18 Century Writers

th

and Works
Desiree V. Rebuyas
BSED 3
HENRY FIELDING
Born: 22 April 1707 Sharpham, Somerset, England
Died: 8 October 1754 (aged 47)
Lisbon, Kingdom of Portugal

Occupation: novelist, dramatist and essayist

Education: Eton College

Period: 1728–1754
Genre: comedy, satire, picaresque

Literary movement: Enlightenment, Augustan

Age
• He was primarily a satirist.

• His target was often the political

corruption of the times.

• In 1737 he produced a play in which the

prime minister, Sir Robert Walpole, was
represented practically undisguised
and mercilessly ridiculed. It was not the
first time Walpole had suffered from
Fielding’s pen, and his answer was to
push through Parliament the Licensing
Act, by which all new plays had to be
approved and licensed by the lord
chamberlain before production.
THE HISTORY OF TOM JONES, A
FOUNDLING (1749)
by Henry Fielding
 CHARACTERS
Squire Allworthy- Brother of Bridget
Allworthy and Guardian of Tom Jones.
Bridget Allworthy- Sister of Squire,
Marries Captain Blifil.
Jenny Jones- Believed to be his mother
Tom Jones- The Protagonist
Dr. Blifil- A friend of Allworthy
Captain Blifil- Bridget’s Husband
Blifil- Son of Captain and Bridget Blifil
Mr. Square- A Philosopher and advisor of
Tom Jones and Master Blifil.
Thwackum- Teacher of Master Blifil and
Tom Jones
Black George- friend of Tom, father of Molly
Seagrim.
Molly Seagrim- Tom who are attracted
initially.
Sophia Western- The true love of Tom Jones.
Squire Western- Neighbor of Allworthy,
Father of Sophia
Patridge- Originally a teacher and friend of
Tom. Believed to be his Father.
Lady Bellaston- London Based lady, in love
with Tom.
Lord Fellamar- A gentleman who falls for
Sophia, arrange by Lady Bellaston.
Mrs. Waters- Another name for Jenny Jones.
THE HISTORY OF TOM JONES, A FOUNDLING - SUMMARY(1749)
Squire Allworthy is a kind and noble man who one day comes home to
Paradise Hall to find a baby on his bed, abandoned by his parents. He
entrusts the child with his sister Bridget while they try to find out where
the baby came from. Village gossip points to a woman called Jenny, so
Allworthy brings her in for questioning.

Jenny admits to being the child’s mother and to abandoning him but
refuses to say who the father is. Allworthy gives her money to leave the
area and start a new life and decides to bring the boy up himself, with
Bridget’s help. Allworthy gives him the name Tom Jones. The
townspeople assume that he must be the father because of his kindness.
 THE HISTORY OF TOM JONES, A FOUNDLING - SUMMARY(1749)

Allworthy is a childless widower with no intention of remarrying, so his

estate will be inherited by any children Bridget has. A man called Blifil
seduces and marries her and tries to get rid of Tom, as Tom threatens his
children’s inheritance. Blifil convinces Allworthy that Tom’s father is the
schoolteacher at whose house Jenny worked, but the squire insists on keeping
Tom. Blifil dies soon afterward, but not before Bridget has his child.

The story then jumps twelve years forward, with Tom and Blifil as teenagers.
They have been raised together and educated by two men called Mr.
Thwackum and Mr. Square. Tom is a rowdy boy who is always getting into
trouble, and as such is disliked by his teachers. Blifil is well behaved but
secretly jealous of Tom.
 THE HISTORY OF TOM JONES, A FOUNDLING - SUMMARY(1749)

Tom has an affair with Molly Seagrim, the daughter of his friend, the
gamekeeper Black George. Meanwhile, he falls in love with Sophia, the
daughter of Allworthy’s neighbor, Squire Western, and she loves him back.
However, they cannot be together because Tom is not well-born and Western
would never accept him as a suitor.

