ABSTRACT
Eighteenth-century criticism of prose fiction in England falls into two sections, dividing at the year 1740. The century began with the rejection of the previously popular heroic romance. The first forty years was a period of great activity and experiment, but was marked by a lack of confidence on the part of the novelists and a generally hostile attitude on the part of the critics, who were offended by the frivolity and immorality of much contemporary fiction. This period ended suddenly with the publication of Samuel Richardson’s Pamela (1740) and Henry Fielding’s Joseph Andrews (1742), which was partly stimulated by his rival’s success. These two writers consolidated their achievement with Clarissa (1748) and Tom Jones (1749). Together they demonstrated that fiction could be popular and yet have artistic and intellectual appeal. However, there then followed such an enormous increase in the production of fiction that many observers felt that the novel was a threat to cultural and moral standards. Some commentators attacked the new genre on the basis of the theoretical position provided by Richardson. Others, more interested in the novel itself than in its effects on the public, attempted to describe its characteristics and formulate its rules. Between 1740 and the end of the century a great deal of discussion went on and very positive advances were made towards the serious consideration of prose fiction as a branch of literature on equal terms with poetry and drama. During the later decades of the century the debate became more intensive, with the development of thorough and regular reviewing by literary journals. At the same time, however, discussion began to be more stereotyped and repetitive. The fiction written during the last twenty years of the century did not stimulate new thinking as that of Richardson and Fielding had done. The dominant form was the Gothic romance, which seems only to have called forth rather weary repetitions of Aristotelean criteria and a nostalgic looking-back to the more challenging works of the mid-century.
