Delphi Complete Works of Stephen Leacock, page 596
Few Stock Exchange booms show a better rise in value than that of the thirty-two pages of Pickwick sold for $775 in 1895 and $35,000 in 1928.
The fact is that, when all is said and done, Charles Dickens has still not been measured up to the real height of his genius. Starting as a humorist, one might almost say, as a comic writer, and writing of the ordinary people, he was handicapped at the start, as far as academic rank goes. It is difficult to be funny and great at the same time. Aristophanes and Molière and Mark Twain must sit below Aristotle and Bossuet and Emerson.
The result is that in all schools and colleges where literature is taught as a study and not read as a diversion, the name of Dickens has not yet been put where it belongs. Whole courses are devoted to Shakespeare, a man, — or a collection of men, — of far lesser genius. But Shakespeare wrote about kings, at the time a great advance from writing about giants. Milton seems to the colleges profound because he wrote of Hell, a great place, and is dead. In short, the whole college estimate is based on theme, on scholarship and on deadness. Dickens is too recent, too ordinary, too easy to understand.
Transitory popularity is not a proof of genius. But permanent popularity is. People of the adolescent generation of to-day may have the impression that Dickens is passed by in favour of a rising group of newer men. This is not so. These newer men come and go, rise and fall, and are forgotten. Dickens stays. Forty years ago newer writers were replacing Dickens; and thirty years ago; and twenty. The world to-day does not know their names.
In due time it will be known that the works of Charles Dickens represent the highest reach of the world’s imaginative literature. This at its lowest is a poor thing, a tale told by an idiot. At its highest, — the world’s supreme achievement in art.
CHRONOLOGY
EVENTS
WORKS
1812. Feb. 7. Charles John Huffham Dickens born at Landport, Portsea.
1814-1816. Family in lodgings in London.
1816-1821. Family in Chatham.
1821. Moved to London.
1822. Dickens went to work in a blacking warehouse. Father in Marshalsea prison.
1823-27. At school in London.
1827 (May)-1829 (Nov.). Clerk in an attorney’s office.
1829-31. Reporter in Doctors’ Commons.
1831. Entered Reporters’ Gallery in the House of Commons as a reporter for the True Sun, then for the Mirror of Parliament, and then (1834-36) for the Morning Chronicle.
1833. First published story (‘A Dinner at Poplar Walk,’ afterwards called ‘Mr. Minns and his Cousin’) in Dec. no. of Old Monthly Magazine.
1833-35. Sketches in Old Monthly Magazine and in Evening Chronicle (first signed Boz) in August 1834.
1836. April 2. Married Catherine Hogarth.
1836. Feb. Sketches by Boz, 2 vols., illustrated by George Cruikshank.
The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club, edited by Boz, illustrated by R. Seymour and Hablôt Browne (Phiz) in April-Dec. (monthly nos.).
Sunday under Three Heads, by Timothy Sparks (nom de plume), illustrated by Phiz.
The Strange Gentleman (play in 2 acts), St. James’s Theatre, 29 Sept. 1836. Published 1837.
The Village Coquettes. Comic Opera. Sketches by Boz. Second series. One vol. Dec.
1837. Jan. 6. Birth of Charles Dickens, Junior.
Death of Mary Hogarth.
1837. Pickwick Papers continued from Jan. till Nov., then published as a book by Charles Dickens.
Oliver Twist began as a serial by Boz, Jan. 1837.
1837. July. Ten-day tour on the Continent.
1838. March 6. Mary (Mamie) Dickens born.
1838. Oliver Twist. Three vols. by Charles Dickens. Illustrations by George Cruikshank.
Memoirs of Joseph Grimaldi. Edited by Boz.
Sketches of Young Gentlemen. Illustrated by Phiz.
Nicholas Nickleby, in monthly parts, began in April 1838. Illustrated by Phiz.
1839. July. Cottage at Petersham Oct. Birth of Kate Macready Dickens.
1839. Sketches by Boz. First complete edition, in monthly parts, Nov. 1837-June 1839. Illustrated by George Cruikshank.
Moved from Doughty Street to Devonshire Terrace.
