the time. But while talking to his daughter about theatre, he suggested her never to think of joining theatre in any capacity. This was because of his first hand experience of the vicious immoralities practised by the theatre personalities

of the time behind the curtain. There is no reason to consider it just a Victorian biasness.
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His Dramatic works could not satisfy him and as such he tried to forget them. In one occasion he even wanted to burn his house if one of them were heaped amongst his waste papers. Modern researches on the Dramatic works of Dickens have excavated seven such plays worked independently or in collaboration with other literary activists.

Dickensian Plays

The Village Coquettes (1836): It is a light opera or burletta. It originally featured words by Charles Dickens and music by John Pyke Hullah. The project came about through Fanny

Dickens, Charless older sister, who put the author in contact with her friends and colleagues at the Royal Academy of
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Music. It was a historical romance, deliberately written in the style of the light popular plays of the time. It was badly reviewed and of limited success. As with Strange

Gentleman, Dickens soon renounced the work. The play led to the first communication between Dickens and John Forster. The Strange Gentleman, (1836): Dickens wrote it in 1836.But, he became very angry while reviewing it latter and did not want it to be in circulation.However, it is appreciated as an apprentice work in the field of Dramatic literature of the great novelist at present. Is She His Wife? (1837): Its a one act play. It was his third play. It is a brief, hammy, and enjoyable thirty-minute

farce. It is considered as Dickenss most risque work. It featured such racy material as extra-marital flirting, flippant
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jokes about adultery, and even a woman displaying her shapely ankle. It may be viewed as an imitation of the pretentious and immoral social activities presented by William Congreve and other playwrights of the Restoration period. The Lamplighter (1838): The Lamplighter was his fourth play. It has gained popularity in recent times. It is also the final play which Dickens wrote alone. It belongs to the genre of comic farce. It covers his topical satire on astrologers and prognosticators and their reaction to Halleys Comet (1835). The farcical humour of the play reminds us the recent destruction of the earth hoax created by a section of astrologers and astronomers about 21st of December, 2012. It

was written for theatre manager Macready, one of Dickenss closest friends. But Macready rejected it. The rejection was
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whatsoever, an extremely rare event for Dickens. None of his writings suffered such humiliating record of refusal. Dickens could not take the matter easily. The piece was finally published and performed after his death. He wrote three other dramatic pieces in

collaboration with the prominent literary and theatrical personalities of the time. These are Mr. Nightingales Diary (1851), The Frozen Deep (1857) and No Thoroughfare: A Drama: In Five Acts (1867). Mr. Nightingales Diary (1851) is a collaborative work between Dickens and Punch editor Mark Lemon. It is a farce. This farce was written and performed as a benefit for the Guild of Literature and Art, and the cast was an all-star team

of Victorian authors and illustrators. The action takes place in a health resort, where the schemes of a conman and quack
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doctor (Lemon) are exposed by Gabblewig, a quick-change amateur actor. Dickens called him a man of a thousand faces. Gabblewig is shown as a classic trickster- character that changes into a deaf sexton, a feeble invalid, Sam Weller, and, in the plays highlight, Mrs. Gamp successively. Two articles on the Guild plays, by Household Words subeditor R.H. Horne was also attached with it. The essays detailed staging, costume, props, audience reaction, stage fluffs, cast parties, Dickenss role as theatre manager, and every aspect of the production. The attachment of the instructive essays for performance guideline may be viewed as the fore-runner of Shavian technique of providing a detail introduction on stagecraft in his Problem Plays of the 20th century.

The Frozen Deep (1857): The Frozen Deep was a play, originally staged as an amateur theatrical. It was written
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by Willkie Collins but Dickens provided a substantial guidance. It was first performed in 1856. Dickens's hand was very prominent here. Besides acting in the play for several performances, he added a preface, altered lines, and attended to most of the props and sets. As such the principal edition of the play was titled "Under the Management of Charles Dickens.

The Frozen Deep is a dramatic tale of vengeance and selfsacrifice based on the lost expedition in search of the North West Passage led by Lord John Franklin in 1845. The Frozen Deep is a dramatic tale of vengeance and self-sacrifice. Exchanging vows of love with sailor Frank Aldersley the night before his departure, Clara Burnham is haunted by the

memory of Richard Wardour, and his mistaken belief that they will one day marry. On different ships, the two men
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have no cause to meetuntil disaster strikes and they find themselves united by their battle for survival. When they learn of their rivalry, there follows an act of pure selflessness, making The Frozen Deep one of Collins' most moving and tragic works. J.Eddy. In the said exploration attempt almost all the explorers died. Some of them even indulged in Cannibalism for survival. It was a very sensitive incident which made the whole nation sorrowful. No Thoroughfare: A Drama: In Five Acts (1867): The last play Dickens ever worked on was No Thoroughfare: A Drama: In Five Acts (1867).It was a dramatization of the Christmas Story of the same year. The Christmas Story and

the play were always credited to Charles Dickens and Willkie Collins. The play was in fact, written almost
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entirely

by

Collins.

Dickens

provided

long-distance

supervision all through. Here, Dickens developed the initial plan for the play, and reviewed each act as Collins completed it. It is undoubtedly a good read but a bad drama.

