Two prize poems, in imitation of English Bards and Scotch Reviewers were printed in The World, April 14, 1880. The subject chosen was Electioneering Speeches, the poems were therefore of merely passing interest.
In 1834 a small sixpenny pamphlet was published by Chalmers and Son, of Edinburgh, entitled Lays of Straiton House. It contained several poems, written in imitation of Lord Byron, Thomas Moore, and of a few popular songs. These were descriptive of the Caledonian Bazaar and its contents were of local interest only, and are now quite out of date.
Abel: written, but with great humility, in reply to Lord Byron’s Cain. By Owen Howell. London: John Mardon, 1843; pp. 22.
“The object of Lord Byron in his drama ‘Cain,’ was to embody all the emotions of Despair as they act upon the human mind; in the present poem (if it deserves the name) the author has endeavoured to personify Hope, and to bring together as many pleasing expectations as possible.”
Cain: A Poem, intended to be published in Parts, containing an Antidote to the Impiety and Blasphemy of Lord Byron’s Cain. By Henry Wilkinson, Stone-gate, York. London: Baldwin, Cradock and Joy. 1824. pp. 97.
(A short poem, with voluminous notes, violently abusive of Lord Byron’s poem, and his theological views.)
Several of Lord Byron’s poems have been produced upon the stage, the most notable examples being Manfred, brought out at Drury Lane Theatre some years since, with grand scenic effects; and Mazeppa, at Astley’s Theatre, with Ada Isaacs Menken in the title rôle. Mazeppa has, however, long been quite a stock piece with Circus proprietors, and as far back as December 27, 1858, a burlesque of it (written by the late Henry James Byron) was produced at the Olympic Theatre, with F. Robson, H. Wigan, Miss Wyndham, and Mrs. Emden in the caste, which had a long and successful run.
The late Mr. Gilbert Abbot a’Beckett wrote a burlesque, entitled Man-Fred in 1828; and Mr. H. Such Granville wrote “Sardanapolus, or The Light of other Days, an original Ninevitish Burlesque,” which was first performed at St. George’s Hall, on December 23, 1868, when the author performed the part of Zarina.
“The Bride of Abydos; or, The Prince, the Pirate, and the Pearl” was the title of another Burlesque, written by the late Henry James Byron,[116] and produced at the Strand Theatre, with a strong caste, including Mr. H. J. Turner, Miss M. Oliver, and Miss Swanborough.
As a rule these burlesques merely give a ludicrous turn to the plot of the original poems, and contain little which could be quoted as interesting parodies.