M.K. Bhavnagar
University Dept. Of English
NAME: Trivedi Disha Hiteshbhai
ROLL NO: 40
M.A SEM-1
BATCH OF YEAR: 2015-17
Paper No:2
Topic:
Submitted to:SMT.S.B.GARDI DEPT. OF ENGLISH
Tom Jones
Q: Tom Jones as a comic
epic in prose ?
In the early history of the novel, in the
eighteenth century. Henry Fielding wrote one species of epic novel by grafting
his Augustan understanding of the epic onto the from of the novel. This impetus
for the novel, as Fielding, claims in the preface, is the establishment of a
genre of writing:
“Which 1 do not remember to have been
hitherto
attempted in our language”.
Defined as comic epic in prose: a work of prose
fiction, epic in length and variety of incident and character, in the
hypothetical spirit pf Homer’s lost comic poem. He dissociates his fiction from
the scandal-memoir and the contemporary novel.”
If we refer to Aristotle’s original
triangulation, we find that non dramatic equivalent of the comedy is lampoon of
tragedy, epic. With the new opening before him, Fielding takes cross bearings
on the old land marks and attempts a comic epic. “In prose” gives him a third
bearing and his triangulation is complete. He had hit upon a new genre of
literature and was keen to explore his possibilities I clear from his
conscious attempts to expound a theory about it. In “Joseph
Andres” we can see the testing ground for such technique fielding was to employ
masterfully in “Tom Jones”.
In his preface to “Joseph Andrews” fielding
has differentiated his comic epic in prose from both a comic romance and a
serious romance:
“Now, a comic romance is a comic Epic poem in
prose; differing from Comedy, as the serious epic from Tragedy: its action
being more Extended and comprehensive; Containing a much larger circle o incidents,
and introducing a greater variety of characters. It differs from the serious
romance in its table and action, in this, that as in the one these are grave
and solemn so in the other they are light and ridiculous: it differs in its
characters by introducing persons of inferior rank, and consequently of
inferior manners, whereas the grave romance sets the highest be-fore us:
lastly, in its sentiments and diction; by preserving the ludicrous instead of
the sublime”.
Through this view fielding challenges notions
of the classical epic. As Andrew Sanders puts in “The short History of English
literature” that Tom Jones” is fielding’s most meticulous responses to the
challenge of classical epic and his mot considered comic redefinition of what
he called this genre of comic epic. In prose.
“Tom Jomes” is comic in spirit, it is epical
in scale. It is the first and foremost, a great comic novel, a
good story well-told with something of fairy tale element in its
theme Comedy is a game played to throw reflections upon social life and it
deals with human nature in the drawing-room of civilized men and women, where
we have no dust of the struggling outer world. The comic tone of the novel is,
established from the very outset and the vein of comedy veers through the novel.
The comic element is present in every page. Fielding employs the mock heroic
technique in order to ridicule the hypoxic in human beings. Such a one is Molly
Sea grim’s battle in the churchyard with her envious neighbors in book IV,
chapter 8. The chapter is titled : A battle sung by the Muse in the Homerican
style, and which none but the classical reader can taste. Fielding begins with
an invocation to the Muse:
“Ye Muses, then, whoever ye are, who love to
sing battles, and, principally thou who whilom didst recount the slaughter in
those fields where audibras and Trulla fought, if thou were not Starved with
thy friend Butler Assist me on this great occasion. All things are not in the
Power of all”.
There is also comedy in the nice arrangement
of events. Providence is frequently kind to the author: and as he
admits it himself and is amused by it, we cannot do otherwise than laugh with
him. The pivotal centre is the episode at Upton, which takes up most of books
IX and X where Fielding’s skill as a master of situational comedy can be seen.
He comprehends the art of comic elaboration of what a critic calls:
“The smile within the smile within the
smile”.
He knows than on incident which is funny the
second time. In the scene between Sophia and her aunt [in Book VI, chapter V]
he develops the comedy of mutual understanding; and the novel is full of such
stage situations as unexpected entrances and discoveries.
Fielding has conceived “Tom Jones” as a comic
epic in prose, he observes that comic epic employs “light and ridiculous “table
and action and in its sentiments and diction, if preserves the ludicrous. Thus
humor occupies a very prominent place.
In “Tom Jones” Fielding is concern with the
effects of the social vices of hypocrisy and vanity, though his approach here
is much more light hearted an amiable than in “Amelia” As Fielding states in
the dedicatory letter to Tom James”.
"I have employed all the wife and Humor of
which I am master in the following history wherein I have endeavored to laugh
Mankind out of their favorite Follies and vices “.
Again, in his invocation to Genius he says:
“Come, thou who hast inspired Thy
flristophanes, thy Lucian,Thy Cervantes, thy Rabelaies,Thy Moliere, thy
Shakespeare, thy swift, thy Marivaux Fill my pages with humor Till mankind
learn the good Nature to laugh only at the Follies of others and the Humility
to grieve at their Own”.
