\documentstyle[a4,epsf,epic,eepic]{report}
\title{Sweeney Todd: an analysis of the dramatic and musical structure}
\author{Iede Snoek (8721947)}
\date{\today}
\begin{document}
\maketitle
\tableofcontents
\listoffigures
\newcommand{\ST}{{\em Sweeney Todd}}
\chapter{About \ST}
\section{Introduction}
The purpose of this thesis is to answer a number of questions, the main one
being: how does {\ST}'s musical structure
relate to the structure of the plot and of the lyrics? 
Logistics restrict me analyzing the differing forms of verbal
communication, and I shall investigate how music is used as a form of
interpretation of these forms of communication. The structure of verbal
communication is a characteristic of a piece, and I believe it can also be
used to define {\em Sweeney Todd}'s genre. I can not overlook the
structure of the plot since it interrelates with the verbal
communication. I shall also discuss the characterization of the juxtaposing
dramatic figures, as portrayed through verbal and
the musical projections.

Why do I wish to answer these questions? 
Because in my opinion the music interprets the plot and the
lyrics. The analysis I present, is an interpretation of this
proposition
My analysis consists mostly of musical significations. 
I do not claim that my
interpretation is the only valid one. I will also try to shed some light on 
structural coherence.

The fact that I chose {\ST} is not a coincidence. Ever since I heard
Sondheim's {\em A Little Night Music} I was amazed by the quality of his
music and lyrics. When I heard {\ST} about two years ago and I immediately 
felt this music was more than just light entertainment, like so many other
musicals are. The coherence of its
structure and style instantly triggered my musicological instincts.
For this reason why I chose {\ST} as the object of this study.
\begin{figure}[ht]
\caption{Stephen Sondheim}
\centerline{\epsfysize=5cm\epsfbox{sondheim.ps}\hfill}
\end{figure}
\section{Methodology}
The first thing I shall do, is to make an inventarization of the differing
forms of verbal communication. I do this by using a book on the analysis of
drama by Pfister\footnote{Pfister, M {\em the Theory and analysis of drama} Cambridge
University Press Cambridge, 1991}. In this book Pfister makes a thorough
study of drama in many aspects. Unfortunately he does not include musical
theater in this otherwise comprehensive study. One of my tasks was to
investigate how music is used in the various verbal communication
structures. In the penultimate chapter I shall make analyses of some of the
more important numbers from {\ST}. In this studies I shall investigate the
relationship between the musical and the verbal communication structure.

In chapter 4 I will try to construct a working definition of drama, in
which verbal communication can take its rightful place.

In chapter 2 and 3 I will provide you with some background information
concerning the plot of the musical, the original play and the historical
truth behind this story.

Finally in the chapter 6 the whole theoretical that has been
constructed in the previous chapter is used to analyze some songs from
the show. This chapter is of course followed by a conclusion in chapter
7.

\chapter{Synopsis}
\section{Prologue}
In the prologue we see the funeral of Sweeney Todd and Mrs. Lovett. The
choir sings about their evil deeds, and Todd rises from the grave to
intensify the audience's attention.
\section{Act I}
This is the story of a barber, Benjamin Barker alias Sweeney Todd who, as the story begins, returns to London
after having been deported 19 years earlier, by an evil judge. After saying goodbye
to his companion, Anthony who had saved him from the shipwreck, encounters
Mrs. Lovett, an old acquaintance, who at first doesn't recognize him. She
tells the story of the rape of Todd's wife and the incarceration of
his daughter, Johanna. Only by Todd's reaction to this story does she recognize him, and
they both decide to avenge the judge and the beadle.

Meanwhile, while walking the streets of London, Anthony has heard
Johanna sing of her captivity and after seeing her, he falls in love. 

At the same time, Todd and Mrs. Lovett, decide to lure the judge and 
beadle into the tonsorial parlor. The only way to do that is by making
public the fact that he is the perfect barber. They find the ideal 
opportunity to accomplish this when they encounter the tooth-pulling
barber Pirelli.
In a contest of which Todd clearly is the winner, he wins the
respect of the beadle. The beadle promises to attend.

After this contest Pirelli comes to Todd's tonsorial parlor. He suddenly
recognizes Todd and threatens to blackmail him. The only thing left for Todd and Mrs. Lovett to do, if they
want to pursue their plans is to kill Pirelli which they do. His assistant,
Tobias, is left unaware of this murder, and is told that his master has
suddenly disappeared.

Johanna, increasingly restless, longs for her freedom. This doesn't go
unnoticed by the Judge who decides to marry her. Johanna shows some
reluctance when he conveys this. He tells about this recounts to
the beadle, who recommends him to have a shave. He leads the judge
to Todd's parlor. At the moment Todd is ready to cut the judge's throat,
Anthony comes barging in, shouting that Johanna will marry him. The judge
, furious, shouts that he will lock up Johanna where neither Anthony nor any
''other vile corrupting youth'' can find her, and leaves immediately.

Frustrated by this failure Todd sings the {\em Epiphany}, in which he
swears that he shall indeed get the judge, but not without practice on ''less honorable
throats''.  As Mrs. Lovett listens very patiently to this outburst, she has
another problem on her mind: how to dispose of Pirelli's body? After Todd
has finished singing, she gets a brilliant idea: why not use the 
body's to produce meat-pies? ''Business needs a lift'' as she sings
herself. They agree to combine Todd's homicidal tendencies with
Mrs. Lovett's culinary capabilities. 
\section{Act II}
The second act opens in Mrs. Lovett's pie-shop. Due to her accrued 
prosperity, she has been able to open an ''eating garden''. Tobias, who
lost his job since his master, Pirelli, has ''mysteriously'' disappeared,
has found new employment as a waiter. Upstairs in the Tonsorial Parlor Todd is
pacing restlessly. He awaits for the new disappearing chair to be delivered.
When finally delivered, he must test it, Mrs. Lovett assists him
in this.

Todd now really put his plan to work. Whenever the opportunity arises 
he slits his customers' throats. At the same time Anthony is
desperately looking for Johanna. The Beggar Woman, who seemingly to be the
only outsider aware of what is happening at the pie-shop, and who warns the
passers-by.

As they sit down, after a day's ''hard'' work, Mrs. Lovett tells Todd about
her future plans. She would like to live ''by the sea''; they get quite cozy as
Anthony comes barging in with the announcement that he has found Johanna in
Fogg's asylum.

