Colonel Fazackerley Summary and Analysis

Colonel Fazackerley Summary

Colonel Fazackerley buys an old castle and it was sold to him without informing him of the ghost in there. On the very first day of his stay, the ghost comes to scare him away and he confronts the ghost in quite an unexpected manner.

While the colonel is enjoying a wine before his dinner, the ghost first appears out of the chimney of the house and shouts “beware!”. The colonel becomes highly amused by the sight of the ghost and instead of being scared, he appreciates his sudden and unexpected appearance in front of him. He hails his performance and gets fascinated by the looks of the ghost and asks whether he is attending a Fancy Dress Ball.

Upon hearing a frightful cry of the ghost in response to the colonel’s appreciation, he again invites the ghost to be seated with him, have a drink and explain how he manages to do those ghost tricks. This invitation seems to make him even more angry and he plays some more fearful ghost tricks to scare the colonel away.

At this, the colonel seems to be even more entertained and he cries with joy. In turn, he cordially invites the ghost to attend his house warming party in order to entertain the crowd that is expected to gather that day. This was quite unexpected and frustrating for the ghost who had high hopes about scaring the colonel away from the castle. He gives his best efforts for one last try and fills the whole castle with fearful noises. Yet, the colonel says “Encore !” and tries to encourage the ghost. Heartbroken, the ghost disappears, never to return.

Having seen that the ghost has disappeared, the colonel repents that he won’t be able to call him back since he could not ask for his name. The poem ends as he goes in to dine wearing a strange smile on his face.

Colonel Fazackerley Analysis

Colonel Fazackerley by Charles Causley is an interesting narrative poem which brings forth a humorous story carrying a universal message.

The poem has a sequence of events nicely depicted as scenes from a drama. The first stanza sets the scene and provides the background information as to how the protagonist, the colonel, had been deceived into buying a castle which is considered haunted.

The second stanza elaborates the entrance scene of the ghost and it includes one and only utterance made by the ghost in the whole poem. Third stanza is composed of the utterances made by the colonel in response to the sudden appearance of the ghost. Similarly, the remaining stanzas bring out the actions and reactions by the ghost and the colonel respectively in a sequence.

Glamorous actions of the ghost followed by indifferent or rather unforeseen and extraordinary type of reactions by the colonel make it an entertaining poem.

Movement of Plot in the Poem Colonel Fazackerley

The poem is written in a storytelling style from a third person narrative point of view and uses humour and irony along with curiosity nicely blended.

As the plot starts moving, a ghost appears creating a frightening atmosphere until the protagonist responds to it. As the colonel utters his first few words, the frightening and threatening situation turns into a rather interesting and funny situation.

Upon the frightening appearance of the ghost, the colonel stays calm and puts down his glass to respond to the ghost in a relaxed and cheerful manner. The daring behaviour of the colonel is very much entertaining and amusing.

The behaviour of the protagonist of this narrative poem is quite contrary to the behaviour that one would expect from an ordinary person. His interesting responses to the spetre gradually increases curiosity in the reader as the plot moves on.

Calm and cool behaviour of the colonel which is portrayed through the careful choice of words in the poem is very effective.

However much effort the ghost puts in, it results in a higher level of indifference or cheerfulness in the colonel.

As a result, the ghost compels to try harder until he finds all his efforts in vain.

Even if the ghost increases the level of intensity of his performance, the colonel gets impressed but not at all scared. However much he tries to create the expected outcome, he fails. Surprisingly, the readers start to pity the ghost notwithstanding the fact that it is a ghost who is meant to be scary.

His continuous attempts to instill at least a bit of fear in Colonel’s mind surprisingly create a feeling of sympathy towards the poor ghost in the mind of the reader.

The fact that the ghost has been entertaining the colonel throughout his untiring efforts to scare him is a fact that entertains the reader.

Climax of the poem Colonel Fazackerley

The climax of the poem is built creating an increasing curiosity on what outcome would bring at the end upon the cool, relaxed and confident behaviour of the colonel with increased intensity in contrast to the braveshow of the ghost which is of fading intensity along the movement of the plot.

At the climax, the ghost pitifully disappears never to return and the reader can visualize the colonel’s delightful face gleaming with amusement beneath which lies a shrewd and daring character.

The motive behind his gesture is suggestive here.

