A Tale of Two Cities - Charles Dickens. 1859.
...Guillotine.
In front of it, seated in chairs, as in a garden of public diversion,
are a number of women,
busily knitting...
Dickens, Charles A Tale of Two Cities (p. 233). Public Domain Books. Kindle Edition.
Therese Defarge
bold leader of the knitting sisterhood
missed the game
today
but let me begin at
the revolutionary
beginning
it was
the best of times to see
the worst of times
Madame's benefactor
(her damaged sister)
paid The Ferryman
and Madame
was able to watch the game
right from
the preliminary finals
She
was there
to muse
when Doctor Manette
emerged from his tower prison
She
was there
to plot
when spies
spied
She
was there
to grind her own axe
when the doctor's daughter
cried for her Charles Darnay
imprisoned
wrongfully
for treason
She
was there
to turn
sweetness
sour
She watched many games
and played along with them
but
She missed
the grand final
the grand moment
when Sidney Carton
idlest and most unpromising of men,
took the place of Darnay
on the scaffold
and rose to glory
She
missed
her final revenge
the switch of
fate
too busy with
her own
NOTE
Images adapted from Works of Charles Dickens. Avenel Books. 1978.
Linking to:
Imaginary Garden With Real Toads - Open Link Monday
MY GOOD READS REVIEW
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles DickensMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Many years ago, I had to read this book as a school text. I was in Year 7 at the time. I remember being mesmerised with the knitting theme (knitting round a guillotine haunted me) and totally disenchanted with Lucie Manette, the Doctor's daughter. For some reason, I thought of Shakespeare's Desdemona - syrupy and tragic, bearable but not totally warm and likeable. All these years later, and my views haven't changed, but I have noticed other features in this story. Dickens is adept at personifying the weather and the countryside. The personifications subtly add tone and mystery and depth to unfolding dramas. He shaves off a few layers of character and storyline and then moves on. So frustratingly delightful. And he is also adept at seeing beyond external characters. Sidney Carton, the ugly, insipid loser of the whole narrative, becomes a tragic hero of grand proportion. I read the whole book in two sessions over two days. It still enchants.
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11 comments:
Nice narration:) Happy holidays!
A great story always weaves into our personal narrative, and the two become something unique, not only for the moment but for the tribe. And maybe that's why remembering the old tales is so important, because we need to hear our voice mixed in the older resonance. Without having read the piece by Dickens I try to infer which is which and can't, so I conclude that what was best then is also what is best now. Happy holidays -- B
A Tale of Two Cities is my favourite Dickens' novel. I read it at the age of 14, and was blown away by the cleverness of the plot and characters. This reminds me of how and why I fell in love with literature.
Merry Christmas.
What the Dickens! A Tale of Two Cities was most known as a text in literature at school. Enjoyed the twist you took in your poem, Gemma!
Wonderful write!
Hank
This brought back memories when discovery came through great books...
haunting lines.....Merry Christmas
A very enjoyable perspective in the retelling.
Mesmerized with your retelling..so creative.
I love Dickens. I've read almost everything he's written. A great retelling of a mesmerizing story.
Knitting can do that, make you miss the best bits.
I can admire Dickens without being a fan, I think. He brought forward so much to the public view, and they needed to be brought, but I cringe at knowing. I've never understood why that is.
This is an excellent write, Gemma, and I'm always so pleased when you visit the imaginary garden.
Wishing you the very best for the coming year.
K
Oh, well done, Gemma. And cuts to the point, which Dickens paid-by-the-word novels often belabor. ~
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