The plan Todd conceives to rescue Johanna is quite ingenious. First of all
Anthony has to get to the asylum, pretending to be a wigmaker. In that guise
he is able to free Johanna from the madhouse. He must then
bring her back to Todd's Tonsorial Parlor. What Anthony does not know is that
Todd writes a letter in the meanwhile to the judge informing him that Johanna is safe at his
Parlor. Todd can now lure the Judge into his Parlor for a second time; 
this time he succeeds. However before he is able to do this, the Beggar
Woman enters and he murders her, as she would betray his plans and make
them go wrong. 
The bodies of the judge and the beggar woman, all go down to Mrs. Lovett's
pie-shop. As Todd enters the shop, Mrs. Lovett will not allow him to look at the
Beggar Woman. When he finally manages to look at her, he realizes that he
has
killed his own wife, the mother of Johanna. He gets mad, but realizes soon
enough that this will not help in getting on Mrs. Lovett, who never
told him that his Lucy was still alive. He then pretends that all is
forgiven and forgotten, and then pushes Mrs. Lovett into the oven, and shuts
the doors. Tobias, who finally worked out what has really been happening
the pie-shop, enters, and kills Todd himself. 
\chapter{The Historical Truth, or how a legend came to be}
\section{''Attend the tale of Sweeney Todd...''}
\subsection{The historic facts}
Most of the information in this chapter comes from Turners book on Sweeney
Todd\footnote{Turner, {\em Boys will be Boys: the story of Sweeney Todd,
Deadwood Dick, Sexton Blake, Billy Bunter et al.} 1962}. Unfortunately
Mr. Turner doesn't give much bibliographical information. Therefore all
the citations without a specific source-indication, are Turner's. 
There is some doubt about the historical truth of this story. However
there is some evidence that original Sweeney Todd originated not in
London but in Paris. We have two ''Figaro's'' to choose from. There
was on in the fourteenth century in the Rue des Marmouzets. As we
read in {\em Les Rues de Paris}(1844):
\begin{quotation}
 ''Le temps n'\'effacera pas le souvenir du patisier qui
sert encore d'\'epouvantail aux petits enfants de la Rue des
Marmouzets''
\end{quotation}
There is one better documented person, or monster here. His deeds
are recorded in Fouch\'e's {\em Archives de la Police}. He had a barber shop
in the Rue de la Harpe during the first French Revolution (1789). One
day two travellers came to his shop accompanied by a dog. While one
of these men was being shaved, the other went elsewhere to make some
inquiries. When he returned to the shop he could no longer find the other
traveler there. The barber informed the traveler that his partner paid 
and left. This sounded a little strange but even stranger was the
behavior of the dog, who still seemed to be waiting for his master to
return. The suspicions of the traveler were aroused by the dog's curious
behavior. He (the traveler) rallied a crowd and with them
assaulted the shop, now closed. When they finally managed to
enter the shop, the dog attacked the barber and almost killed him.
Then it nosed its way towards the basement and in the neighboring
basement they found the remains of the other traveler. The owner of
this basement was a pie-maker whose creations were considered the most
delicious of Paris. Then the neighbors remembered that they had
never seen meat actually going into the shop. A further search
revealed 300 skulls on the premises. For their crimes, the barber and
pie maker were executed on the rack, and the site of this horrible
crime was left vacant as a reminder of the monstrous crimes.
\subsection{How the tale was written}
\begin{figure}[ht]
\caption{{\em A String of Pearls}, from {\em People's Periodical}}
\label{spic}
\centerline{\epsfysize=10cm\epsfbox{sweeney.ps}\hfill}
\end{figure}
Newspapers and magazines on both sides of the Channel made much
of this story. It was left to Thomas Peckett Prest to revive the tale
with the locale moved to Fleet Street. Edward Lloyd published it ca.
1840 under the somewhat strange title {\em A String of Pearls (A Romance)}.

It was a well-written story. For its time and the suspense was
well-contained.
To the unsuspecting reader, confirmations of their suspicions must
have come as a complete shock. As far as we know, no-one attacked
the publishers because the story was likely to drive unbalanced
persons to practice cannibalism.

Two years later a stage version of {\ST}
by George Dibdin Pitt was produced by the Britannia Saloon in
Hoxton, Greater London. The theme was readily adaptable for the theater.
Indeed stage
carpenters over the next hundred years have been busy
manufacturing disappearing chairs.

The play became so popular that in Dickens {\em Martin Chuzzlewit},
(1843), Tom Pinch was made to express the hope
that, because he had stayed out late no-one would presume that he ''was
murdered and made into meat pies''. In 1846 the story was printed yet
again by Lloyd in {\em People's Periodical and Family Library}, a weekly
magazine that contained amongst other things, articles with titles 
{\em Confessions of a Deformed Lunatic} or {\em The Madhouse of Palermo}.

The {\em String of Pearls} set a pattern for the all the {\em Sweeney Todd}
stories yet to come. There was usually a frightened boy who
worked as an assistant. Todd used to send him out of the shop on
an errand when a likely customer would arrive. The chair was dropped
by pulling a bolt or handle in the back-room. Victims were usually
strangers to the town, wealthy people who boasted of their fortunes, sailors
back from long voyages. The owner of the pie-shop was generally a
woman and the actual pie-maker some groveling person incarcerated
in the basement. To arouse the suspicions of both reader and 
assistant a hat would be found hanging in the shop or a dog would be sitting
outside the shop, howling. A curious twist in Prest's version was that
while a
newly bereaved widow showed no instinctive dislike of a pie containing
portions of her late spouse, the dog turned 'with loathing' from the bits of pie thrown to
him.

The grim {\em double entendre}, a feature of Prest's narrative,was copied,
and not always as successfully by those who later took over the torch. The
barber would assure his customers that there was not a shop in London which
could polish off a customer as quickly as he or, he would advise a
waiting customer to go round the corner to watch the animated clock of St.
Dunstan's striking the hour 'while I finish this gentleman'. Once, he
removed himself from a tedious discussion by saying 'I have another
subject to dissect'. Not always was the double-talk a deliberate jest by
the speaker. When the boy Tobias, having newly applied for the job, was
advised not to 'repeat a word of what passes in this shop, or dare to make
any supposition, or draw any conclusion from anything you see or hear,' he
replied: ' Yes, sir, I won't say anything. I wish, sir, as I may be made
into veal pies at Lovett's in Bell Yard if I as much as says a word.' It
was not surprising that Sweeney Todd glared at him silently for a moment or two in
silence. On another occasion an apprentice eating one of Mrs. Lovett's pies
exclaimed to his friend, 'Lord bless ye, I'd eat my mother if she was a
pork chop!'.

