The Augustan Reprint Society

THE

HARLOT'S PROGRESS

THEOPHILUS CIBBER

(1733)

and

THE

RAKE'S PROGRESS

(MS., Ca. 1778-1780)

Introduction by

Mary F. Klinger

PUBLICATION NUMBER 181

WILLIAM ANDREWS CLARK MEMORIAL LIBRARY

University of California, Los Angeles

1977

GENERAL EDITORS

ADVISORY EDITORS

CORRESPONDING SECRETARY

EDITORIAL ASSISTANT

INTRODUCTION

The prints and engraved sequences of William Hogarth (1697-1764) inspired a wide range of dramatic entertainments throughout the eighteenth century. The types include comedy of manners (The Clandestine Marriage, 1766), burletta with tableau vivant (Ut Pictura Poesis! 1789), specialty act (A Modern Midnight Conversation, 1742), cantata (The Roast Beef of Old England, ca. 1759), ballad opera (The Decoy), [1] pantomime (The Jew Decoy'd and The Harlot's Progress, 1733), and a morality ballad opera (The Rake's Progress, ca. 1778-1780). Two of these are reprinted here. Theophilus Cibber's "Grotesque Pantomime Entertainment" of Hogarth's six-scene series "A Harlot's Progress" (1732), entitled THE HARLOT'S PROGRESS; or The Ridotto Al'Fresco," was first published 31 March 1733 for its Drury Lane debut as an afterpiece. [2] Less familiar is the anonymous "Dramatised Version" of Hogarth's eight-print sequence "A Rake's Progress" (1735), British Library Add. MS. 25997, entitled The Rake's Progress. [3]

Of critical interest in looking at the engravings along with the dramas they inspired is the evidence provided of significant visual-verbal reciprocities in the period. In particular, it shows one aspect of the interrelationship operative between (1) creation of the prints, with the artist often relying perceptibly on dramatic literature and theatrical sets, [4] and (2) inspiration from print to theater, as playwrights generated new stage pieces based on the graphic works. Moreover, these two dramas underscore the importance of music in eighteenth century theater where the use of songs in pantomimes and new lyrics for old tunes in ballad opera were alike commonplace by mid-century. [5] The plays lend support to Bertrand Bronson's observation that, in an age which "thought Man the proper study of Mankind," it is not surprising that the "major emphasis (and accomplishment) in music should be dramatic and, in a broad sense, social." [6] These dramas add visual and musical insights to literary concerns of the time.

In "A Harlot's Progress" (1732) Hogarth's six prints recount a few years in the young life of "M. Hackabout" from her innocent arrival in London (from Yorkshire) through debauchery, prostitution, and theft to death from venereal disease at the age of 23. Hogarth's engraved sequence shows about 12 characters, including Moll's child and supernumerary harlots at her funeral. The stage piece by Colley Cibber's son entitled The Harlot's Progress consists solely of stage directions and verses set to six "Airs." It has 27 characters, including a "little Harlequin Dog." The harlot's new name, "Kitty," probably refers to the actress (Mrs. Raftor, later Kitty Clive) who initially played this role. The music for the songs seems to be lost, though many tunes can be identified. [7] Furthermore, Roger Fiske reports that later in 1733 this work was offered at Bartholomew Fair with a band that included "oboes, bassoons, horns, trumpets, drums and strings." Though traditionally The Harlot's Progress has been treated as pantomime, Fiske considers it a "mixture of masque, ballad opera and pantomime." [8] Actually Cibber's piece, with its concluding "Masque," more closely fits Paul Sawyer's definition of pantomime as "a mixture of comic (sometimes called grotesque) elements" concerning the love adventures and misadventures of Harlequin and Columbine, "largely in dumb show," but "occasionally interspersed with songs and dances." [9] In addition, Sawyer notes, there is a "serious part," usually drawn from mythology, featuring dancing, recitative, song, and some dialogue. In the present case, this would be the masque of "The Judgment of Paris" which concludes The Harlot's Progress (p. 12).

On