A Rake’s Progress, Plate 8

‘The rake ends his life in Bedlam’

Willliam Hogarth (1697-1764)

As we know, Chuckie ‘Icarus’ Johnson (obscure jazz guitarist and all ’round husky blogger) decided to libel one of our very own, and favorites Buzzsawmonkey last night. Nice work chuckie, you are picking on a cyber identity that exists in one blog. Wooohoooo! youdaman…not. Btw, chuckie, Daedalus say hi!

Well, for our enjoyment, lets have some fun with LGF. Above is William Hogarth’s ‘The Rake Ends His Life in Bedlam’.

A Rake’s Progress by William Hogarth, Plate 8: “A Rake’s Progress” ends in the famous madhouse, Bethlehem Hospital (Bedlam). Chained, half-naked, and in great anguish is our final view of Tom Rakewell. Faithful to the end, Sarah Young attempts to give him whatever comfort she can. One keeper attends to Tom’s chains while another molests Sarah.

This particular image is among Hogarth’s greatest and most damning indictments of society. Its cast of tormented characters points to the many causes of madness. Behind Tom and Sarah, science has claimed two victims. One studies the stars through a useless role or tube of paper, while another scribbles geometric calculations on the wall. Religion, too, has led to madness. In the cell to the left, a tormented, half-animal, soul worships his cross. To the extreme right a delusional man believes he is the Pope. Beside him a musician madly plays his violin with a stick. On the steps a love lost man has carved the initials of his obsession (‘Charming Betty Careless’, who was a famous prostitute of the day) on the banister. Rounding out this horrific scene is a mad tailor and, in cell 55, a naked delusional King.

Most disturbing, however, are the two, pretty aristocratic ladies who have come to view the suffering of the insane as a form of entertainment. Throughout this entire, masterful set, Hogarth has shown us the dangers of a morally bankrupt society.

Almost thirty years (1763) after completing A Rake’s Progress, Hogarth returned to this final plate and made one significant addition. On the wall he etched an image of a halfpenny portraying Britannia with her hair wildly flying behind her. Within the lower margin he also wrote, “Retouch’d by the Author, 1763.” In the last year of his life, Hogarth clearly felt that Britain and its ruling classes had not improved.

A Rake’s Progress was first published by William Hogarth in 1735. Created several years after A Harlot’s Progress, it chronicles many of the same vices and follies. But whereas Moll, the heroine of the earlier set, is a victim of society, the young, aristocratic ‘hero’, of A Rake’s Progress, Tom Rakewell, is a victim of himself. In this series, Hogarth brilliantly satirizes the often useless and destructive character of Britain’s ruling classes.

This original engraving was both designed and engraved by William Hogarth and published by William Heath in 1822.

There is the background…SO…just for fun, lets pick out which of our favorite LGF characters are in the above plate. Be sure to explain why!

and its an open thread, the bar is also open!

h/t vagabond trader for reminding me of Hogarth’s work on Bedlam Mental Hospital

Buzzsawmonkey has a reply as well”:

The Unicorn
—apologies to Shel Silverstein and the Irish Rovers

A long time ago, when Johnson was lean,
He had a lot of posters on a site called “Green”
The foibles of the day they would discuss with scorn
And none of them believed in silly unicorns.

There were some believing Christians, atheists too
Some gun nuts and some poets, and a mix of Jews
Conservatives and liberals, but sure as you’re born
Not one of them believed in silly unicorns.

Then Johnson found a weasel with fur soft and warm
Who said, “Let me come in and play, too–what could be the harm?”
He forgot that rabid animals will scratch and bite
And it went for everyone in sight.

It started biting believing Christians, atheists too
Some gun nuts and some poets, and a mix of Jews
Conservatives and liberals, but it said, “For fear of horns,
One thing that I will never bite is unicorns.”

Johnson started eating Cheetos, potato chips too,
And as his waist expanded, paranoia grew—
He started seeing enemies, his mind grew sick
And he got himself a banning stick.

He started banning believing Christians, atheists too
Some gun nuts and some poets, and a mix of Jews
Conservatives and liberals, and one fine morn
He even started to believe in unicorns.

One who goes seeking enemies is quite a dope
‘Cause quickly you’re a-sliding down a slippery slope
Johnson decided he’d make his site globally warm
For anyone who won’t believe in unicorns.

So the believing Christians, atheists too
Some gun nuts and some poets, and a mix of Jews
Conservatives and liberals decided, best be gone
Rather than be forced to believe in unicorns.

Johnson stands the solid emperor of his own site
And the weasel capers ’round his feet both day and night
The folks who’ve turned their backs on him view him with scorn
And he’s butthurt ’cause he’s sitting on a unicorn.

Yes, the believing Christians, atheists too
Some gun nuts and some poets, and a mix of Jews
Conservatives and liberals are all ignorin’
The idiot who now believes in unicorns.