--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is the custom on the stage: in all…" description: "\"“It is the custom on the stage: in all good, murderous melodramas: to present the tragic and the comic scenes, in as regular alternation, as the layers..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/45e/charles-dickens-34_comedy_it-is-the-custom-on-the-stage-in-all-goo_2629902.jpg" --- # It is the custom on the stage: in all good, murderous… ![“It is the custom on the stage: in all good, murderous melodramas: to present the tragic and the comic scenes, in as regular alternation, as the layers of red and white in a side of streaky, well-cured bacon. The hero sinks upon his straw bed, weighed down by fetters and misfortunes; and, in the…” quote by Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/45e/charles-dickens-34_comedy_it-is-the-custom-on-the-stage-in-all-goo_2629902.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/45e/charles-dickens-34_comedy_it-is-the-custom-on-the-stage-in-all-goo_2629902.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/45e/charles-dickens-34_comedy_it-is-the-custom-on-the-stage-in-all-goo_2629902.jpg) > ““It is the custom on the stage: in all good, murderous melodramas: to present the tragic and the comic scenes, in as regular alternation, as the layers of red and white in a side of streaky, well-cured bacon. The hero sinks upon his straw bed, weighed down by fetters and misfortunes; and, in the next scene, his faithful but unconscious squire regales the audience with a comic song. We behold, with throbbing bosoms, the heroine in the grasp of a proud and ruthless baron: her virtue and her life alike in danger; drawing forth a dagger to preserve the one at the cost of the other; and, just as our expectations are wrought up to the highest pitch, a whistle is heard: and we are straightway transported to the great hall of the castle: where a grey-headed seneschal sings a funny chorus with a funnier body of vassals, who are free of all sorts of places from church vaults to palaces, and roam about in company, carolling perpetually. Such changes appear absurd; but they are not so unnatural as they would seem at first sight. The transitions in real life from well-spread boards to death-beds, and from mourning weeds to holiday garments, are not a whit less startling; only, there, we are busy actors, instead of passive lookers-on; which makes a vast difference. The actors in the mimic life of the theatre, are blind to violent transitions and abrupt impulses of passion or feeling, which, presented before the eyes of mere spectators, are at once condemned as outrageous and preposterous.”” [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The passage highlights how life alternates between tragedy and comedy, mirroring theatrical structure, and how actors perceive these shifts differently from spectators. **In simple terms:** Life mixes tragedy and comedy, like a play. Key Takeaway Embrace both sorrow and humor in life. Themes theatre life cycles contrasting emotions dramatic structure human perception Mood thoughtful melancholic Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - stage performance - daily life experiences - storytelling workshops Key Concepts literature philosophy psychology Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance serious and light moments? - What can we learn from theatrical framing of life? A Different Perspective The comparison may oversimplify complex emotional experiences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Comedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comedy/) [First sight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/first-sight/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Melodrama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/melodrama/) [Melodramas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/melodramas-2116754/) [Melodramas Present](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/melodramas-present-2180631/) [Murderous Melodramas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/murderous-melodramas-2180630/) [Real life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real-life/) [Red and white](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/red-and-white/) [Stage Good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stage-good-924949/) [Theatre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theatre/) [Tragedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tragedy/) ## Related quotes > [“It is the custom on the stage in all good, murderous melodramas, to present the tragic and the comic scenes in as regular alternation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/it-is-the-custom-on-the-stage-in-all-good-murderous-melodramas-to/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [Arguments are often like melodramas - they have a predictable beginning, middle, and end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gay-hendricks/arguments-are-often-like-melodramas-they-have-a-predictable-beginning/) [Gay Hendricks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gay-hendricks/) > [In Korean films there is only really a strong tradition of melodramas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bong-joon-ho/in-korean-films-there-is-only-really-a-strong-tradition-of-melodramas/) [Bong Joon-ho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bong-joon-ho/) > [“Melodramas of moral courage provide satisfaction through the comforting fantasy that our own character would hold steady under the most extreme pressure of dreadful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-shay/melodramas-of-moral-courage-provide-satisfaction-through-the/) [Jonathan Shay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-shay/) > [ “Yes, the play of her life had begun, and whether it was to be a tragedy or a comedy who could tell?\[99\] Probably, neither;… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rhoda-broughton/yes-the-play-of-her-life-had-begun-and-whether-it-was-to-be-a-tragedy/) [Rhoda Broughton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rhoda-broughton/) > [I like soap opera acting. 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We behold, with throbbing bosoms, the heroine in the grasp of a proud and ruthless baron: her virtue and her life alike in danger; drawing forth a dagger to preserve the one at the cost of the other; and, just as our expectations are wrought up to the highest pitch, a whistle is heard: and we are straightway transported to the great hall of the castle: where a grey-headed seneschal sings a funny chorus with a funnier body of vassals, who are free of all sorts of places from church vaults to palaces, and roam about in company, carolling perpetually. Such changes appear absurd; but they are not so unnatural as they would seem at first sight. The transitions in real life from well-spread boards to death-beds, and from mourning weeds to holiday garments, are not a whit less startling; only, there, we are busy actors, instead of passive lookers-on; which makes a vast difference. 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