1840. Sketches of Young Couples. Illustrated by Phiz.
1841. Feb. 8. Birth of Walter Landor Dickens.
1841. Master Humphrey’s Clock. Three vols. Illustrated by George Cattermole and Hablôt Browne. Included Old Curiosity Shop and Barnaby Rudge.
The Picnic Papers. A Symposium to which Dickens contributed the preface and the opening story, The Lamplighter.
1842. Jan. 4. Dickens and his wife left Liverpool on a tour to the United States and Canada: left New York June 7, 1842. Holiday Trip to Cornwall with Stanfield, Forster, and Maclise.
1842. Oct. American Notes for General Circulation. Two vols.
1843. Summer at Broadstairs.
Oct. Presided at the opening of the Manchester Athenaeum.
1843. Martin Chuzzlewit. Illustrations by Hablôt Browne. Monthly nos., Jan.-Dec.
A Christmas Carol in Prose. Illustrated by John Leech.
1844. Jan. 15. Birth of Francis Jeffrey Dickens.
July. Left with his family for a year on the Continent — France, Italy.
1844. Martin Chuzzlewit finished and published as a book in July. Illustrated by Hablôt Browne.
Preface to Evenings of a Working Man (J. Overn).
The Chimes. Illustrated by Maclise, Stanfield, Doyle and Leech.
1845. Returned in summer from Italy to Devonshire Terrace.
Aug. Amateur theatricals at Kelly’s Theatre.
Oct. Birth of Alfred Tennyson Dickens (6th child; 4th son).
1845. The Cricket on the Hearth. Illustrated by Maclise, Stanfield, Landseer, Doyle and Leech.
1846. Jan. 21. Editor of Daily News.
Feb. 9. Resigned from editorship.
May 31. Left England for the Continent. Summer at Lausanne.
Nov. Paris. 48 Rue de Courcelle.
Dec. 15-23. Visit to London. Back to Paris.
1846. Pictures from Italy. (Daily News, Jan.-March. Later in the year in book.)
Dombey and Son. Began in monthly nos. Illustrated by Hablôt Browne.
The Battle of Life. Illustrated by Maclise, Stanfield, Doyle and Leech.
1847. Back to London. Temporarily at Chester Place.
April 18. Sydney Smith Haldinand Dickens born (7th child; 5th son).
Summer at Brighton and Broadstairs.
Dec. 1. Presided at Opening of Leeds Mechanics Institute.
Dec. 28. Presided at Opening of Glasgow Athenaeum.
1848. Jan. Visit to Edinburgh.
1848. April. Dombey and Son in book form.
The Haunted Man. Illustrated by Stanfield, John Tenniel, Frank Stone and J. Leech.
1849. Jan. 16. Birth of Henry Fielding Dickens (8th child; 6th son).
Feb. Visit to Brighton.
Back in Devonshire Terrace.
Summer at Bonchurch, I.W.
1849. David Copperfield began in monthly parts in May 1848. Illustrated by Hablôt Browne.
1850. June. Trip to Paris and Rouen.
Aug. 15. Birth of Dora Annie Dickens (9th child; 3rd daughter).
Nov. Private theatricals at Knebworth. Every Man in His Humour.
1850. March 30. First no. of Household Words.
Nov. David Copperfield in book form. Illustrated by Hablôt Browne.
Christmas. Being the first Christmas no. of Household Words.
1851. Feb. To Paris with J. Leech. March 31. Death of John Dickens.
April 14. Death of Dora Annie Dickens.
May 16. Private theatricals at Devonshire House, before the Queen and the Prince Consort.
1851. What Christmas Is. Second Christmas no. of Household Words.
1852. March 13. Birth of Edward Bulwer Lytton Dickens (10th child; 7th son).
1852. Bleak House began in monthly parts in March 1852. Illustrated by Hablôt Browne.
Stories for Christmas. Third Christmas no. of Household Words.
1858. Back in Tavistock House.
Feb. 9. Dinner for Hospital for Sick Children.
April 29. First public reading (St. Martin’s Hall) for profit.