The artist who illustrated {\em The String of Pearls} in the {\em People's
Periodical} hardly did justice to the author's description:
{\small
\begin{quotation}
The barber himself was a long low-jointed, ill-put-together sort of fellow,
with an immense mouth, and such huge hands and feet that he was, in his
way, quite a natural curiosity; and what was more wonderful considering his
trade, there never was such a head of hair as Sweeney Todd's. We know not
what to compare it to; probably it came close to what one may suppose to be
the appearance of a thick-set hedge in which a quantity of small wire had
got entangled. In truth it was a most terrific head of hair; and as Sweeney
Todd kept all his combs in it-- some people said his scissors likewise--
when he put his head out of the shop door to see what sort of weather it was
he might have been mistaken for some Indian warrior with a very remarkable
head-dress
\end{quotation}}

Later it appeared that he 'squinted a little to add to his charms,' and
his short, hyena-like laugh (described as 'cachinnatory effusion') was such
that 'people had been known to look up the ceiling, then on the floor and
all around them, to know from whence it had come, scarcely supposing it
possible that it proceeded from mortal lips.'

Prest never lost an opportunity of discoursing on the merits of Mrs.
Lovett's pies. The arrival of each fresh batch from the bake-house was the
signal for a near-riot in Bell's Yard. Lawyers and their clerks and
apprentices were her principal customers.
{\small
\begin{quotation}
And well did they deserve their reputation, those delicious pies! There was
about them a flavor never surpassed and rarely equaled; the paste was of
the most delicate construction and impregnated with the aroma of delicious
gravy that defied description. Then the small portions of meat which they
contained were so tender, and the fat and lean so artistically mixed up
that to eat one of Lovett's pies was such a provocative to eat another that
many persons who came to lunch stayed to dine, wasting more than an hour
perhaps of precious time and endangering (who knows to the contrary?) the
success of some law-suit nearby.
\end{quotation}}

Although he had been promised that his throat would be slit from ear to ear
if he did not mind his own business, the boy Tobias could not help noticing
curious incidents. It was strange that a customer should depart and forget
his hat, and not return for it. Then there was the mystery of why
the barber's chair was so securely screwed to the floor. One day Tobias broke
into Sweeney Todd's private apartments. There he found a large number of
walking-sticks, more than a hundred umbrellas, a collection of swords and
several pairs of shoes and finally, a large desk stuffed with jewellery. His
unlawful entry was detected; but instead of cutting the boy's throat, the
barber decided to have him shut away in the madhouse at Peckham Rye,
confident that if the lad began to voice his suspicions of what had been
going on in the barber's shop his statements would be accepted as proof of
his insanity.
The madhouse keeper was an understanding fellow who knew that Sweeney Todd
would not want to bear indefinitely the cost of Tobias' incarceration.
A previous lad whom Todd had committed to his care for a year  had died
conveniently at the end of the paid-up period.

Now, the author found something else on which to let his fancy roam:
{\small
\begin{quotation}

About this time and while these incidents of our most strange and eventful
narrative were taking place, the pious frequenters of old St. Dunstan's
began to perceive a strange and most abominable odor throughout the sacred
edifice.

It was in vain that old women who came to hear sermons, although they were
to deaf to catch a third part of them, brought smelling bottles and other
means of stifling their noses; still the dreadful charnel-house sort of
smell would make itself most painfully and most disagreeably apparent.
\end{quotation}
}

The beadle, whose function it was to cuff small boys who dared to look at
the bishop, began to go about with a key in one hand and a vinegar cloth in
the other, as was the fashion during the Great Plague. When the bishop
would arrive to take confirmation classes, he was so overwhelmed by the
odor,
that 'the people found themselves confirmed almost before they knew where
they were'. The bishop would then stalk out to his carriage, ignoring the cold
collation which had been set out for him (and which for once, did not
contain any of Mrs. Lovett's pies). At this stage the Church authorities
decided a little belatedly to explore their mephitic vaults so as
to trace the nuisance. It could not have been caused by the corpses in
their racks, they decided, because these had been dead too long to vex the
atmosphere.

Meanwhile an anxious pie-man was becoming dissatisfied with his situation in
Mrs. Lovett's subterranean bake-house. It seemed like a good job at first--
he was allowed to eat unlimited quantities of pies, on which he gluttoned. But he was not
permitted to leave the underground chamber. He
even had to sleep there; and as he slept, a fresh supply of meat would
arrive on the shelves at the other end of the room, ready for the next
day's baking.

This mysterious arrival of the meat puzzled the pie-man. He began to search
the far end of the vault. Lightly penciled on the wall was this disturbing
message:
{\small
\begin{quotation}
Whatever unhappy wretch reads these lines may bid adieu to the world and
all hope, for he is a doomed man! He will never emerge from these vaults
with life, for there is a secret connected with them so awful and so
hideous that to write it makes one's blood curdle and the flesh to creep
upon your bones. The secret is this-- and you may be assured whoever is
reading these lines, that I write the truth, and that it is impossible to
make the awful truth worse by exaggeration, as it would be by a candle at
midday to attempt to add any luster to the sunbeams.
\end{quotation}}

If the unknown author had thought less of his literary style and more of
his duty to society he might have been better able to get his message across. As
it was the {\em communiqu\'e} broke off at the word 'sunbeams' with an ominous
scrawl, which suggested that the author had been forcibly interrupted. While
pondering the possible implications of this warning, the pie-man noticed a
clean sheet of paper on the floor. It bore a written message:
{\small
\begin{quotation}
You are getting dissatisfied, and therefore it becomes necessary to explain
to you your real position, which is simply this: you are a prisoner and
were such from the first moment you set foot where you now are\ldots it is
sufficient to inform you that so long as you continue to make pies you will
be safe, but if you refuse, then the first time you are caught sleeping
your throat will be cut
\end{quotation}}

Then as if to drive the message right home, the trap door in the roof opened
and Sweeney Todd's evil face appeared.
{\small
\begin{quotation}
`Make pies,' advised Todd. `Eat them and be happy. How many a man would
envy your position--- withdrawn from the struggles of existence, amply
provided with board and lodging, and engaged in a pleasant and delightful
occupation; it is amazing how you can be dissatisfied.'
\end{quotation}}

But not all these warnings could keep the prisoner from trying to find out
where the supplies of meat came from. With the aid of an iron bar he forced
the hidden communicating hatch at the end of the vault and stepped through,
bearing a torch. There, he found his answer.

{\small
\begin{quotation}
With a cry of horror he fell backwards, extinguishing the torch in his
fall, and he lay for fully a quarter of an hour insensible on the floor.
What dreadful sight had he seen that so chilled his young blood and frozen up
the springs of life?
\end{quotation}}

By now, Sweeney Todd, who had spent much of his time in
slaying and dissecting in trying to sell his victims' property, had made
enough money to retire. He was preparing to poison Mrs. Lovett as
that she would be in no position to betray him. But the net was closing
in.

In reply to the notice Todd had put in his window after Tobias'
departure---`Wanted, a lad; one of strong religious preferred. Apply
within'--- he received an application from a strikingly good-looking youth,
whom he engaged. This was Johanna, the heroine of the story, who had
volunteered to play an undercover role in an endeavor to find out what had
happened to her seafaring lover, missing after a visit Sweeney Todd's. Two
gentlemen of the town had also undertaken to visit Todd's shop as
customers.

