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UNIVERSITY OF KASHMIR
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH

ASSIGNMENT

TOPIC: - HENRY FIELDING’S JOSEPH ANDREWS AS

“A COMIC EPIC POEM IN PROSE”

PAPER: NOVEL 1 UNIT: I COURSE CODE: Eng-02-CR

SUBMITTED BY:

NAME: BASHIR AHMAD SHAH

ENROLLMENT NUMBER: 19014117022

COURSE: MAGE

SEMESTER: I

SESSION: 2019

SUBMITTED TO: Ms Mehvish: E-mail: [email protected]

DATE: 24th June 2020

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CONTENTS PAGE

NO.

Introduction 03

Henry Fielding 03

Joseph Andrews 04

Joseph Andrews as a comic epic in prose 05

Some elements 06

Conclusion 10

References 11
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Introduction:
The eighteenth century- In the words of Mathew Arnold, “our excellent
and indispensable eighteenth century”- is known in the history of English
literature particularly for the birth and development of the novel. In this
century the novel threw into insignificance all other literary forms and
became the dominant form to continue as such for hundreds or years. The
pioneers of the novel were Richardson, Fielding, Smollett, and Sterne. The
work of this foursome is of monumental significance, particularly because
they were not only our first but also some of our best.

Henry Fielding (1707-1754):

Fielding, in the words of Hudson, “was a man of very different type. His was
a virile, vigorous, and somewhat coarse nature, and his knowledge of life as
wide as Richardson’s was narrow, including in particular many aspects of it
from which the prim little printer would have recoiled shocked. There was
thus a strength and breadth in his work for which we look in vain in that of
his elder contemporary. Richardson’s judgment of Fielding-that his writings
were ‘wretchedly low and dirty’-clearly suggests the fundamental contrast
between the two men.”

It is to the credit of Fielding that unlike Richardson and most of his own
successors, at least in Tom Jones, he provided a glowing model of a well-
constructed plot. According to Colridge, Tom Jones (with Sophocles’
Oedipus the King and Ben Jonson’s The Alchemist) is one of the three
works in world literature which have perfectly constructed plots.

Fielding’s novels are characterized by fresh and realistic moral approach

which admits occasionally of animalism and ribaldry, a searching realism,
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good-humoured social satire, and healthy sentiment. According to Wilbur L.

Cross, Richardson “was a sentimentalist, creating pathetic scenes for their
own sake and degrading tears and hysterics into manner.”

“Joseph Andrews” (1742):

It is Fielding’s first novel. It is a classical example of a literary work
which started as a parody and ended as an excellent work of art in its own
right. The work Fielding intended to parody was Richardson’s first novel
Pamela or Virtue Rewarded which had taken England by storm in the years
following 1740 when it was first published. Richardson’s smug and
prudential morality and his niminy piminy sentimentalism were Fielding’s
target. Richardson in his novel had shown how a rustic lady’s maid
(Pamela) wins a dissolute noble for her husband by her rather calculated
and discreet virtue. In his novel Fielding intended in the beginning to show
how Lady Booby (aunt of “Lord B.” in Richardson’s novel) attempts the
virginity of Joseph Andrews, described as the virtuous Pamela’s brother but
in the end discovered to be different. The whole intention was comic. But
after Chapter IX Joseph Andrews sees to break away completely from the
original intention. Parson Adams, who has no counterpart in Pamela, runs
away with the novel. He, according to Louis I. Bredvold, “is one of the most
living, lovable, comical bundles of wisdom and simplicity in all literature.” In
the words of Edmund Gross, “Parson Abraham Adams, alone, would be a
contribution to English letters.” He indeed is the hero of the novel, and not
Joseph Andrews. Fielding was aware of giving a new literary form with
Joseph Andrews which he called “a comic epic poem in prose.”
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JOSEPH ANDREWS, “AS A COMIC EPIC POEM IN PROSE”:

Brief Overview:

Henry Fielding in the introduction to “Joseph Andrews” states his subject,

scope and aim, for which he introduced a new genre “comic Romance, in
his words is a comic Epic Poem in Prose.”In the starting lines of the
Prologue, Fielding gives a clear description of the kind of “Romance” he
was going to set in Joseph Andrews. Fielding says;

. . . The mere English Reader may have a different Idea of Romance . . .

and may expect a kind of Entertainment, not to be found, nor which was
even intended. . . . It may not be improper to premise a few Words
concerning this kind of Writing, Which I do not remember to have seen
hitherto attempted in our Langrage.”

