A Just View of the British Stage (Full title: A Just View of the British Stage, or Three Heads are Better then One, ſcene Newgate, by:MD_V__to) was an engraving of William Hogarth's, published in 1724, to the satire of the theatric professions of the time. While not as detailed as later paintings of his, such as Marriage a la mode, Hogarth was able to work in numerous details, all of which inform the satire as a whole and the reader.
Content edit
Explainitory text edit
The text at the bottom reads:
| “ | This Print Represents the rehearsing of a new Farce that will Include ye two famous Entertainments Dr Fauſtus & Harlequin Shephard to wch will be added Scaramouch Jack Hall the chimney-sweeper's Escape from Newgate through ye Privy, with ye comical Humours of Ben Johnſon's Ghoſt concluding wth the Hay-Dance Perform'd in ye Air by ye Figures A.B.C. Aſsisted by Ropes from ye Muſes, Note, there are no Conjurers concern'd in it as ye ignorant imagine. ☞ The Bricks, Rubbish &c. will be real but the Excrements upon Jack Hall will be made of Chew'd Gingerbread to prevent Offence. Vivat Rex price ſix pence | ” |
Or, in slightly updated English:
| “ | This print shows the rehearsal of a new farce, to be made up of Dr. Faust and Harlequin Shepard along with Scaramouth Jack Hall's prison-break from Newgate via the privy. Also featured is the comical humor of Ben Johnson's Ghost, and all concludes with a hay dance performed in mid air by the three persons, A., B. and C., with "assistance" from the Muses. There are no tricks employed, as some might think. NB: The props will be real, but the crap on Jack Hall will not be. Long live the King. Price: Sixpence | ” |
The three persons in the center are labled RTL: A., C., and B.. The character to the left with the massive candle is Ben Johnson's Ghost.
Immediate players edit
The center of the scene is composed of three playwrights, identified as "A.", "C." and "B.". All three are attempting to rehearse or create a play with marionettes. A. says "Poor R—ch[,] Faith I pity him" while manipulating his puppet of Punch, C. reverently speaks "Aſſist us ye ſacred Nine" with his Harlequin standing on the table while B. haughtily exclaims "Ha this will do G—d D—me" while dropping the puppet of Jack Hall (complete with chimney sweep's broom) down the 1st hole of the three-holer.
The group apparently engraved at in the roof of the building are infact the Muses themselves, given that they are listed as the ones holding the ropes for the final "hay dance".
Ancillary players edit
To the immediate left and front of the three at the table, the character of "Ben Johnson's Ghost" in a nightshirt or shroud climbs up a flight of stairs to a trapdoor and pisses on the trash littering the foreground holding a MASSIVE candle in his right hand while wearing a crown of laurels and a ticked expression.
To the upper right, a hanging violinist plays his instrument. A text near him reads "Muſick for ye who Entertain".
Scene edit
The scene is labeled as "Newgate" a reference to the notorious Newgate Prison and Newgate Calendar, hence the bars on the high window. The nooses are not normal for the time, as in Hogarth's time criminals would be executed publicly.
To the right of the scene, in the foreground, a statue with "Harlequin ſhepard" tacked over its head stands on a pedestal labeled "Comedy" (Hard to see in the crosshatching) holding a comedic mask. To the left, one labeled "Harlequin Dr. Faustus" holding a stick with crowns on it, labeled "Tragedy".
The foreground is a heap of disorganized trash, including a dog in a doghouse, a bottle with a rope on it, and a statue which fell off its pedestal and lost its left leg and is being attacked by Johnson's ghost.
The rather exposed privy to the right is a three-holer with the explanatory text "Jack Hall going down the Privy in Newgate". The papers tacked to the wall behind, for use as toilet paper, read "Hamlet", amongst others!
The scroll over all reads "VIVETUR INGENIO" or "We live by the spirit", a shortening of "Vivitur ingenio, caetera mortis erunt" or "We live by the spirit, the rest belongs to death"[1]
Explanation edit
The three subjects are the playwrights Robert Wilks, Colley Cibber, and Barton Booth, who famously ran the Drury Lane Theatre Royal together, becoming known as "the Triumvirate" for doing so.[2] This resulted in a lively competition between them and John Rich, following a string of his successes. Hogarth imagines the three of them attempting to come up with a play to regain their previous successes and, to Hogarth's feeling, succeeding (or not!) at the cost of real art, drama and comedy.[3]
Scenery edit
The crap in the foreground are were all staples of pantomime plays, namely (From top left down, right, and then up): A dragon flying in from offstage, a dog emerging from his kennel, a soldier and his pedestal (Possibly a reference back to the "Dr. Faustus" play where a loanshark takes Faust's leg as collateral[4]), a "levitating" bottle, and the forementioned fiddler being with hung for his poor playing by the Muses, or being lowered in like some deus ex machina. According to "The Universal Journal", quoted in "Hogarth's Graphical Works", these (except for the violinist) were comparatively tame next to those observed in the real "Harlequin Dr. Faustus": "dancing Wheat-Sheaves, Flaming Barns, Barking Dogs, flying Flasks and Oranges".
The implication here is that the three are going to try and go all out on special effects as well as (or more likely, in preference to!) an actual play.
The statues of Comedy and Tragedy being covered over ("disgraced") shows the 3's wanton flattening and simplification of high theatrics in their work.
The Three edit
From left to right, the three, their puppets and speech are:
- Robert Wilkes, who was the comedian of the three, dances with his puppet of Punch saying "Poor R—ch[,] Faith I Pitty him".
- Colly Cibber, who would take the side of the weaker of the other two in their writing, holds his puppet of Harlequin standing, while reverently asking "....."
- Barton Booth, who was the tragedian, drops his puppet of Jack Hall down the privy exclaiming "Hah this will do G—d d—me".
They were denounced by Alexander Pope in his Dunciad for writing cheap trash that entertained, but only in a vulgar and unenlightening way. The ropes suggest that they should, or will, all suffer execution, literally or metaphorically, for their pandering.[5] The "assistance" line in the text block suggests that the Muses, who represent high art, will in fact be the ones to bump them off in a bit of poetic justice.
The "R—ch" mentioned by Wilks is John Rich.
Jack Hall was a chimney sweep who carried out some pickpocketings but principally burglaries. The escape from Newgate is likely a reference to Jack Sheppard's escaping prison several times.
References edit
- ^ Ronald Paulson (1965). Hogarth's Graphic Works (1st ed.). Yale University Press. p. 109.
{{cite book}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help) - ^ Paulson again, pg. 109
- ^ Paulson, pg. 109
- ^ Paulson again, pg. 110
- ^ "FOGG EXHIBITION EXAMINES PRINTMAKER WILLIAM HOGARTH'S TREATMENT OF EXECUTION". Harvard University. Retrieved August 26, 2007.