These were exciting hours for Johanna---and for the reader. One thing which
gave Johanna food for thought was that a gash in the arm of the chair
caused by here carelessness with a razor, had vanished completely only a few
minutes after her return to the shop.

The {\em d\'enouement} was as exciting as could have been hoped. One of Johanna's
gentlemen was seated in the chair, the other was concealed in the cupboard.
Johanna herself, sent on another errand, was watching obliquely through the
window. After the usual double-talk, the barber made his excuses to go to
the back shop. Smartly, and none too soon, the intended victim jumped out
of the chair. With a clank and a thud the chair, on its trap door, dropped
through the floor and a duplicate swung up in its place. The `victim' sat
down in the seat again. When Todd reappeared he went rigid with fright,
thinking that the dead man had returned to confront him. At that point he
was arrested.

The climax in Bell's Yard was equally satisfactory. A fresh batch of pies
was due up at nine o'clock.

{\small
\begin{quotation}
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine! Yes, it was nine at
last. It strikes by old St. Dunstan's Church clock, and in weaker strains
the chronometrical machine at he pie shop. echoes the sound. What
excitement there is now to get at the pies when they shall come! Mrs.
Lovett lets down the square movable platform that goes on pullies into the
cellar; some machinery which only requires a handle being turned brings up
a hundred pies on a tray. These are eagerly seized by parties who have
previously paid, and such smacking of lips ensues as was never known. Down
goes the platform for the next hundred and a gentleman says:\\
`Let me work the handle, Mrs. Lovett, if you please. It is too much for
you, I am sure'\\
`Sir, you are very kind, but I never allow anybody on this side of the
counter but my own people, sir. I can turn the handle myself,sir, if you
please, with the assistance of this girl. Keep your distance, sir. Nobody
wants your help.'

How the waggish young lawyers' clerks laughed as they smacked their lips
and sucked in all the golopshious gravy of the pies, which by-the-way
appeared to be all delicious veal that time, and Mrs. Lovett worked the
handle of the machine all the more vigorously that she was a little
angered with the officious stranger. What an unusual trouble it seemed to
be to wind up those forthcoming hundred pies! How she toiled and how the
people waited, but at length there came up the savory steam and then the
tops of the pies were visible.

They came up upon a large tray about six feet square, and at that moment
Mrs. Lovett ceased turning the handles and let a catch fall that prevented
the platform receding again, to the astonishment and terror of everyone
away flew all the pies, tray and all, and a man who was lying crouched in
an exceedingly flat state under the tray sprang to his feet.

Mrs. Lovett shrieked, as well she might, and then she stood trembling and
looking as pals as death itself. It was the young cook from the cellar who
had adopted this mode of escape.

The throng of persons in the shop looked petrified, and after Mrs. Lovett's
shriek there was an awful silence for about a minute and then the young man
who officiated as a cook spoke.

`Ladies and gentlemen, I fear that what I am going to say will spoil your
appetites; but truth is beautiful at all times, and I have to state that
Mrs. Lovett's pies are made of {\em human flesh}'

How the throng of persons recoiled--- what a roar of agony and dismay there
was! How frightfully sick about forty lawyer's clerks became all at once,
and how they spat out the gelatinous clinging portions of the rich pies
they had been devouring.
\end{quotation}}

The exclamations of the consumers, once they were able to speak, were
strangely anti-climactic, consisting of `Good-gracious!' `Oh, the pies!'
and `Confound it'

Mrs. Lovett collapses and died of the mingled effects of shock and the
poison with which Sweeney Todd had laced her brandy. The barber
himself was moved to Newgate and in due course hanged. By a happy
coincidence, the pie-man turned out to be Johanna's missing lover.

Concluded the author:

{\small
\begin{quotation}
The youths who visited Lovett's pie-shop and there luxuriated upon those
delicacies are youths no longer. Indeed the grave has closed over all but
one and he is very, very old, but even now he thinks of how many pies he
ate and how he enjoyed the flavor of the `veal' he shudders and has to
take a drop of brandy.

Beneath the old church of St. Dunstan's were found the heads and bones of
Todd's victims. As little as possible was said by the authorities about it,
but it was supposed that some hundreds of persons must have perished in the
frightful manner we have detailed.
\end{quotation}}

It is unnecessary to follow \ST\ through all the vicissitudes of penny
publications. A generation after Edward Lloyd had launched him, Charles Fox
took over and gave the barber a new run under the best-known title {\em
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street}.

{\em Sweeney Todd} also made appearances in quite unexpected quarters. In
1883, a
story entitled {\em The Link Boy of Old London} began in Fox's {\em Boy's
Standard}. After a few chapters of old-fashioned Gothic, with a highwayman
or two for good measure, the Demon Barber made his appearance. There were
certain variations. Instead of the victims falling on to their heads twenty
feet below the trap door, as in Prest's story, this author had them falling
onto iron spikes. A suspicious constable was introduced. Failing to get any
evidence on Todd, he would go round the corner to solace himself with half
a dozen pies from Mrs. Darkman. Instead of having his assistant sent off to
a madhouse, the barber knifed him in the back after a particularly crimson
battle with two customers. Wiping his hands at the end, Todd observed:
`Well, well, Mrs. Darkman can't complain of the supply to-night.'

This barber was sufficient of a sentimentalist to fall in love with the wife
of one his customers. He dispatched the husband in the usual way, but
realizing he could not marry the widow unless he had proof of her husband's
death, he forbore to have the corps made into pies and arranged for it to
be discovered mutilated in the street.

In this version, Todd was finally spotted through a constable during a fight in
his shop's cellars of his shop. Mrs. Darkman died by poison. `A good riddance of
two wretches,' said the head officer, `for there is no death devised by law
except burning which is bad enough for them.'

Not all publishers were sensationalists. The cover of Mellifont Press \ST\
(1936) was a lurid affair in color, showing a victim being dropped through
the trap door; but only in one shocked sentence near the end was there any
suggestion of dirty work below the stairs:

{\small
\begin{quotation}
It was never quite clear how Todd got rid of the bodies of his various
victims, the men whom he had murdered and robbed. There was one horrible
rumor which grew into a legend in the neighborhood that Mrs. Lovett's
pie-shop had disposed of them, but such a thing is too terrible to
contemplate.
\end{quotation}
}

\chapter{Drama}
\section{General Observations}
\subsection{What is Drama?}
If we are to study dramatic structure, a workable definition of drama is
imperative. Throughout history many
different definitions have been proposed. For most theorists the nature of
drama is identical with its function. The broadest distinction among
theorists continues to extend the gamut between pleasure and social
importance. 
pleasure serves)

Perhaps it is best to look at the some of the definitions provided by
leading theorists in the
course of history. In Aristotle's {\em Poetics} we
read for example:
\begin{quotation}
The name ''drama'' is given to such poems as those by Sophocles and
Aristophanes {\em as representing action}. If the more refined art
is the higher, and the more refined in every case is that which appeals
to the better sort of audiences, the art which imitates anything and
everything is manifestly most unrefined\footnote{Aristotle {\em
Poetics}, 107-11.}
\end{quotation}
Social value is the primary value of drama, if we are to believe Aristotle.
There are others who think along similar lines.