In the above lines it is quite evident that the author is aiming to set a new
kind of writing in this work, therefore it was important to define and
demonstrate some lines in its preface in order to make readers understand
his new literary genre. Fielding himself clearly describes that, “I do not
remember to have seen hitherto attempted in our language.” He also
makes it clear that the kind of genre he was going to use, in order to
understand that clearly it is of very much importance to describe its aim,
subject and style for which he states, “. . . it may not be improper to premise
a few words concerning this kind of Writing. . . .”

In the later lines he gives the description of The Epic and the Drama and
their division into Tragedy and Comedy, and credits Homer with, giving
their pattern. He further says that The Epic poetry may be “Tragic or Comic”
it may be likewise “either in Verse or Prose.” Later on mentions that when
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any kind of writing has all the prerequisites of an Epic poem, i.e. Fable,
Action, Characters, Sentiments, and Diction and is deficient in Metre only
critics fail to range it under any other head nor assign a name to itself, but
to him this kind of writing should be termed as an epic.

Some Elements which the author has mentioned in the Preface;

1. Comic Romance: - A comic-Epic-Poem in Prose differs from comedy

as the serious Epic from Tragedy.
2. Large Circle of Incidents.
3. Greater Variety of Characters.
4. Differs from the Serious Romance in its Fable and Action.ie. Grave
and solemn, light and ridiculous.
5. Differs in its characters. Persons of inferior rank and inferior
manners, where as grave romance sets the highest before us.
6. Sentiments and Diction. Ludicrous instead of the Sublime. In diction,
Burlesque sometimes may be admitted, whose many instances will
occur in the description of the battles. For entertainment those
parodies or burlesque imitations are chiefly calculated.

In the preface to Joseph Andrews, Fielding asserted that he was

starting with this work a new literary genre. He did not use the word “novel”
at all, but called it “a comic epic in prose.’ He examined his work in its
various relations to comedy, serious romance, and burlesque. He
contended that it contained all the important epic elements-fable, action,
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characters sentiment and diction. An epic had to be serious, and Joseph

Andrews differed from this in this respect because of the predominance in it
of comic elements. All comedy arises, in Fielding’s words, from hypocrisy
and vanity. “Vanity affects false characters in order to purchase applause;
hypocrisy endeavors to conceal vices under an appearance of their
opposite virtues in order to avoid censure.” Most of the characters in
Joseph Andrews are vain or hypocritical and hence good sources of
comedy.

Fielding works on a very crowded canvas and the variety of his

characters is, indeed, “epic.” Basically he is a realist, though here and there
he oversteps the bounds of reality and indulges in caricature. Mrs. Slipslop
and Beau Didapper are, evidently, caricatures rather than realistic portraits.
Nevertheless Joseph Andrews’ as the rest of Fielding’s novels has a
documentary value as a picture of the life and manners of the mid-
eighteenth century. Fielding’s humor is his most valuable asset as a
novelist. It sometimes becomes satiric but seldom caustic.

It is true that we can term “Joseph Andrews” as a ‘comic epic poem in

prose’ because it has almost all the prerequisites that are important for
labeling it as a ‘comic epic poem in prose’.

Fielding himself termed it as a ‘comic epic poem in prose’ in the

“Preface to Joseph Andrews”. Fielding claimed that he was founding a new
genre of writing but this was not entirely accurate. There was a long
tradition of such writing before him, though it was not completely developed
or established. According to Aristotle, Homer had produced a ‘comic epic in
verse’ but again according to Aristotle verse is not the only criterion for
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poetry. Fielding has only combined the ideal of ‘comic epic’ and the ‘prose
epic’ to produce what he termed as ‘comic epic poem in prose’.

An epic is a story of “a conspicuous man who falls from prosperity to

adversity because of his some error of judgment i.e. Hamartia. His death is,
however, not essential. But his fall arises a sense of pity and fear in us”. It
also has heroic style and bombastic language. And a comic epic is just
reverse to it in most of its prerequisites except a few.