The very solemn purpose indeed and quite in
accord with his epic the or of the novel, and he mostly uses ironical or
satirical humor through not any mock heroic technique but also with actions and
situations which are created for striking humor. Apart from irony and satire,
fielding uses other methods to produce humor, e.g., At Upton In, Tom is
subjected to mock trial and fielding gives a nonsensical but delightful parody.
Moreover, Fielding surprises his readers by some ridiculous incongruity.etc.
Moreover, as mentioned above “Tom Jones” is
epical in scale because Fielding states that he calls his work a comic epic
because in every way it follows the epic form as written by Homer except that
it presents actions which are light and ridiculous rather than highly serious Of
“Tom Jones” one may say as did Dryden of Chaucer’s “Canterbury Tales”
“Here is
God’s plenty”
His ambitions for prose romance were comprehensive;
he proposed to take the wide range of character, incident, diction, and
reference from the epic. The description which fielding applied to “Joseph
Andrew’s a comic epic in prose is still more applicable here. The scale is
larger and the representation of the spirit of the land and age an employ
panaroma.
“An epic unfolds” as A.R.Humphreys points
out ”a large scene and space of Hme” “Tom Jones” beings before the hero’s birth
with an agreeable landscape in the manner of Hanoverian topography and with the
benevolent squire Allworth’s house. The foundling hero is discovered, the range
of characters expands through the Allworth circle, the village folk, the
neighboring squire western with his learned lady sister and his daughter
Sophia, and miscellaneous company of Yamekeepers, persons, inn-keepers and
wives, sergeants and soldiers doctors and lawyers, beaux and libertines all
moving on a well plotted stage and all tied into the texture of this ‘Heroic,
prosaic poem’ by a man near of imagery.
Further, In Tom Jones, Fielding also shows
his concern for the epic unities to which Walter Allen refer as:
‘By the breadth of its scope this Novel would
match and epic…’
The headings of various Books indicate the
time taken by the action described in them, e.g. Book 1 tells ‘as much of the
birth of the foundling as in necessary’, Books II and III summaries events till
Tom is arrived at the age of seventeen. Book IV is described as ‘containing a
year’ etc. One incident of the Book contains stinking feature of epic-like
structure resembles to that of Milton’s epic, i.e. the fall from innocence
to the knowledge of good and evil.
Book VI presents us with the equivalent of
God’s casting Adam and Eve out of the garden because of their disobedience: Tom
is banished from Allworth’s home. Tom is moving from a relatively protected
existence at Allworth’s estate into the threatening world outside.
Fielding inserts an allusion to
Milton’s ‘Paradise lost’
'And new having taken a resolution to leave
the country [Tom] began to debate with himself wither he should go. The world
as Milton phrases if, lay all before him, and Jones, no more than Adam, had any
man to whom he might resort for comfort or assistance’.
Besides, as the tile of his comic
epic suggests the word history, fielding claims that everything is
coupled from the book of nature and scarce a character or action produced which
I have not taken from my own experiences’ perhaps that is why he prefers to
call his novel a history, just history does not describe ‘Tom Jones’
accurately. We will have to use the word epic:
The epic writer reveals, as the ordinary
historian does not, the basic truths of human nature no matter when or where or
under what conditions if exists.
History describes temporal and local phases
of human life while an epic reveals universal truths. For comic epic in prose
chiefly promises a variety of characters involved in a very comprehensive
action. The novelist’s tone is light, even frivolous, and he gives madly
picture of ridiculous.
Further, to quite Andrew Sanders who is of
view.
Tom and his ‘good nature’ will be finally
justified by the shape of the narrative is a basic assumption of the comedy,
that his journey towards justification, ‘prudence and religion’ will be complex
is dependent on the very nature of the epic structure’.
In addition
to that “In prose’ is not merely a tag to till out the phrase ‘comic in prose’.
Unlike the usual description of epic he plants new genre of prose.
To end with the remarks of Lukas who was more
ambivalent on the one hand he said ‘epic had to disappear and yield its place
to an entirely new from, the novel’ but later on the wrote “the novel is the
epic of a world that has been abandoned by God.’
What Lukas appear to be saying through this
ambivalence is that the epic as it used to exist can no longer be
written but that the essence of epic can be transferred to the form of the
novel? In this new province Tom Jones is a great book in itself and a
microcosm of the next hundred years in prose fiction.
Finally, W.L.Renwick in
‘Essays and studies’ aptly remarks:
“In
that great phrase ‘comic epic In prose’ fielding evoked a critical Tradition,
claimed his authority Asserted right of the new… to the Craft to the comedy and
the Dignity of the epic and assumed moral responsibilities of both Along with
the freedom of prose”.
Thank
You…..
No comments:
Post a Comment