In 1570 Castelvetro writes:
\begin{quotation}
The function of a good poet is, through observation and insight, to
imitate the truth of the accidents of humanity's lot, leaving the
discovery of the natural and accidental things to the philosopher and
the scientist\footnote{Castelvetro {\em Theory of Poetry}, 67.}
\end{quotation}
In 1657 d'Aubignac proposed that:
\begin{quotation}
We are not... to imagine that... publick Spectacles(theatrical
performances) afford nothing but vain Splendour without any real
utility\footnote{d'Aubignac {\em The Whole Art of the Stage}, 6:7.}
\end{quotation}
And in the same period Corneille wrote:
\begin{quotation}
It is impossible to please according to the rules without at the same
time supplying utility.\footnote{Corneille {\em First Discourse}, 140}
\end{quotation}

Dryden perceived that drama, aside from its social function, has a
duty to please:
\begin{quotation}
Lisideius conceived what a play ought be: A just and lively image of
human nature representing its passions and humours, and the changes of
fortune to which it is subject; for the delight and instruction of
mankind\footnote{Dryden {\em Works} 1,2:143}
\end{quotation}

Ten years later he further stated that: \begin{quote} To instruct delightfully
is the general end of all poetry\footnote{Dryden, {\em Works} 1,2:269}
\end{quote}

In 1712 Addison complained:
\begin{quotation}
Were our plays subject to proper inspections and imitations we might not
only pass several of our vacant hours in the highest entertainment, but
should always rise from them wiser and better than we sat down to
them\footnote{Addison {\em Works} 2:184}
\end{quotation}
Schlegel, on the other hand, had a different opinion:
\begin{quotation}
Poetry taken in its widest acceptation, as the power of of creating
what is beautiful, and representing it to the eye or ear, is a universal
gift of Heaven, being shared to a certain extent even by those whom we
call barbarians and savages. Internal excellence alone is decisive, and
where this exists, we must not allow ourselves to be repelled by the
external appearance. Everything must be traced up to the root of human
nature: if it has sprung from thence, it has an undoubted value of its
own; but if, without possessing a living germ, it is more externally
attached thereto, it will never thrive nor acquire a proper
growth\footnote{Schlegel {\em Lectures} 18-19}.
\end{quotation}
Coleridge is one of the first theorists to introduce the concept of
pleasure:
\begin{quotation}
The common sense of all art consists in the excitement of emotions for
the immediate purpose of pleasure through the medium of beauty; therein
contradistinguishing poetry from science, the immediate purpose of which
is truth and possible utility\footnote{Coleridge {\em Biographia
Literaria} 2:220-21}.
\end{quotation}
While G.B. Shaw sees pleasure as the main goal of all arts:
\begin{quotation}
The worthy artist or craftsman is he who serves the physical or moral
senses and ennobled faculties into pleasurable activity\footnote{Shaw
{\em Major critical essays} 315-316}
\end{quotation}

From these citations we may conclude that the function of drama is relatively
well defined. We have yet to find an answer to the question of what
drama actually is. Maybe we can define drama by its forms. Goethe for
instance gives the following more concrete definition: \begin{quote}
{\em drama}, conversation bound up with action, even if enacted only
before the imagination\footnote{Goethe {\em Literary essays} 185}
\end{quote}
I think that that is quite a workable definition of drama. 
In this definition even
reading a play can be called drama. In my view this is somewhat
counterintuitive. What this definition doesn't include
is dance and pantomime. 

I think however that I best agree with Aristotle who expresses the following
definition of drama:
\begin{quotation}
The name of ''drama'' is given to such poems as those by Sophocles and
Aristophanes, {\em as representing action\footnote{Aristotle {\em Poetics}
107-11}}
\end{quotation}

The imitation of action is the most important aspect of drama. It is this
definition which is the most comprehensive. If it were applied to our modern time it
would include almost every form of theater. But not only theater, it would
also include movies,  televised plays and even radio-plays. 
I am fully aware of the fact that this definition is not conclusive. 

\section{Communication structures}
If we wish to get a better understanding of drama, it is perhaps perhaps
best that we take a closer look at the communication structures. The
first observation we can make is that there are two 
systems of communication: the internal and the external. 
\begin{figure}
\caption{Dramatic communication structures}
\label{normcom}
\input{diagram1.tex}
\end{figure}
The following diagram is a rough picture of the communication systems
involved in drama. We see that there are communication channels between
the different dramatic figures ${\rm P}_1, \ldots,{\rm P}_n$. The
channels form the {\em internal communication system}. Such
communication is necessary interaction between differing dramatic
figures.

As we can see from the diagram, there are also channels open between the
players and the audience. This set of channels is called {\em the
external communication system}. The need for this system is obvious.
Each exchange of signs takes place within one of these systems.

How does music fit into these structures? Music functions as a conduit for
communication. In which capacity it works it works is determined by the
function of the utterance\footnote{I shall discuss the different functions of
language in the following chapter}. 

The referential function is one of the most frequent functions of an
utterance. In this case the music is not only used by the speakers as a
means of self-reference but also as a means of reference to some other
outside object, as can be seen in figure~\ref{musref} on
page~\pageref{musref}.