A heroic epic has a conspicuous hero, grand theme, a continuous

action, a journey to underworld, wars, digressions, discovery, high
seriousness, a high moral lesson and bombastic diction in it and in “Joseph
Andrews” there is an ordinary hero, a journey from one place to another
place, mock-wars, digressions, discovery, humor, a high moral and a
bombastic diction in it. So, it can be termed as a ‘comic epic poem in
prose’. We can also call “Joseph Andrews” as “The Odyssey on the road”
because both the works, Homer’s “Odyssey” and Fielding’s “ Joseph
Andrews” in the first place involve a journey. Like Odysseus, Joseph
Andrews after the displeasure of a lady, who is superior from him in position
and power, sets out on his way home and meets with many misfortunes on
the way by the lady who has fallen in love with him. So it would be fairly
justified to call “Joseph Andrews” an “Odyssey on the road”. Hence it is a
‘comic epic poem in prose’ as well.

Unlike a heroic epic, the hero of “Joseph Andrews” is an ordinary boy.

He is a foot-man of Lady Booby who has fallen in love with him. But Joseph
is very innocent and virtuous. Therefore, he leaves the service of the Lady
and goes to meet his beloved Fanny. On the way he has to face many
hardships.
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Through the journey of Joseph, Fielding satirizes the society of the day
and ridicules them. The corrupt and hypocritical clergy, Parson Trilluber
and Parson Barnabas, individual like Lady Booby and Mrs. Slipslop, the
Squire of Fools and the Squire of False Promises have been satirized.

The element of wars is very important in an epic and it is no exception

in “Joseph Andrews”. We see a war took place in an inn where Joseph was
insulted by the host. Parson Adams was annoyed and challenged the host.
There started the first war between both the parties. Soon Mrs. Slipslop and
landlady also joined in the battle. There are many other epical elements in
the novel to call it a comic epic.

Another epic convention is the use of digression. There are two major
digressions in “Joseph Andrews”. There are, seemingly, irrelevant stories of
Leonora and Mr. Wilson. Epic writers considered them as embellishments.
Fielding, however, makes the interpolations thematically relevant. For,
these are not irrelevant in reality.

The formula of discovery, as described by Aristotle, an essential

element of an epic, has also been used by Fielding. In the end of the novel,
we see that Joseph is recognized to be Mr. Wilson’s child and Fanny as the
sister of virtuous Pamela.

High seriousness is an important element in epic. But in “Joseph

Andrews” there is a great deal of comedy and humor, because it is a comic
epic novel. But behind this comedy, there lies a serious purpose of
reformation. We have a gamut of vain and hypocritical characters in Parson
Trilluber, Parson Barnabas, passengers in the stage-coach, Mr. Tow-
wouse, Mrs. Slipslop, Peter Pounce and the various Squires. The surgeon
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and the lawyer and the magistrate are also some other example of
hypocrisy and vanity. Each of these characters provides a great deal of
humor and amusement under a serious purpose.

Every epic has a moral lesson in it and this is no exception with a

comic epic. Fielding’s views on morality are practical, full of common sense
and tolerance, liberal, flexible and more realistic. These are devoid of
prudish and rigid codes. Fielding wanted to tear the veil of vanity and
hypocrisy.

The use of grand, bombastic and elevated language is an important

element in an epic. It has heroic diction. But in “Joseph Andres” we see that
Fielding has used prose for poetry because it brings us close to the real
and actual life and it is much more suitable for Fielding’s purpose of dealing
with human nature. However, his use of prose is very good, up to the mark
and apt for his novel.

CONCLUSION:

So, we can conclude that the theory of the ‘comic epic poem in prose’
as described by Fielding in the preface of “Joseph Andrews” manifests itself
in the novel. Fielding has assimilate the rules and adapted them to his way
of writing so well that we are not consciously aware of the formal principles
which give unity to his materials. According to Thornburg, “Joseph
Andrews” by Fielding is;

“An art which conceals art, but is the art of a conscious artist.”
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Though the action of the novel is not as great as the action of an epic
yet it is enough to term the novel a comic epic. Joseph sets out from
London to Somersetshire to see Fanny. On the way, Joseph crosses many
roads, highways, country sides, stays at many inns and meets many
people; all this constitute a big action.

REFERENCES:

1. Joseph Andrews with Shamela and related writings: edition, Homer

Goldberg.
2. Spilka, Mark. Comic Resolution in Fielding’s Joseph Andrews.
3. Daiches, David. A Critical History of English Literature, vol. II
4. Dr. T. Singh. A History of English Literature.
5. Fielding’s Joseph Andrews : A comic epic in prose : English Studies:
vol. 52, accessed on www.tandfonline.com