Hudibras and the Lawyer (Seventeen Small Illustrations for Samuel Butler's Hudibras, no.16)

Art Historical Context

This small etching and engraving by William Hogarth captures a scene from Samuel Butler’s 17th-century satirical poem *Hudibras*, which lampoons the religious and political hypocrisies of the English Civil War era. Created between 1721 and 1726 as part of a series of seventeen illustrations, the print shows the poem’s bumbling Presbyterian knight, Hudibras, in conversation with a lawyer. Hogarth, then a young artist, used the project to sharpen his talent for visual storytelling and social commentary. Printed in a compact format measuring just 4¾ by 2⅝ inches, these works were designed for in...