Allworthy gets sick and almost dies, but he recovers. Instead, news arrives,
by a letter to Allworthy that Blifil intercepts, that Bridget has died during a
trip. Tom gets drunk celebrating Allworthy’s recovery and goes to meet
Molly. Blifil and Thwackum see them together and later gang up on Tom to
fight him. Squire Western intervenes on Tom’s behalf.
 THE HISTORY OF TOM JONES, A FOUNDLING - SUMMARY(1749)

Meanwhile, Squire Western’s sister Mrs. Western concludes that Sophia is in

love with Blifil. She suggests the match to Western, who is delighted, as Blifil
is rich and their union would allow Sophia to remain close by. Blifil also likes
the idea. When they realize that Sophia does not love him, Western locks her
in her room until she changes her mind.

Western realizes it's Tom who Sophia loves and becomes enraged at him. He
goes to Allworthy to expose Tom’s bad behavior, supported by Blifil, who
claims that Tom attacked him the night of the fight. Allworthy is disappointed
and feels like he has no choice but to kick Tom out. Meanwhile, Sophia
manages to escape with the help of her maid and plans to go to London,
where she has a relative.
• THE HISTORY OF TOM JONES, A FOUNDLING - SUMMARY(1749)

While on the road, Tom meets and befriends a man called Partridge, who is
revealed to be the schoolmaster that Allworthy believed was Tom’s father.
Partridge denies this, and the two agree to travel together. At one point, Tom
saves an older woman called Mrs. Waters from a murderer and beds her in a
nearby inn. A man called Mr. Fitzpatrick, looking for his own wife, barges in
but leaves after seeing that Mrs. Waters is not Mrs. Fitzpatrick.

The next morning, Partridge mentions that there was a woman looking for
Tom the previous night, but that he had said Tom was occupied with Mrs.
Waters. Tom realizes this was Sophia and is distraught because she knows
about his infidelity. But now that Tom knows Sophia is on her way to London,
and he decides to look for her.
 THE HISTORY OF TOM JONES, A FOUNDLING - SUMMARY(1749)

Tom’s search for Sophia in London attracts the attention of the relative with
whom she is staying, Lady Bellaston. Lady Bellaston takes a liking to Tom and
wants to keep him as her lover. He accepts, knowing that she can get him closer
to Sophia. Lady Bellaston takes care to keep them separate, but they do meet
eventually. Tom begs forgiveness for his transgressions and Sophia grants it,
but they still cannot marry.

Lady Bellaston comes home while they are talking and is immediately
suspicious. She decides to marry Sophia to Lord Fellamar and suggests to him
that the only way Sophia will agree is if he rapes her. Just as this is about to
happen, Squire Western arrives to fetch his daughter and drags her away to his
inn, insisting that she will marry Blifil, who is on his way to London.
 THE HISTORY OF TOM JONES, A FOUNDLING - SUMMARY(1749)

Mrs. Western chastises her brother for his rough treatment of Sophia. Mrs.
Western asks that Sophia stay in her inn instead, guaranteeing that she will see
Sophia married. However, Lady Bellaston has conspired with Mrs. Western,
who intends to have Sophia marry Lord Fellamar instead, due to his higher
social status.

Lady Bellaston decides she wants no one else to get Tom, so she arranges with
Lord Fellamar to have him kidnapped by a gang and shipped off on a boat.
Meanwhile, Tom runs into Mr. Fitzpatrick again, who once again accuses him
of sleeping with his wife and attacks him. In the fight, Tom stabs Mr.
Fitzpatrick, and the whole thing is seen by Lord Fellamar’s gang. They take
Tom to the authorities and accuse him of murder.
 THE HISTORY OF TOM JONES, A FOUNDLING - SUMMARY(1749)

Tom is thrown into prison, but it isn’t long before Mrs. Waters comes to visit
him. She says that Mrs. Fitzpatrick has surfaced and clarified that it was her
husband who started the fight and that Mr. Fitzpatrick will heal from his
wounds. Tom is set to be released. As Mrs. Waters leaves the prison, Partridge
comes to visit Tom and is shocked to see her. He recognizes Mrs. Waters as
Jenny, his former employee, and tells Tom that he has slept with his own
mother.