The conative function is associated with the establishment of a channel of
communication. Music is used in different ways in the internal and the
external communication systems, as can be seen in figures~\ref{conmui}
and~\ref{conmue} on pages~\pageref{conmui} and~\pageref{conmue}

The expressive or emotive function is used to communicate the feelings of
one figure either to another figure or to the public. How music fits within
this kind of speech can be seen in figure~\ref{expmus} on
page~\pageref{expmus}

The phatic function is employed to keep a channel of communication open.
Music is often employed with this function and we can see how it is used in
figure~\ref{phamus} on page~\ref{phamus}\footnote{There are also the poetic
and metalingual function, but because they have no influence on the
function of music, and are related solely to language, I shall defer
discussion of them to a later chapter}

\begin{figure}[ht]
\caption{Referential function}
\label{musref}
\input{refmus.eepic}
\end{figure}

\begin{figure}[ht]
\caption{Conative function}
\label{conmui}
\input{conmui.eepic}
\end{figure}

\begin{figure}[ht]
\caption{Conative function}
\label{conmue}
\input{conmue.eepic}
\end{figure}

\begin{figure}[ht]
\caption{Expressive function}
\label{expmus}
\input{expmus.eepic}
\end{figure}

\begin{figure}[ht]
\caption{Phatic function}
\label{phamus}
\input{phamui.eepic}
\end{figure}

From this diagrams we can see that normally the {\em dramatis
figur{\ae}} are not aware that they are singing. As music is used only to
inform the audience of certain things, it is therefore an excellent
example of what are called {\em epic communication structures}.
\subsection{Epic communication structures}
It sometimes happens that the distinction between the internal and
external communication system is not so strictly observed. It can occur
that one of the dramatic figures addresses the audience directly,
thereby violating this distinction. In this case we speak of {\em epic
communication} as opposed to {\em dramatic communication}. The figure
who performs such an action becomes detached from the dramatic
situation in which he is placed. A good example of such a figure is that
of the narrator. The
choruses in the classical Greek tragedies fall into the same category.
They are not part of the actual dramatic configuration, but comment on it
or give us background information on it.
\begin{figure}
\caption{Epic communication structure}
\input{epiccom.tex}
\end{figure}
\subsection{Perspective}
When one discusses communication structures, the question of 
awareness of the different participants is
almost invariably raised. The form, (i.e. the number of channels
and the figures they connect), as well as the information passed on over
the channels, are all factors the level of awareness of any participant
in the dramatic communication system. This level of awareness is one
of the factors which determines the perspective a participant has, at any
given moment.

The question of perspective, although seemingly trivial at first, is
actually quite relevant. Most actions can only be explained if we know a figure's
perspective at the time of the action. It is also worth noting that a
figure's perspective changes in the course of the play, although certain things maybe
hidden from his awareness until the very end of the dramatic discourse . An example of the change of
perspective is the discovery by Mrs. Lovett that the stranger she is
talking to, is indeed Benjamin Barker, the barber she secretly used to fancy
before he was deported. That simple fact changes her perspective
considerably. Instead of finding herself talking to a stranger, she
finds herself entertaining an old friend. Her change of perspective is
reflected through the music: from a casual and rather loud tone in {\em Poor
Thing} and {\em The Worst Pies in London} to a conspiratorial one in {\em My Friends}. It is, however, not
only Mrs. Lovett's perspective which changes. When Todd learns that his
wife is dead, or at least assumes as much, this change in
perspective, (i.e. his awareness), he becomes very vindictive. This
vindictiveness is one of the central issue of the play.

A further example of
this is evidenced in that had Todd known that the
Beggar Woman was Lucy, his wife, he would not have killed her. Because of this simple
fact, Todd considered the Beggar Woman just another mumbling hag, and
had therefore no conscientious objections to disposing of her. The fact that
the Beggar Woman was Lucy comes as a shock for the audience as well. It
is here that one must further note: the audience has its own perspective as
well. The withholding of important information itself creates
suspense.

The description of the perspective structure is very important so as to
understand the entire dramatic structure. How can music be
integrated in this description of this structure? We have established in
the previous chapter that music is a part of the {\em external
communication system}. One can argue that it plays the same role as the
mediator in an {\em epic communication structure}. 
Therefore, when well used, it can increase the
awareness of the audience, and thereby changing its perspective. There
is one restriction: because music has no direct referentiality, the amount of
extra knowledge as it's conveyed by the music, will be less than optimal. That is less than when a
narrator has provided them verbal information. 
An example of this can be found in {\em My Friends}. If we 
examine the music we see that the beginning of the song is 
is the inversion of the {\em Dies ir{\ae}}
sequence. This makes the audience aware that the song concerns 
judgment, and possibly revenge, through words however are never mentioned
in the actual song. The atmosphere of judgment is heightened by the
fact that there is a {\em Nemesis}-motive in the accompaniment. And so, the
audience is informed that the day of judgment is near, and that those who did
wrong will perish. In the same song, we hear Mrs. Lovett air her
affection for Sweeney by the use of the seduction motive.

A thriller normally is based on a discrepancy between the awareness of
the audience, the author and the main dramatic figures. This discrepancy
is one of the factors upon which the suspense is built and heightened. 

What kind of of perspective structures are there? Pfister lists
three types of perspective structures are described: a-perspective,
closed, and open.

In an a-perspectival structure all the dramatic figures share the same
perspective; therefore, the audience, almost automatically, also shares
this perspective.

In a closed perspectival structure there are different
figure-perspectives, but the relationships between these are made so
clear that, in reality, there is only one audience-perspective. 

In an open perspectival structure there also different
figure-perspectives but the relationship between these is left unclear.
Therefore, there are additional audience-perspectives.

\begin{figure}
\caption{Perspectival structures}
\begin{tabular}{||l|l|l|l||}\hline\hline
 & a-perspectival & open & closed \\ \hline
Internal communication system & monoperspectivity & polyperspectivity &
polyperspectivity \\ \hline
External communication system & monoperspectivity & monoperspectivity &
polyperspectivity \\ \hline\hline
\end{tabular}
\end{figure}

From what kind of perspective is {\ST} written? To determine that, we
must 
determine the kind of perspectivity which governs the internal
communication system. It is very clear that the dramatic figures do not
share one and the same perspective. So {\ST}'s perspective is either
open or closed depending upon the perspectivity in the external
communication system. Is there one audience-perspective? I think there
is. The public is lead to the belief that what Sweeney did was wrong;
and these opinions are guided in a clear way for instance in the {\em
Ballad of Sweeney Todd}:
\begin{quotation}
To seek revenge may lead to hell,\\
But everyone does it, as seldom as well.
\end{quotation}
This is from the last ballad. But even from the very beginning our
perspectives are guided:
\begin{quotation}
Attend the tale of Sweeney Todd\\
He served a dark and a vengeful god
\end{quotation}
Even the title of the play is an indication of this {\em Sweeney Todd:
The Demon Barber of Fleet Street}. The deeds of the Judge and the Beadle
are never justified. Because there is only one audience
perspective we can state that {\ST} has a closed perspectival structure.

