The Comic Poems of Thomas Hood

The Comic Poems of Thomas Hood - A New and Complete Edition

If the general public, acquainted only with the comic works of Thomas Hood, were taken by surprise when they found how he could handle serious and solemn themes; those who saw him in the flesh must have been equally astonished to learn how grave and melancholy a man the famous wit was to all appearance. The chronic ill health, which gave this expression to his countenance, was, however, powerless to affect the tone of his mind. Here lies one who spat more blood and made more puns than any man living, was the epitaph he half-jestingly proposed for himself. The connection between the disease and the comic faculty is not so unreasonable as it appears at first. The invalid, who could supply mirth for millions while he himself was propped up with pillows on the bed of sickness, was not a jester whose sole stock in trade consisted in mere animal spiritswhich are too often mistaken for wit, but have in common with other spirits a tendency to evaporate somewhat rapidly. Hoods wit was the fruit of an even temperament, a cheery and contented mind endowed with a keen appreciation of the ludicrous. This acute perception of what is ludicrous is the foundation of all wit, but it may influence the mind in two ways. It may render its possessor as indifferent to the {vi}feelings as it makes him alive to the failings of others. How often does the wit, delighting in the flash and report of his jest, forget the wound it may inflict! But, on the other hand, the shrewd appreciation of the weaknesses of others assists a kindly and well-balanced mind to avoid the infliction of pain; and the wit of Thomas Hood was of this nature. It was all the brighter because it was never stained by a tear wantonly caused. Even the temptations of practical jokingand they have a strong influence on those who enjoy the comic side of thingsnever betrayed him into any freak that could give pain. He worked away industriously with wood, paint, and glue to send his friend Franck a new and killing bait for the early springa veritable Poisson dAvril, constructed to come in half after a brief immersion, and reveal the inscription, Oh, you April Fool! He could gravely persuade his young wife, when she was first learning the mysteries of housekeeping, that she must never purchase plaice with red spots, for they were a proof that the fish were not fresh. But he was incapable of any of the cruel pleasantries for which Theodore Hook was famous: indeed, the only person he ever frightened, even, with a practical joke, was himself; when as a boy he traced with the smoke of a candle on the ceiling of a passage outside his bedroom a diabolical face, which was intended to startle his brother, but which so alarmed the artist himself, when he was going to bed forgetful of his own feat, that he ran down stairsin a panic and in his night-dressinto the presence of his fathers guests assembled in the drawing-room. He used to enjoy so heartily and chuckle so merrily over his innocent practical jokes and hoaxes (he was never more delighted than when a friend of his was completely imposed on by a sham account of a survey of the Heavens through Lord Rosses monster telescope) that the tenderness he showed for the feelings of others is more remarkable. The same forbearance characterises his writings. In spite of many and great provocations, he seldom, or never, wrote a bitter word, though that he could have been severe is amply indicated in his Ode to Rae Wilson, or still more in certain{vii} letters on Copyright and Copywrong, which he was spurred on by injustice and ill-usage to address to the Athenum. He was a Shandean, who carried out in his life as well as his writings the principles which Sterne confined to the latter. The first appearance of Thomas Hood as a comic writer was in the year 1826, when he published the First Series of Whims and Oddities. The critics in many instances took offence at his puns, as might have been expected, for his style was new and startling. His book was full of word-play, and it is easy to conceiveas he wrote in his address to the Second Editionhow gentlemen with one idea were perplexed with a double meaning. However, the public approved if the critics did not, and called for a second and soon after a third edition. Finally, after the publication of a second series, a fourth issue, containing the two series in one volume, was demanded. Come what may, said Hood, this little book will now leave four imprints behind itand a horse could do no more! ......Buy Now (To Read More)

Product details

Ebook Number: 56712
Author: Hood, Thomas
Release Date: Mar 9, 2018
Format: eBook
Language: English