Tom is disgusted with himself and sees his lewd behavior as the cause of this
tragedy. By this time, Allworthy and Blifil have arrived in London to follow
Tom’s verdict. Partridge goes to Allworthy to explain the situation, but Mrs.
Waters reveals that she wasn’t Tom’s mother after all.
 THE HISTORY OF TOM JONES, A FOUNDLING - SUMMARY(1749)

Tom is actually Bridget’s son, and Bridget had conspired with Jenny to hide
this since he was born out of wedlock. When Bridget saw that Allworthy was
willing to accept Tom as his own even without knowing they were related, she
decided to keep quiet about it. She intended to reveal this as she was dying, but
Blifil intercepted the letter and kept the secret, scared of the threat to his
inheritance.

Upon hearing this, Allworthy disowns Blifil and accepts Tom as his sole heir.
Sophia forgives Tom for his indiscretions, and the two marry happily.
 Why was Tom Jones called a foundling?

Tom Jones is called a foundling because he

was found on Mr. Allworthy's bed with no
indication of his parentage. He was assumed to
be the son of a local girl and a schoolmaster,
although this was eventually proven false.
 What is the theme of ''The History of Tom
Jones, a Foundling''?

A major theme of The History of Tom Jones, a

Foundling is the relationship between virtue and
vice. Fielding explores the nature of virtue and
its connection to happiness. There are also
themes of marriage and hypocrisy.
LAURENCE STERNE

 Writer, humourist, sentimentalist, and

clergyman
 Born in Clonmel, Ireland on 24 November
1713.
 At the age of ten, Laurence went to school in
Halifax and later went on to study divinity and
classics at Jesus College, Cambridge.
 He was ordained into the Church of England as a
deacon in 1737 after graduating that year.
• He was ordained priest in 1738 and was granted
the living of Sutton-on-the-Forest, to which he
added six years later the living of Stillington.
• He married Elizabeth Lumley in 1741 and had a
daughter, Lydia – the only one of his children to
survive infancy.
 The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman

- About the life of the fictional character, Tristram Shandy.

- This is a psychological novel, in which Tristam Shandy is
the narrator.
- The Book is divided into 9 volumes, which is published
between 1759-1767.
- This novel has problems with communication as all the
character of the novel are unable to communicate each other
properly.
- Its style is marked by digression, double entendre.
CHARACTERS
Mrs. Shandy
Tristram Shandy
- Mother of Tristram Shandy and also the
- The narrating voice in the novel
- He is the Author of his autobiography one who is responsible for Tristram’s
nature as she interrupted his husband
too
while they were having sex.
Walter Shandy
- Father of Tristram Shandy and brother Toby Shandy
- Tristram’s uncle and brother of Walter
of Toby Shandy.
- He is a philosophical man, who loves Shandy.
- He is a retired military man
philosophical argumentation, reading
and discussions. Yorick
- He is a sensible but honest and - clergyman, a good friend
benevolent man. - adviser of Walter and Tristram
- He was suffering from sciatica. Shandy.
CHARACTERS
Corporal Trim
- servant and a close friend of Toby Shandy
Widow Wadman
- Woman who is full of sexual desire. She
was disappointed with her husband and was
looking for another man who can satisfy her
sexually.
Susannah
- Caretaker of Mrs. Shandy.
- Responsible for many small disasters but
she is the one who supports Mrs. Shandy
for a midwife.
Obadiah
- He is a butler to Walter Shandy.
Dr. Slop
- Doctor of the village Tristram lives in.
- He was the one who broke Tristram’s
nose during surgery, and he leaves
him in pain.
- He always bleeds people rather than
curing them.
The Midwife
The lady who assists the delivery of
Tristram.
Bobby Shandy
- Older brother of Tristram.
- He dies in London, although he never
appears in novel but his death was
discussed.
 SUMMARY

The third volume begins with Dr. Slop displaying the forceps he invented
by using them on Uncle Toby's hand. Much to everyone's distress, the
forceps rip Toby's skin off. However, before Walter and Toby can protest,
the other midwife calls Dr. Slop for assistance. With the situation
seemingly out of their control, Walter and Toby take naps.