Looking at different figure-perspectives, we can observe that there is a
hierarchy among them. Todd's perspective is the greatest since he knows
almost everything that has happened in the past and that is happening in the
present. Less aware is Mrs. Lovett, who is not as concerned
with the events that brought Todd to bring revenge upon his old enemies
but more to keep the pie-shop running at any cost. 
A third and lower level of awareness  is that of Anthony and Johanna, and the Judge
and the Beadle: Anthony and Johanna know nothing of Todd's evil plans
and Johanna probably does not even know she is Todd's daughter. All
the other figures form the lowest level in this hierarchy.
\input{DIALOG2.TEX}
\input{STRUC4.TEX}
\input{CONC.TEX}  
\appendix
\chapter{Bibliography and Sources Used}

The basis for this thesis is formed, of course, by the vocal score:\medskip
Sondheim, Stephen {\em Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street}
Revelation Music Publishing Corp. \& Rilting Music, Inc. New York, 1979\\

Then there are two other books of which I have learned much
useful information:\medskip
Banfield, Stephen {\em Sondheim's Broadway Musicals} University of Michigan
Press, 1993\\
Pfister, Manfred {\em The Theory and Analysis of Drama} Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 1991\\

Most of the quotations from the older theorists were obtained from this book:\medskip
Brownstein, O.L, and Daubert, D.M {\em Analytical Sourcebook of Concepts in
Dramatic Theory} Westport, Connecticut, London: Greenwich Press, 1981\\

Additionally the following sources must find their place here:\medskip
Aristotle {\em Poetics: The Argument} Gerald F. Else, transl.
Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1957.\\
d'Aubignac, F.H. {\em The Whole Art of the Stage} London: William Cademan,
1684.\\
Banfield, Stephen {\em Sondheim's Broadway Musicals} University of Michigan
Press, 1993.\\
Brecht, B. ``A Little Organum for the Theater.'' Beatrice
Gottlieb, transl. {\em Accent} 11, no. I/Winter 1951: 13-40.\\
Brownstein, O.L, and Daubert, D.M {\em Analytical Sourcebook of Concepts in
Dramatic Theory} Westport, Connecticut, London: Greenwich Press, 1981.\\
B\"uchner, G. {\em Woyzeck} J. MacKendrick, transl. London, 1979.\\
Charlton, H.B. {\em Castelvetro's Theory of Poetry} Manchester University
Press, 1913.\\
Coenen, H.G. {\em Elemente der Racineschen Dialogtechnik} M\"unster, 1961.\\
Coleridge, S.T. {\em Biographia Literaria} J. Shawcross, ed. 2 vols.
London: Oxford University Press, 1907.\\
Corneille, P. ``First Discourse on the Uses and Elements of Dramatic
Poetry'' B.S. MacClintock, transl. in {\em European Theories of the
Drama} Barrett H. Clark, ed. Cincinnati: Stewart and Kidd, 1918.\\
Diderot, D. ``On Dramatic Poetry'' Barrett H. Clark, transl. in {\em
European Theories of the Drama} Barrett H. Clark, ed. New York: D.
Appleton and Co., 1918.\\ 
Dryden, J. {\em The Critical and Miscellaneous Prose Works of John Dryden}
Edmund Malone, ed. 3 vols. London: H. Baldwin and Son, 1800.\\
Goethe, J.W. von {\em Goethe's Literary Essays} J.E. Springarn, ed.
New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1921.\\
H\"ubler, A. {\em Drama in der Vermittlung von Handlung, Sprache und Szene}
Bonn, 1973.\\
Gonick, L. {\em Neo-Babelonia, A Serious Study in Contemporary Confusion}
Utrecht: Veen, 1989.\\
Hegel, G.W.F {\em The Philosophy of Fine Art} F.P.B. Osmaston, transl.
London: G. Bell and Sons, 1920.\\
Hirsch, F. {\em Harold Prince and the American Musical Theatre} Cambridge
(Mass.), 1989.\\
Kennedy, A.K. {\em Six Dramatists in Search of a Language. Studies in
Dramatic Language} Cambridge, Ma 1975\\
Muka\v{r}ovsk\'y, J. {\em The Word and Verbal Art. Selected Essays}
J. Burbank and P. Steiner, transl. and ed. New Haven and London, 1977.\\
Pfister, Manfred {\em The Theory and Analysis of Drama} Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 1991.\\
Salzer, F. {\em Strukturelles H\"oren}, Wilhelmshaven: Otto Heinrich
Noetzel Verlag, 1960.\\
Schlegel, A.W. von {\em Course of Lectures on Dramatic Art and Literature}
John Black, transl. London: Henry G. Bohn, 1846.\\
Shaw, G.B. {\em Geneva, Cymbeline Refinished, and Good King Charles} New
York: Dodd, Mead and Co. 1947.\\
Shaw, G.B. {\em Major Critical Essays. The Quintessence of Ibsenism. The
Perfect Wagnerite. The Sanity of Art} London: Constable, 1932.\\
Sondheim, S. ``Larger than Life: Reflections on Melodrama and Sweeney
Todd'' in {\em Melodrama} D. Gerald, ed.  p. 3-14, New York Literary
Forum, 1980.\\
Sondheim, Stephen {\em Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street}
Revelation Music Publishing Corp. \& Rilting Music, inc. New York 1979.\\
Strindberg, A. {\em Miss Julia} in: {\em Eight Best Plays} 
E. Bj\"orkman and N. Erichsen, transl. reissue London, 1979.\\
Turner, E.S. {\em Boys will be Boys: The Story of Sweeney Todd, Deadwood
Dick, Sexton Blake, Billy Bunter et al.} Castle Hedingham, Essex: Daimon
Press, 1962.\\
Wright, E. {\em Feminism and Psychoanalysis. A Critical Dictionary}
Cambridge (Mass.): Basil Blackwell, 1992.\\
Zadan, C. {\em Sondheim \& Co.} New York, 1990\\
\chapter{An overview of the musical numbers}

\begin{tabular}{|l|l|l|}\hline\hline\\
{\sc Number} & {\sc Title} & {\sc Singers} \\ \hline
- & Prelude & Organ \\ \hline 1 & Prologue: the ballad of Sweeney Todd & Todd, Company \\ \hline 
\multicolumn{3}{c}{Act I} \\ \hline
2 \& 2A & No place like London & Anthony, Todd, Beggar Woman\\ \hline
2B & Transition music & Instrumental \\ \hline
3 & The worst pies in London & Mrs. Lovett \\ \hline
4 & Poor Thing & Mrs. Lovett \\ \hline
5 & My Friends & Todd, Mrs. Lovett, (Company) \\ \hline
6 & Green Finch and Linnet Bird & Johanna \\ \hline
7 & Ah, miss & Anthony, Johanna, Beggar Woman \\ \hline
8 & Johanna (part I) & Anthony \\ \hline
8A & Johanna (part II) & Anthony \\ \hline
9 & Pirelli's miracle elixir & Tobias, crowd, Todd, Mrs. Lovett \\ \hline
9A & Pirelli's entrance & Pirelli \\ \hline
10 & The contest (part I) & Pirelli \\ \hline
10A & The contest (part II) & Pirelli, Tobias \\ \hline
10B & The ballad of Sweeney Todd & Members of the company \\ \hline
12 & Wait & Mrs. Lovett, Beggar woman \\ \hline
12A & Pirelli's Death & Pirelli \\ \hline
12B & Pirelli Death underscore & Instrumental \\ \hline
12C & The Ballad of Sweeney Todd & Three tenors \\ \hline
12D & Underscore & Instrumental \\ \hline
13 & Kiss me (Part I) & Johanna, Anthony \\ \hline
14 & Ladies in thier sensitivities \\ \hline
15 & Kiss me (part II) & Johanna, Anthony \\ \hline
15A & Underscore & Instrumental \\ \hline
16 & Pretty Women (part I) & Judge, Anthony \\ \hline
16A & Pretty Women (part II) & Todd, Judge, Anthony \\ \hline
17 & Epiphany & Todd, Mrs. Lovett \\ \hline
18 & A Little Priest & Mrs. Lovett, Todd \\ \hline
\end{tabular}

