Industry and Idleness
William Hogarth published his series Industry and Idleness in 1747. This work did not emerge from a vacuum but grew from existing literary traditions. Paulson identifies two key plays that influenced the parallel narrative structure: Eastward Hoe and The London Merchant. The latter play contains a specific quote about business being youth's best preservative against ill, while idleness is the worst of snares. Hogarth had already explored similar dual narratives earlier when he painted Hudibras and the Lawyer. That painting featured two clerks representing industry and idleness respectively. These antecedents provided a framework for showing how identical starting points could lead to opposite destinations.
Hogarth created Industry and Idleness as a set of twelve engravings rather than paintings converted into prints. Each print sold for one shilling, making the complete set cost twelve shillings or one pound. This pricing strategy targeted working-class audiences who could afford such items unlike buyers of his earlier works like A Harlot's Progress. The originals now reside at the British Museum. Unlike previous projects where Hogarth painted first then engraved, this series was conceived solely as engravings from the start. The format allowed wider distribution among less wealthy markets who sought moral instruction through visual media. The series included biblical verses selected by Rev. Arnold King, a friend of Hogarth.
Plate 1 introduces Francis Goodchild as an apprentice working diligently at a loom with The Prentice's Guide at his feet. He displays wholesome literature on the wall including The London Prentice and Whitington Ld Mayor. By Plate 4 he holds the Day Book and keys to the house while his master shows familiarity with him. Plate 6 shows Francis out of his time and married to his master's daughter Miss West. The sign reads WEST and GOODCHILD under a lion rampant symbolizing their partnership. In Plate 8 Francis appears as Sheriff of London seated in state with sword of state on his chair arm. Plate 10 depicts him as Alderman of London presiding over Idle's arraignment before Newgate. Finally Plate 12 crowns Francis Lord-Mayor of London riding in carriage holding sword of state wearing outsized top hat.
Thomas Idle begins Plate 1 snoring against a still loom with a mug labeled Spittle Fields sitting on it. A clay pipe wedges into the handle while a cat interferes with the shuttle. His Prentice's Guide lies shredded on the ground next to Moll Flanders tacked to the post. By Plate 5 his mother tearfully remonstrates with him as he ignores her during departure for sea. Plate 7 finds him living in squalor with a common prostitute examining nonmonetary spoils from highway thefts including an earring resembling gallows. Plate 9 shows Idle committing murder for petty gain while his accomplice pitches the body down a trap door. Plate 10 captures his arrest when his accomplice turns King's evidence pointing pistols at him. Plate 11 concludes with Thomas Idle executed at Tyburn leaning on his coffin marked T.I. while a preacher reads Wesley's book to him.
Each plate contains specific objects that foreshadow future events or moral outcomes. Plate 1 displays a whip fetters and rope to the left representing Idle's future versus ceremonial mace sword of state and golden chain over Goodchild. The master's sword segues exactly into the shaft of the mace creating visual continuity between plates one and ten. Plate 3 reverses the frame so mace appears on the left instead of right. Plate 4 features London Almanack headed by allegorical genius of Industry assaulting Father Time. Plate 6 includes Frenchman with bass viol forced out by British butcher alongside legless man holding Jesse or Happy Pair song sheet. Plate 8 shows chamberlain examining paper addressed To the worshipl Fras Goodchild Eshq Sher Lond while orchestra plays on balcony above. Plate 11 depicts pigeon flying back to Newgate delivering news of death while suspended dog prefigures another cur about to be hanged.
The series reflects eighteenth-century attitudes toward work ethic and social mobility through contrasting fates. Francis Goodchild rises from apprentice to Lord Mayor demonstrating how diligence leads to power and esteem. Thomas Idle descends from laziness to execution showing immorality and crime resulting in disgrace and legal infamy. Hogarth intended these images to illustrate possible rewards of hard work for working children alongside sure disasters attending lack thereof. The biblical verses accompanying each appearance reinforce moral lessons about industry versus idleness. The progression from equal footing in Plate 1 to unequal outcomes in Plate 12 underscores societal beliefs that character determines destiny. Working-class audiences received this message directly since prints cost only one shilling each making them accessible compared to painted originals.
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Common questions
When did William Hogarth publish the series Industry and Idleness?
William Hogarth published his series Industry and Idleness in 1747. This work grew from existing literary traditions rather than emerging from a vacuum.
What specific plays influenced the parallel narrative structure of William Hogarth's Industry and Idleness?
Paulson identifies two key plays that influenced the parallel narrative structure: Eastward Hoe and The London Merchant. The latter play contains a specific quote about business being youth's best preservative against ill, while idleness is the worst of snares.
How much did each print cost when William Hogarth released Industry and Idleness?
Each print sold for one shilling, making the complete set cost twelve shillings or one pound. This pricing strategy targeted working-class audiences who could afford such items unlike buyers of his earlier works like A Harlot's Progress.
Who are the main characters featured in Plate 12 of William Hogarth's Industry and Idleness?
Plate 12 crowns Francis Goodchild as Lord-Mayor of London riding in carriage holding sword of state wearing outsized top hat. Thomas Idle concludes with execution at Tyburn leaning on his coffin marked T.I. while a preacher reads Wesley's book to him.
Where do the original plates of William Hogarth's Industry and Idleness reside today?
The originals now reside at the British Museum. Unlike previous projects where Hogarth painted first then engraved, this series was conceived solely as engravings from the start.