ABSTRACT
In the early modern period in England, works across a number of genres, including poetry, plays, essays, novels, and letters, build upon and revise earlier classical notions about ideal relationships between men. By elevating the voluntary bonds of friendship over the ties of blood, Budgell's essay participates in the broader middle-class critique of aristocratic honor and privilege that was at the heart of eighteenth-century representations of ideal masculinity and male friendship. The author argues that broader social commentary is inseparable from Holcroft's representation and exploration of the bonds of male friendship. Thus for Holcroft's young protagonist, Hugh Trevor, the ability to distinguish the false friend from the true exists in tandem with his increasingly powerful ability to discern such corruption, and to educate the reader along with himself. William Godwin recognized the essential links between individual relations and broader social change. As with Holcroft, Godwin's political critique is inextricably bound to his portrayal of impassioned male friendship.