\begin{tabular}{|l|l|l|}\hline\hline\\
{\sc Number} & {\sc Title} & {\sc Singers} \\ \hline
19 & God, that's good! & Tobias, Mrs. Lovett, Todd, Company \\ \hline
20 & Johanna--act II sequence & Anthony, Todd, Johanna, Beggar Woman \\
\hline
20A & After Johanna-act II sequence & Instrumental \\ \hline
21 & By the sea (part I) & Mrs. Lovett, Todd \\ \hline
21A & By the sea (part II) & Mrs. Lovett \\ \hline
22 & Wigmaker sequence & Todd, Anthony, Quintet \\ \hline
22A & The letter & Quintet \\ \hline
22B & After letter (Underscore) & Instrumental \\ \hline
23 & Not while I'm around & Tobias, Mrs. Lovett \\ \hline
23A & After ''Not while I'm around'' & Instrumental \\ \hline
24 & Parlor songs (part I) & Beadle \\ \hline
24A & Parlor songs (part II) & Beadle, Mrs. Lovett, Tobias \\ \hline
24B & Parlor songs (part III) & Mrs. Lovett \\ \hline
25 & Fogg's asylum & Company \\ \hline
25A & Fogg's passacaglia & Company \\ \hline
26 & City on fire & Lunatics, Johanna \\ \hline
27 & Searching (part I) & Mrs. Lovett, Todd, Beggar Woman \\ \hline
27A & Searching (part II) & Anthony, Johanna, Beggar Woman \\ \hline
28 & The Judge's return & Todd, Judge \\ \hline
29 & Final scene (part I) & Todd, Mrs. Lovett \\ \hline
29A & Final scene (part II) & Todd \\ \hline
29B & The ballad of Sweeney Todd & Company \\ \hline
\multicolumn{3}{c}{Appendix} \\ \hline
11 & Johanna & Judge Turpin \\ \hline\hline
\end{tabular}
\chapter{Sweeney Todd the Barber}
\begin{verse}
In Fleet Street, that's in London Town\\
When King Charlie wore the crown,\\
There lived a man of great renown\\
'Twas Sweeney Todd the Barber.\\
\medskip
One shave from him and you'd want no more,\\
You'd feel his razor sharp,\\
Then tumble, wallop!, through the floor\\
And wake up playing a harp, and singing . . .\\
\medskip
Sweeney Todd the Barber, by God he were better than the play,\\
Sweeney Todd the Barber, "I'll polish 'em off" he used to say.\\
His clients through the floor would slope\\
But he had no fear of the hangman's rope\\
"Dead men can't talk with their mouths full of soap,"\\
Said Sweeney Todd the Barber.\\
\medskip
Now underneath the shop, it's true\\
Where the bodies tumble through,\\
There lived a little widow, who\\
Loved Sweeney Todd the Barber.\\
\medskip 
She made her living by selling pies,\\
Her meat pies were a treat,\\
Chock full of meat and such a size\\
For she was getting the meat from mister\\
\medskip
Sweeney Todd the Barber, by God he were better than the play,\\
Sweeney Todd the Barber, "I'll polish 'em off" he used to say.\\
For many a poor orphan lad\\
The first square meal he ever had\\
Was a hot meat pie made out of his dad\\
From Sweeney Todd the Barber\\
(spoken)\\
\medskip 
It was Saturday night in Old Sweeney Todd's shop\\
And the customers sat in a row.\\
While behind a screen Sweeney shaved some poor mug\\
And his sweetheart made pies down below.\\
\medskip
Though none were aware, it were "cut prices" there,\\
They were rolling up in twos and threes,\\
And his foot got quite sore pressing knob on the floor\\
And his voice went from saying "Next please!"\\
\medskip
Well in came a swell and he asked Sweeney Todd\\
"Just a shave and a perfumed shampoo,\\
For I've just got engaged."  Sweeney just pressed the knob and\\
said,\\
"There, now it's all fallen through."\\
\medskip 
Well a book-maker sat with his mouthful of soap, said,\\
"They're all backing favourites today,\\
So I 'spect I'll go down," Sweeney said, "Yes you will,"\\
And he did, he went down straight away.\\
\medskip 
But what rotten luck, the darn trap went and stuck\\
For the hinge he'd forgotten to grease,\\
And a customer started calling out "Police!"\\
Just as Sweeney was shouting, "Next please!"\\
\medskip 
Yes, he ran to the door and he shouted out "Police!"\\
He shouted out "Police!", nine times or ten\\
But no policeman came, it wasn't no wonder\\
Police weren't invented by then.\\
\medskip 
But up came the bold Bow Street Runners (Hurrah!)\\
And he had to let many a pie burn\\
And they dragged him to Quad, and next day Sweeney Todd\\
Was condemned to be switched off at Tyburn.\\
\medskip 
And there on the gibbet he hangs in his chains\\
And they do say a little black crow\\
Made a sweet little nest in old Sweeney Todd's whiskers\\
And he sang as he swang to and fro . . .\\
\medskip 
(sung)\\
\medskip 
Sweeney Todd the Barber, by God he were better than the play,\\
Sweeney Todd the Barber, they buried him underneath the clay\\
And Old Nick calls him from his grave shouting,\\
"Wake up, Sweeney, I need a shave,\\
And Mrs Nick wants a permanent wave from Sweeney Todd the Barber."\\
\end{verse}
It can be argued that George Dibdin Pitt's "domestic drama",
{\em Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street} (1842), was the
first true crime play.  Critics have speculated, without success,
as to the historical characters upon which the hero and heroine
were based.  Stanley Holloway credits R.P.Weston, a prolific
writer for the Halls, with the creation of this cante-fabel which
pokes fun at the melodrama which was so terrifying to Victorians.
Recorded on {\em 'Ere's Olloway}, Columbia Records, 1956 and on {\em An
Evening At The English Music Hall}, Front Hall records FHR-030,
1984.
\end{document}
