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Idleness and Dedication, Hard at Work: a visual reading of William Hogarth’s The Fellow ‘Prentices at their Looms (1747)
William Hogarth. Industry and Idleness: plate 1. The Fellow ‘Prentices at their Looms. 30 September 1747. The British Museum. https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_1896-0710-3
The Fellow ‘Prentices at their Looms is the first engraving of a series called Industry and Idleness by William Hogarth, published in 1747. In this series, the lives of two young apprentices, Francis Goodchild and Thomas Idle are portrayed, as the first leads a life of hard work and dedication and the latter strays into crime and indolence. The lives of the two are depicted in contrast, as a means to warn the youth and show them the danger of a life of idleness.
As the title suggests, this engraving portrays the apprentices in their masters workshop, both intended to do the same work. As the picture seems almost divided in half by the lines of the looms, we can follow this separation and analyze it in sections; the left section is that of Thomas Idle and the right is that of Francis Goodchild. Positioning each apprentice on the far end of the page also represents how different they are, even when placed in the same frame.
On the left, we can see Thomas Idle sleeping away with a frown on his face, perhaps after drinking the contents of the tankard that reads “Spittle Fields”. This tells us that the workshop where the apprentices are working is situated in Spitalfields, which was the center of silk-weaving in London (White, 138). While Thomas Idle sleeps, above his head hangs one of the pages of Moll Flanders, Daniel Defoe’s novel about the same topics as this engraving, in a sense, dedication and indolence. This proposes both the idea that Thomas enjoys reading criminal biographies, and the notion that the same struggles that Moll Flanders went through might await Thomas, if he shapes his life after such figures. On the floor, next to Thomas, lies a mangled copy of The Prentices Guide, with pages ripped and dirty, unlike that of Francis Goodchild, which lies on the floor as well but in perfect condition. A cat can be seen interacting with the machine more than Thomas, which could potentially cause an accident.
On the right side of the page, we can see Francis Goodchild working diligently in his loom. His facial expression is much softer and more relaxed than Thomas’. On the wall behind him we can see pages that read “The London Prentice” and “Whittington Ld Mayor”, which suggest that he is more interested in nurturing his mind, aiming for success and following the steps of the likes of Richard Whittington, who was four times Lord Mayor of London. Francis looks at ease while he works, and his station is more tidy than Thomas’: even his copy of The Prentices Guide is intact. On his left, on the far right side of the page, the master weaver of the workshop enters and looks disapprovingly at Thomas, who, fast asleep, does not realize he is being watched. The master holds a stick, and we can assume that Thomas will receive one or two hits with it for falling asleep on the job, unlike his counterpart Francis Goodchild.
The margins of the engraving reveal a lot about the apprentices. On the top left corner (in Thomas Idle’s side of the page), we can see a noose, a whip and handcuffs, which do foretell his future. On the other hand, on Thomas Goodchild’s side of the page, we can see items such as a ceremonial maze and what appears to be a sword of state with a chain hanging from it. Both the ceremonial maze and the sword of state symbolize the power and status that awaits Thomas in his life, a product of his hard work. These items are almost hidden in the corners of the page, but they are very revealing. Another element that can be easily missed if one looks at a cropped version of this engraving, or simply forgets to zoom out, is the passages from the Bible that are placed at the foot of the page. Both passages describe the apprentices, respectively: the passage on Thomas’ side reads “Proverbs Chap: 23, Ve: 21, The drunkard shall come to Poverty, and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags,” and the one on Francis’ side reads “Proverbs Ch: 10, Ver: 4, The hand of the diligent maketh rich.” These very contrasting passages predict the future of the apprentices, Thomas Idle’s fall to vice and crime, and Francis Goodchild’s wealth and success, and in doing so, shows what the effects of following a life of idleness or of dedication can lead to.
In “The Fellow ‘Prentices at Their Looms,” Hogarth sets the scene for the series of engravings that follows this one in a completely effective manner. This scene allows us to see both apprentices for what they are, and what they will become by the end of the series. The different elements that fill this picture let us interpret it and see how Hogarth placed a moral lesson in this engraving: the consequences of Thomas Idle’s and Francis Goodchild’s actions are not only for them to face, but also for whomever is to follow their example.
Works cited:
White, Jerry. A Great and Monstrous Thing: London in the Eighteenth Century. Harvard University Press, 2013.
