How to Write Humorously - Learning From Charles Dickens

">of blood spilled on the street of Paris, every drop
In 'A Tale Of Two Cities', Dickens had distributedof the sweat fallen on the farms of feudal
the humour among various pockets: the way heFrance, melted into each other and became the
described the characters, the manners that theblade of the Guillotine. And then everything flew
lords of the land followed in France, and thefrom the power of that Guillotine. Dickens picked
narrative technique in which he had no competitor.up that theme; honoured it in its right perspective;
While describing the human tragedies and follies ofand dealt with it with his masterly skill. 
common men, he had endeavoured to infuseWhile reading Dickens, humour would not fail in
funniness through the comedy of manners. But hehelping our strains to disappear. It would make our
had not tried to soften the bitterness of truthmind lighter. Had Dickens not been a writer and
that the ongoing revolution was supposed tothe humorist as he was, he would have become a
hold. social activist. Such were the subjects he chose
Charles Dickens had courage to be an innovator.for his writings. 'A Tale of Two Cities', a novel
Standing against all the contemporary writers, hethat runs overloaded with the hard facts of an
had chosen the subject like poverty in 'Oliverongoing revolution, it contains salient stock of wits
Twist'.  He obeyed his inner voice-his sincereand irony. Though the thematic compulsions
service to the world in he lived.  Again, even ifrestrained Dickens to become outright humorist;
being the writer of neat fiction, he chose historyhe fully counterbalanced it while caricaturing some
as background for his novel 'A Tale of Twoof the characters.  
Cities'. The writer of 'Domby and Sons' and 'MartinIf we look at the novel from a different angle,
Chuzzlewit' preferred to narrate rigid truth of thethen a war or a revolution is the greatest satire
history without reservations, without makingitself. The mankind has never learnt a lesson from
compromises. And the result is before our eyes.the past. We go on slaughtering each other
He chose theme of history because it containedwithout realising the futility of our actions. Perhaps
the hardest challenges the people had faced; hethat was the biggest message this novel should
chose it because the larger portion of the peoplehave delivered.   'A Tale of Two Cities' is the
had at last responded to the wildest behaviourmasterpiece novel.
shown to them throughout the years. Every drop