Writing Styles- Academic Post

It is said that the story of Dick Whittington and his Cat is one of a factual nature, rather than of fiction, meaning that it is quite different to those often used as the basic storyline for traditional pantomimes across the country which are commonly based on ‘fairytales.’ I would like to discuss whether this makes Dick Whittington a more or less appealing pantomime for those audiences and why it is still relevant in today’s society.

“The real Richard Whittington was born around 1350 and he was the third son of Sir William Whittington of Pauntley, which was a small village in Gloucestershire. His father unfortunately fell foul of the law before his death and only his first son managed to inherit a small profit. As the third son, Richard inherited nothing. He took note of the rumours that in London the streets were paved with gold, so he decided to go and see for himself”

John Good, (2009) From Rags to Riches, The Real Dick Whittington

Whittington arriving in London is where the modern day pantomime most commonly begins. We hear nothing of his family or any inheritance but only of his desire to find the city with streets of gold. Dick finds on his arrival to London that these rumours are false for, during medieval times, when the real Dick Whittington lived this was simply a metaphor for the riches that could be found in such a city:

“Throughout the period London was populated largely by immigrants; the possibility of accumulating riches added to London's natural attraction as a centre of trade and industry, and many younger sons with no hope of inheritance were drawn to the capital, where they believed the streets were "paved with gold".”

2004, ‘Local Legends’ BBC Legacies(Online) February, Available: http://www.bbc.co.uk/legacies/myths_legends/

After discovering there were no streets of gold, the real Dick Whittington was one of a success story, and became a rich mercer in London, dealing in rich cloths. His customers were very high profile, and even included royalty of the time. Being such a wealthy man, he often loaned money to the crown, building a high profile with important people. Whittington was elected Mayor of London due to these relations. He was also elected Mayor on three more occasions after this, making him a very influential figure and four times Mayor of London.

In the modern day pantomime, Dick does become Lord Mayor of London, only three times instead of four as mentioned in the traditional rhyme below:

“Turn again, Whittington,
Once Lord Mayor of London!
Turn again, Whittington,
Twice Lord Mayor of London!
Turn again, Whittington,
Thrice Lord Mayor of London!”

2009 ‘Dick Whittington-Stage Character,’ Wikipedia (Online) 1 December Available from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dick_Whittington

As you can see, the pantomime version of Dick Whittington is only loosely based on the factual life of the real Richard Whittington. Today many people who go to watch the pantomime will never have heard of Richard Whittington, but even if the facts have been altered or exaggerated in some way over time, all this has done is highlight the main theme of his story which is the thought that people can go to London to seek their fortune. This is the part of his legend that has enduring appeal in today’s society. Many people migrate to the city in search of fame and fortune, so however removed from the historical reality the pantomime may be- we as an audience all share the dream of making it big in the city just as he did.