They are awakened, however, by mechanical sounds emanating from the

kitchen. They learn from Toby's servant, Trim, that Dr. Slop's dreaded
forceps have caused significant damage to newborn Tristram's nose, and
now, Dr. Slop is making a synthetic nose bridge for young Tristram in the
kitchen. As is his way in times of crisis, Walter—rather than doing
anything to help the situation—launches into a detailed, academic lecture
on why it's important for humans to have noses.
 SUMMARY

In the fourth volume, Walter learns from Susannah that the birth
was very hard on young Tristram, and that the boy may not
survive the night. Walter calls Yorick immediately so the baby
can be baptized. However, Walter can't be bothered to actually
be in the room for the baptism and so Susannah must be the one
to relay the name Walter has chosen to Yorick. Walter chooses
the name "Trismegistus" (a "strong" name, he tells Uncle Toby),
but Susannah either mishears or misremembers it as Tristram.
Unfortunately, the baby is baptized Tristram.
 SUMMARY
The narrative moves ahead significantly in the fifth volume, which
largely concerns Walter's efforts to formulate a superior education plan
for young Tristram, who is now five years old. Unfortunately, Walter
spends all his time devising his plan instead of actually supplying
Tristram with any kind of education at all. Tristram's poor fortune
continues when the young boy is accidentally circumcised by a falling
window. Tristram had been urinating out the window because Susannah
hadn't replaced his chamber pot.

The last few volumes largely concern Toby beginning an affair in earnest
with his neighbor, the Widow Wadham. Tristram, who is regularly
tormented by fears of death, spies on Toby and the Widow. The Widow,
for her part, is anxious that Toby's war wound has rendered him unable to
perform sexually.
THEMES
One of the most striking themes in *The Life and
Opinions of Tristram Shandy* is Sterne's preoccupation
with the nature of time. As the narrator, Tristram
frequently digresses into long, rambling stories,
interrupting the flow of his own attempted
autobiography.
OLIVER GOLDSMITH
Born: Nov. 10, 1730, Kilkenny West,
County Westmeath, Ireland.
Died: April 4, 1774, London.
• Anglo-Irish essayist, poet, novelist,
dramatist, and eccentric.
• He is an undergraduate with a B.A
degree later on known as a Doctor “Dr.
Goldsmith” ---Doctor being the courtesy
title for one who held the Bachelor of
Medicine. Even though it he did not take
the degree
 An Elegy on the Death of a Mad Dog (1766)

Good people all, of every sort, And in that town a dog was found,
Give ear unto my song; As many dogs there be,
And if you find it wondrous short, Both mongrel, puppy, whelp and hound,
It cannot hold you long. And curs of low degree.

In Islington there was a man, This dog and man at first were friends;
Of whom the world might say But when a pique began,
That still a godly race he ran, The dog, to gain some private ends,
Whene'er he went to pray. Went mad and bit the man.

A kind and gentle heart he had, Around from all the neighbouring streets
To comfort friends and foes; The wondering neighbours ran,
The naked every day he clad, And swore the dog had lost his wits,
When he put on his clothes. To bite so good a man.
 An Elegy on the Death of a Mad Dog (1766)

The wound it seemed both sore and sad

To every Christian eye;
And while they swore the dog was mad,
They swore the man would die.

But soon a wonder came to light,

That showed the rogues they lied:
The man recovered of the bite,
The dog it was that died.
THEMES
Appearances Can Be Deceiving

Perhaps the central theme of Goldsmith’s poem is the idea

that appearances can be deceiving and that not everything is
as it looks. This moral is first expressed through the example
of the man, whose reputation for godliness (Line 7), charity,
kindness, and gentleness (Line 9) has thoroughly deceived his
neighbors.
STRUCTURE
• The first line contains eight syllables, the second
line contains six, and so on accordingly.
• The rhyme scheme is abab.
• The poem’s narrative spans eight quatrains, with
each stanza completing its one thought and
sentence.
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