Dickens, the poet

Charles Dickens wrote a number of songs and ballads individually and as parts of his novels. At least ten of them can be seen as marvellous poetry from the hands of a great prose writer. These are---

A Childs Hymn: Dickens wrote the poem in 1856.It is an

insightful lyric addressed to children. The poem is evocative.
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He shows his trust in God. He regrets for his past sins and begs Divine Mercy. The song possesses a devotional tune. It shows Dickenss Christian faiths. A fine Old English Gentleman: The poem was published on 7th August, signed simply "W". Dickenss poetic output was small: a few songs in The Pickwick Papers, poems for plays, and a brilliant trio of political squibs which appeared in the liberal journal The Examiner in 1841. "The Fine Old English Gentleman: is one of the latter, and the pick of the crop. It embodies the writer's angry response to the election of Sir Robert Peel as British prime minister, replacing Lord Melbourne and his Whig ministry. Dickens viewed the power shift a serious threat to the liberal cause and its

reformative activities. He personified it as strong-wing'd" Tolerance, who triumphs briefly over "the pure old spirit" of
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repression in verse seven. Dickens wrote the poem on the basis of a song titled Russells song by Henry Russell, a popular composer, pianist, singer and lyricist and the great-nephew of the British chief rabbi, Solomon Herschel. Dickens initially took up Russell's

rhymes and some of his phrases. Here, Dickens used the original a launch-pad for his own fiercer and more extensive political battery.

Gabriels Grub Song: Its a song from Christmas Carol highlighting the necessity and importance to participate in the Christmas. Dickens wrote a short story of the same name in 1836, six year before the publication of Christmas Carol in 1842. Here, Gabriel is a solitary, nasty old man who not only

refuses to celebrate Christmas, but also spurns the greetings of those who do, and even tries to hurt a boy who sings a
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Christmas carol. On Christmas Eve, this man receives unexpected supernatural visitors who proceed to show him many scenes of life, including a moving scene of a poor, loving family whose youngest child is terribly ill. In the end, the man is changed by this experience. These are some of the obvious parallels between the story of Gabriel Grub and that of Ebenezer Scrooge. The Sextons melancholy dirge, in the twenty-ninth chapter of Pickwick, seems a little incongruous in a humorous work. The sentiment, however, thoroughly accords with the philosophic gravediggers gruesome

occupation

George Edmunds' Song : This is a brave, unreserved

interpretation of the otherwise cold, dreary, sad, withered and

mournful English Autumn landscape. The colours might elude one more to a Laurentian fall rather than the English
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maritime west coast climate. The withered autumn leaves reveal the eternal sadness it brings to all English minds. It is really a great poem on autumn.

Little Nell's Funeral : This memorable heart touching poem

belongs to Dickenss novel The Old Curiosity shop. Mr.R.H.Horne detected the use of blank verse of irregular rhyme and metre here, in this poem as dexterous as Shelley and Southey.

Lucys song: It is a poem about Lucys lasting scars.It

suggests that Lucy is diseased, as the wind-gently blows As if to soothe her in her in sleep!

Although sleep being related to death is merely a conjecture, it is evident that the narrator is experiencing loss or perhaps
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regret when analysing the last four lines .It is a poem of beauty and sadness, about mourning the death of someone dear. He penned the poem around 1950s.This little lyric bears the stamp of Dickenss lyrical talent.

Blacksmith: Here in this lyric, Dickens sees the Blacksmiths

as the architect of Englands victories in various battles because they equipped the English soldiers with proper weapons forged in their hearths. He asks English people never to forget their contribution in the glory of their motherland.

The Ivy Green: This poem belongs to Dickens' novel

Pickwick Papers. Here, Dickens used various literary images, symbols, similes to reflect the changes of emotions. It is a stylistically memorable poem by the Monarch of English

novels. This exquisite little lyric, with its effective refrain, --so often wedded to music and so familiar to all,----would
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alone suffice to show that in turning his hands from prose to verse, his hands did not altogether forget its cunning. And like Macaulay and Carlyle, we can say about Dickens also that one who can write so beautiful prose could hardly fail to write eloquent verses.

The Song of The Wreck: Dickens wrote this poem for Willkie Collins' play, The Lighthouse, composed for Dickens' own place, Tavistock House, and first performed there June 19, 1855. Sad, but beautiful, with a touch or reality thrown in. A great story told by a great man, Charles Dickens. He had us rooting through out for the well being of the boy, but, in the end, God's will was done, as it always is.

Squire Nortons song and The Hymn of the Wiltshire Labourers are the other two remarkable poetical works of Dickens.
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References, Links and Acknowledgements:i. www.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Frozen_Deep

ii. iii. iv. v. vi. vii. viii. ix.

www.online-literature.com http://www.theguardian.com http://wiki.answers.com http://www.alleytheatre.org/Alley/Author_Charles_Dickens_A_Christmas_Carol.asp http://www.gutenberg.org http://www.c-s-p.org http://www.poemhunter.com/charles-dickens http://www.poeticous.com

x. xi.

http://www.poeticterminology.net http://www.jstor.org

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