Joseph Andrews History And BAckground

1. Umm-e-Rooman Yaqoob
Roll # 3
B.S English (4th Semester)
Joseph Andrews
History and background of Joseph Andrews:
Joseph Andrews, or History of the Adventures of Joseph Andrews And of his
friend Mr. Abraham Adams, was the first published full length novel of the English author and
magistrate Henry Fielding and indeed among the first novels in the English language.
Published in 1742 and defined by Fielding as a:
“Comic epic poem in prose”
It is the story of a good-natured footman`s adventures on the read home from London with his
friend and mentor, the absent minded parson Abraham Adams.
The novel represents the coming together of the two competing aesthetic of 18th century literature:
 The mock heroic and neo-classical approach of Augustans such as Alexander Pope and Jonathan
Swift.
 The popular, domestic prose fiction of novelist such as Daniel Defoe and Samuel Richardson.
The novel Joseph Andrews was written in the 18th century during the Augustan Age by Henry Fielding.
The followers of the age valued and supported reason and strongly believed in empiricism and human
nature. The history of the Joseph Andrews is an entertaining story that embodies all of the principles of
the Augustan Age. Henry Fielding was an Augustan writer who exercised a repertoire of literary tools in
his novel.
Critical responses to Joseph Andrews:
 Early and contemporary critical responses:

2. The reading of Joseph Andrews elicited various responses from
contemporary society . Many critics found that his novel a macrocosm of Augustan beliefs and
principles ; it manufactured a representation of these convictions in a manner that was easily
accessible and understandable by the general public .
 Effects on human nature:
To the Augustan society , human nature was a constant that
observation and reason could be applied to for the advancement of knowledge . It was often
said that Henry Fielding`s greatest achievements in his novel Joseph Andrews were his
depictions of human nature as it existed in all levels of society , he showed the nature of not
only his own social class but of all social classes .
 Effects on his parodic and satirical format:
Another aspect of Fielding`s work that inspired dislike among
some of his readers was his complete prody of Samuel Richardson`s Pamela.
Characters of Joseph Andrews:
Henry Fielding discussed the following characters in his novel .
 Joseph Andrews
 Pamela
 Parson Adams
 Lady Booby
 Mrs. Slipslop
 Fanny
 Mr. and Mrs. Wilson