May. Dickens separates from his wife.
July 1. Nominated (but not elected) as Rector of Glasgow University.
1858. A House to Let. Ninth Christmas no. of Household Words.
1859. Sept. At Broadstairs for a fortnight.
Oct. Second part of the first series of readings.
1859. April 30. First no. of All the Year Round.
May 28. Last no. of Household Words.
A Tale of Two Cities. Weekly serial in All the Year Round; also in monthly parts. In book form in Dec. 1859. Illustrated by Hablôt Browne.
The Haunted House. First Christmas no. of All the Year Round.
1859-60. Last winter at Tavistock House.
1860. Permanent residence at Gad’s Hill.
Kate Dickens married to Charles Collins.
1860. Hunted Down. New York Ledger; also reprinted in All the Year Round.
The Uncommercial Traveller. Serial papers in All the Year Round; in book form in Dec. 1860.
Great Expectations. Began as a serial in All the Year Round in Dec. 1860.
A Message from the Sea. Second Christmas no. of All the Year Round.
1861. Took a house in London (3 Hanover Square) for the spring.
March. Began second series of Readings (ended April 1862).
Charles Dickens, Junior, married Miss Evans.
1861. Great Expectations in book form in three vols.; in 1863 in one vol., illustrated by Marcus Stone.
Tom Tiddler’s Ground. Third Christmas no. of All the Year Round.
1862. Feb. Exchanged Gad’s Hill for 16 Hyde Park Gate for the Spring Readings in London till end of June.
Oct.-Dec. Two months in Paris.
1862. Somebody’s Luggage. Fourth Christmas no. of All the Year Round.
1863. Visited Paris in January. Readings at the British Embassy. Readings in London.
Sept. Dickens’s mother died.
Dec. 24. Death of Thackeray (Christmas Eve). Walter Dickens died in India (New Year’s Eve).
1863. Mrs. Lirrifer’s Lodgings. Fifth Christmas no. of All the Year Round.
1864. New Year at Gad’s Hill. Feb.-June. A house in London. 57 Gloucester Place.
1864. Our Mutual Friend. Began in monthly nos. in May 1864.
Mrs. Lirrifer’s Legacy. Sixth Christmas no. of All the Year Round.
1865. In London at 16 Somers Place.
June 9. In a railway accident at Staplehurst.
Swiss chalet set up at Gad’s Hill.
1865. Our Mutual Friend. In book form in two vols. in Nov. 1865.
Dr. Marigold’s Prescriptions. Seventh Christmas no. of All the Year Round.
1866. Third Series of Readings. (Managed by Dolby in 1866-67 and resumed 1868-70 after the American tour.)
1866. Mugby Junction. Eighth Christmas no. of All the Year Round.
1867. June 5. Presided at the Annual Festival of the Railway Benevolent Society.
Nov. 9. Sailed for America. Landed Boston, Nov. 19. Lecture tour in U.S., Dec. 2, 1867-April 20, 1868.
1867. No Thoroughfare. Ninth Christmas no. of All the Year Round.
1868. April 18. Farewell dinner at Delmonico’s, New York.
Sailed for England, April ?.
Oct. Resumed public readings.
1868. A Holiday Romance. Written for a child’s magazine.
George Silverman’s Explanation. Written for the Atlantic Monthly (both pieces reprinted in All the Year Round).
1869. Jan. Began second part of series of readings.
Health failing, readings broken off.
April. Public Dinner at Liverpool.
1869.
1870. Jan.-March. Twelve Farewell Readings in London.
March 9. Received by the Queen at Buckingham Palace.
April 5. Presided at a dinner in aid of the News Vendors’ Institution.
March 7. Royal Academy Dinner (last public appearance).
May. Returned to Gad’s Hill.
June 8. Stricken.
June 9. Died.
