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Una-Theses-0312.Pdf HEN R Y FIE L DIN G THE 0 R Y o F THE COM I C A thesis submitted to the faculty of the GRADUATE SChOOL of the UNIV~RSITY of - INN~SOTA by DAGMAR DONEGHY • In partial fulfillment of the requirements for ~he degree of Master of Arts . June 1916. RltPORT of Committee on Thesis The undersigned, acting as a Committee of the Graduate School, have r ead the accompanying thesis submttted by SD.~ ..~ . .!! . .~.~ .... ~ for the degree of .~. .~ .. ...... ~.. ..~ ...................... ............ They approve it as a thesis meeting tho require- menta of the Grad ate School of t h e Un iv@raity of :Minnesota, and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the r e quirements for the degree of .~~ ...a. .. ~....... ..... ......... ....- .. .............. -.................... .-:.::d.@. _.. -.. -~........ ..... -....... -.... --~-.. ' _.... -_ ...... - ....- ..• _- ..... __ .-........_ ... _.. _.... .... _..... ........ __ ._ .. __ .............. __ ._ .. _.... _.......... _._ ...... _..... _.- BIB L lOG RAP H Y. Henry Fi elding : Love i n Several 4asgues. London, ~n ith ~ lder & co., 1882. Th e l' empl e Heau. London, Smith Elder & Co. 1882. The Justice Caught in his Own Trap. London, Smith Elder & Co., 1882. The ~odern Husband. London, ~mith Elder a co ., 1 882. ~~ he Debauch ees. London, Smith Elder & Co., 1882. Don Quixote in England . London, Smith Elder & Co., 1882. 'rhe Universal Gallan t. London, Smi th Elder ?r. Co., 1882. The 'I/ edci ing Day . London , :::;w i th .l!; l de r c~ Co., 1882. The Good-Natured Man . London. Smith Elder & Co., 1882. The Letter "lri ters or A New Way to Keep a 1/ife at Home , London, ~n ith ~ lder & co., 1882. Miss ~ucy in Town. Lo t don, Smith Elder & Co., 1882. The Lottery. Londo, Smith Elder & Co., 1882. Joseph Andrews. London, MacMil l an & Co., 1907. Jonathan iild. London, 'j: illiam r. eineman, 1903. Tom Jones. London, MacMillan & Co., 1904. I .. Amelia. London, George Bell & Sons, 1905. Mi scellaneous 'Vri tings. vola. I, II and I I I. Lo ndon, vl illiam Heineman, 1903 . The Covent Garden Journal. New Haven , Yale University Press, 1915. Becker, Gustav: Don 'tuijote una Die Ene;l ishe Literatur . Cervantes, ~ iguel de : .:J on Q,uixote de la 'lanchaj lJ ew York, J. M. Dent & Sons, 1913. cro s S, ','! il'bur L. : The DeVe1$!I29Jemt o f the English .n ovel; New York, The d ac.n il1an c omp any, 1911. Hie1dine; ~nglish ~ en of Letters Series, London, 1889. Godden, G. ~ .: Henry Fielding, A Memoir; London. Sampson, Low Ma rston & Company, 1910. Ha zli tt, ',: lll iam: Engli sll .ti u.llori s ts of the ~ i ghteen th Century. Richardson, Samuel: Pamela; London, J. M. Dent & Sons, 1914. III HENRY FIE L DIN G THE 0 R Y o F THE COM I C An examination of the work of Henry Fielding is here presented with the purpose of indicating Fielding's theory of the comic as he sets it forth in his various critical writings, and as it is exe~plified in his methods of producing the comic effect in plot, setting, chGracterization and dialogue . 'nth this end in view, the plays and novels of Fielding are discussed with rega rd to plo~ , setting, characterization and dia­ logue; and the journals of Fielding are considered in so far as they contribute to his theory of the comic. PA R T I THE PLAYS OF HENRY FIELDI NG CONSIDERED WITH REGARD TO PLOT, SETTING, CHARACTERIZATION AND DIALOGUE. 1 ,---- CHAPTER I The comedies of Henry Fielding considered with regard to plot, setting , <.:lw r a cteriza:t ion an a. di a,logue. Th e dramatic works of Fielding consist 0 1' comedies after the styl e of Congreve, farces and burlesques. Th e co medies a.fter the style of Congreve are Love in Several I Mas ques(1728), The TemEie Beau(1730), lhe Coff ee-House Pplitician. or The Justice Caught in His Own Tran(1730), The Mosern Husband(1731 Th e Debauchees(1732), Don Q~ixote. in Engl and(1733), The Universa l %allanj(1734 ), The Wedding Da.Y(1742), and The \lood-Na tured. Man(1750) d Love in Several Ma sques(1728 ), Fielding's first play, has all the chara cteristics ,of the comedy of manners. ~he plot, f ollowing the model s et uy Viych erley and Congreve, is a love intrigue f ur­ thered by an a rtf ul maid