Character Development in Colonel Fazackerley

The Character of Colonel Fazackerley

According to how the character of the colonel is developed along with the plot, he is not to be treated as just another ordinary man. His responses to the septre makes him quite an extraordinary personality.

Portrayal of the character is effective since the poet has chosen a colonel who is expected to be brave. Someone being able to purchase a castle is definitely a wealthy man. His personality is built as a strong person who is willing to stay there all alone by himself while enjoying the solitude.

The Character of the Ghost

The character of the colonel is portrayed as a symbol of bravery and courage and in contrast the ghost is portrayed as a timid and weak personality.

The reactions of the ghost to the indifferent and witty behaviour of the colonel bring out the timidity and stupidity of the ghost in a gradually increasing intensity until he gives up the fight with the undefeated, strong headed colonel.

Poetic techniques in Colonel Fazackerley

Dialog Form in the Poem Colonel Fazackerley

The narration becomes more dramatic with the use of dialogues along with the movement of the plot. In Fact the plot moves with the help of the progressing dialogue. The witty and ironic dialogues increase the humor present in the poem.

Surprisingly, the conversation between the two characters progresses with a set of easy-going comments made by the colonel and the responses by the ghost which are actions made with seemingly a huge effort. The huge difference between the two characters are established with the two different levels of actions and reactions.

Humour in the Poem Colonel Fazackerley

Starting from the very first line of the poem where a colonel is referred to by an uncommon and funny name; “Butterworth Toast”, the reader is prepared for humor and entertainment.

The colonel’s friendly disposition, courtesy and the inviting tone add to the humour in the poem since they go contrary to the scene put forth by the ghost.

Towards the later part of the poem, it is quite fascinating to notice that it is not the colonel but the spectre who is surprised by the happenings and the unexpected behaviour of each other. It is humorous and entertaining to notice that the ghost’s hopes are being shattered by the relaxed but daring behaviour of the colonel.

Irony in the Poem Colonel Fazackerley

Those who sold the property to the colonel have not revealed the presence of the spectre which means they have deceived him purposefully. However,at the very beginning of the poem, this fact is mentioned with a sarcastic tone.

“A castle complete with a ghost” sounds as if there is nothing more you can ask for when you do such a transaction. The idea is extremely ironic.

The clothes of a ghost are expected to be of fearful nature that can frighten the beholder. Referring to the clothes of a ghost as a fancy dress itself is a disgrace which creates a mocking tone.

Giving compliments to someone who is trying hard to scare you is ironic and puts the other one into a shameful situation.

Imagery in the Poem Colonel Fazackerley

There is a series of imagery created one after the other throughout each stanzas as if the poem is a drama staged with a sequence of scenes.

The actions of the ghost are described in detail to create effective visual imagery.

With the shrewd utterances by the colonel and the descriptions provided regarding his behaviour helps the reader to visualize the colonel in their minds effectively.

“I imagine you're going to a Fancy Dress Ball?'”

As the colonel mentions about the “Fancy Dress Ball”, it helps the reader to visualize the humorous picture of a ghost as expected by the poet.

Apart from the dialogues and description of the actions, the poet goes a further step forward to describe the atmosphere or the vibe of the scene. One good example is the description in brackets; (As trickles of merriment ran down his cheek).

Vivid and descriptive depiction of the scenes and the characters are highly effective in bringing in a dramatic quality to the poem.

Rhymes

The poem occupies AABB rhyming pattern in all 9 stanzas which gives a continuous rhythm to the poem.

Tone

There is a mocking and ironic tone from the beginning of the poem. The character development, the dialogues, the scenes and the events equally add to the tone.

Message of the poem Colonel Fazackerley

The meaning on the surface - A brave man dives away a fierce ghost by simply taking him for an uninvited entertainer. Ghosts are mind made and can be controlled if you have a strong mind. It is a fantasy yet gives a message by indirectly laughing at the superstitious beliefs of people.

The poet would definitely want us to compare the situation with the real life experiences. Those who try to scare others and gain control over others should not be taken seriously. They get themselves to move away from others’ lives if they are not treated with special care or attention.

The poet wishes to communicate that we should take certain things lightly if we would like to get rid of unnecessary hazards in our lives. On the other hand, it is evident that friendly and vigilant behaviour can overcome ferocity. After all, the mind is prime and mind made are they.