1870. The Mystery of Edwin Drood. Six monthly nos. were issued. Illustrated by S. L. Fildes.
Humor: Its Theory and Technique, with Examples and Samples
CONTENTS
CHAPTER I. AN ANALYSIS OF HUMOR
CHAPTER II. FUN WITH WORDS
CHAPTER III. PARODY, BURLESQUE AND MISTRANSLATION
CHAPTER IV. TECHNIQUE OF THE GREATER HUMORISTS: CHARLES DICKENS AND MARK TWAIN
CHAPTER V. COMIC AND SUPER-COMIC VERSE
CHAPTER VI. AN APPENDED SAMPLE
CHAPTER VII. STORY TELLERS AND STORY KILLERS
CHAPTER VIII. NATIONAL CHARACTERISTICS
CHAPTER IX. HUMOR THROUGH THE AGES
CHAPTER X. THIS VERY MINUTE
CHAPTER XI. EPILOGUE: FROM THE RIDICULOUS TO THE SUBLIME
CHAPTER I. AN ANALYSIS OF HUMOR
CAN WE LEARN to Be Funny? — Can an Earnest Teacher Help a Student with a Serious Mind to Get Rid of It? — Primitive Merriment with a Club — The Upward Course of Humor — From Nero’s Chariot to Barnum’s Clown — From Laughter to Tears.
Everybody has often witnessed the spectacle of a man in an armchair bending over toward another man in another armchair and telling him a funny story. We know it is a funny story because of what happens. The face of the man who is listening begins to be visibly affected. There is a tightening of the maxillary muscles together with a relaxation of the muscles of the lips and tongue. The areas at the east and west sides of the eyes become puckered in a peculiar way, and in extreme cases (very, very funny stories) there is a distinct wobbling of the ears. In other words the man is smiling. Presently, as the culmination of the story is reached, the listener goes into a form of convulsion, emitting his breath in hurried gasps as if about to shout. His condition reacts upon the story teller, who now sits back, expands his stomach and goes into a similar convulsion.
If we were not absolutely habituated to this, we should be alarmed and think the men were ill. But we know that they are only laughing. This form of fit or convulsion is called laughter. The men are said to laugh because the story is funny, and the story is known to be funny because the men laugh at it. The man who tells the story is called a story teller. He is said to have a sense of humor. And the man who listens to it has another sense of humor.
This much is common knowledge on the subject. But, strangely enough, beyond this there is nothing but unexplored territory. What laughter is, and why it is, and what is a sense of humor and how you get it, what a joke is, and why it is a joke — all these things remain unknown and unascertained. In a world that studies and teaches everything that can be studied and taught, humor alone remains as an unexplored field.
Few people know anything about humor, or analyze or think about it. It is left clean out of the program of self-improvement. A man will work hard on such things as his game of golf. It is pathetic to see a stout man trying hard to improve his mashie shot, a thing which God forbade to him at birth. But still he tries. Yet would he ever seek to improve his sense of humor, ever practice his funny story, or ever read a book on how to tell one? He wouldn’t, because there are no such books. For all other literary and artistic acquirements there are classes and courses, schools and colleges. People with a talent for music take music lessons. Children with a gift for drawing are taught art. But no one teaches funny boys humor.
For everything else, especially in these hard times, there are teachers waiting at one’s elbow, eager to impart it by the dollar’s worth. There are correspondence courses in oratory, in deportment, and in painting (both oil and sign). All the older colleges teach literature, economics, sociology and such; and the newer ones have courses in salesmanship, hotel keeping, bee-keeping, investment and embezzlement. There is as yet not a single academic course in humor. There are no degrees in it, and it is not required for entrance into the professions, not even for the law. The whole field is wide open, for colleges have never even thought of it.
The reason is, no doubt, that it has been hitherto taken for granted that humor either is or is not; that the art of amusing speech cannot be imparted; that the humorous outlook cannot be acquired. If this were not so, parents would try to give their children at least a high school standard of fun. Stubborn students from the country would work at their joke books till past midnight, and pedagogical departments award diplomas to fun-makers.
Humor, if thought about at all is looked upon as a “growth.” It falls within the scope of the ancient text: “Which of you with taking thought can add to his stature one cubit?” But the thing is a misconception. It might just as wisely read: “Each of you by taking thought can add one cubit to his stature.” In these days of building-up exercises and violet ray glass we certainly could.