serva.nt, in which the YOWlg lovers out-wi t the pompo us gua r di an ; t Le wife under a mask of affected virtue coz ens her concei ted t~ usb and wh o i s ade up of f olly, avarice and i l-ored surliness of temper; and My Lady ulatchless out-generals th em all and proves h er superior sense oy bestowing her hand upon the country squire 'ltisell1ore. who had been the jest of the London fops . This deception of a censorious guardian and duping of a stupid hustanQ were comedy situations which had been by Fi elding' s day so frequently used that they had become purely conventional . The intri guing s ervant with the forged letter had 10 g been a de- ice co~non to aid comedy plo~, a d co edy since the days o! Ether­ euge h au attempteJ to be nothing but a reflection of the artifi c i al society 01' the day and had had no serious purpose nol' i tentness of mind. The plo t of .Love in Several ;.:asques. e loying these habitual comedy shirts, could harely ra11 to ce conventional. me ­ cl1anical, and artiriclal, since it evinced no ori ~' inali ty 1n comic device . T e set t i g of Love in Several lJia sg,ue2-,is in the London famil­ iar to the people of fashion, Hyde ¥ark, 8t. James , and the ~ all . I ts scenes exhi oi t the modes and at ti tudes or t'ash1 ona cle soc i ety. an ' its a . 0 sphere i s tllc1. t of the ga y and de 0 '1· ir vor l d long famil­ i a r on the En ~ lish stage in the comedy of manners . he characters in Love in Sev , ral ..vl.asque.s are ill- de ... ined types . Sir ¥ositive Trap is a old precise < i ght who bores ev ~r)one witll tedious accoults or tne genealogy or the Traps . Fi el(Ung attempts to .nake the cha racter humorous by t. e comedY ex­ pedient of the repetition or words or set phrases, hence Sir ¥OSl- -2-- tive' s reiterated oath "by t h e ri ght hand of t he Traps". The af- f ecta t i on of LaJ.y T.!' ap adds t the laughter of t h e play uy its hypocritical cant about a virtue which she does not possess. How- ever • . h er cnaracter .l i k e Sir 1-' ositive's remains shadowy and is typ- ical r a ther than indi v idual. Sven my La dy '.1a tchless who 81lI1ong the worner C!lCl. r ac t ers of t h e play h8. s ·the greatest r ossi blli ties of be­ ing made into an individual character, has only a superf icial de- lineation. In ~le per s on of Wisemore t h ere is a suggestion that Fielding will some day b reak away from traditions. Tl1e beaux were t h e heroes of the day. and in all come dies conquer t ney must by t . eir s periority or dress and address . Wisemore is not a beau ; he is a queer bundle of rusticity; yet he wins the Lady :::.a tchless. However, this original situation with its ~ ore truly comic poten- tialities is merel y sketched . The na~es Slr Apish Simple and Lord Fo~nal sufricien tly de scrib e the characters to fuich they a p ply~and ill ustra te the p oint t hat Fl elcling' s comedy char acters had as yet a ll the rigidity of the abstract . The dialogue of Love in Several ..ia sques adopts t ne comic point of view i its trea,t,nen t of love and aarriage as li ght sub j ects of jest. The dialogue on the whole is sprightly with occasional ~ verbal sports typical of Fielding. ' alvil 'l. nd s:. eri t al chc:l.!fing the vain boastrul Ra ttle spea" as foLLOWS : -3'- ~alvil . 3 0 ? but you should be ashamed of boasting of affairs wi til 1 a (11 es, whom it is known you .1ever spoke to • .Jeri t al. Tnere y ou are too hard on 11im, for Rattle ha s affairs . Rattle . A d with women of rank • •ii: al vil e 01· very high rank , i f their quality be as high as their lodgings are . (1) The Te.uple .l:leau( 1730) w~s Fi elding t s next production . It, too, showed ~itLle ori €i Jality in comic resource. The plot of the Te.!lple -.Eeau hinges u \) 011 tl e g .. y young gallant imposing upon the opulent Old father . ln the violation of rule or the upsetting of authori ty there is always sOluething co. ic, provideu the act of law­ lessl ess or tIle over-turning of the superior powe!' is n ot of a +Y"~ '1 i Co l:1a t ur e • l.ence comedy has always favored the case of the son in his efforts to relax the paternal leading strings. A father duped by a son was a conventional cOlledy "ituation.
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