The Impact of Cultural Values in Early Industrial England: Industry and Idleness

Lesson 1

1. Quickwrite: Students will write two or three sentences in response to the following questions. What makes a person successful? Is hard work a good thing or a bad thing? Why?

2. Teacher moderates a discussion of student responses.

3. Present a short lecture on the economic, social, and political reasons that the Industrial Revolution began first in England , and students will take notes.

4. Conclude the lecture by noting that some of England 's advantages, like the presence of natural resources like iron and coal or good harbors and rivers, are easy to explain, while other cultural factors, like a productive work force, are more complicated. Today's lesson will explore this cultural factor behind the Industrial Revolution in England .

5. Divide students into groups of two or three and give each group the first image by Industry and Idleness: The Fellow ‘Prentices . Explain that the first image is print number one in a series of twelve prints about the two workers, Francis Goodchild and Thomas Idle.

6. Demonstrate how to write a caption for one of the figures in the image, making reference to items around the person. For the supervisor looking in on the two workers:  “Nice work Francis; keep it up. Hey there Thomas, wake up! Pick up your instruction manual and get going! Maybe I should be paying that cat instead of you!”

7. State that Hogarth was making a social commentary on how lack of education can predispose an individual to a difficult future, where crime may be a better option than traditional work. Society should protect their children by ensuring that they are educated and have the tools to contribute to the workplace as an adult.

8. Students will write captions for the two other people in the image, the sleeping Thomas and the productive Francis. Each caption must be at least three sentences long and must make reference to the items around the person in the image.

9. Ask volunteers to read their captions.

10. Teacher will ask the class for ideas about what the other parts of the image mean—the symbols in the margins, the title and Biblical references. Teacher will inform students that thousands of prints of this engraving were sold in England during the Early Industrial Revolution, to be hung in workshops for workers to view. In this context, what messages are the artist and purchaser of the print trying to get across to workers? Do you think it worked? How could this have reflected the Industrial Revolution in England ?

11. Teacher will hand out copies of the second image with the title cut off to the same groups. This second image was part of the same series about the two workers. The concentrating worker became the mayor of London , and this the eleventh print in the series explains what happened to the sleeping worker. In prints two through ten the sleeping worker got into a life of crime. Students will choose two people in this image and write a caption for each. Again, the caption should be at least three sentences and should make reference to items or other people around the person speaking. Encourage students to describe the sounds or smells in the image.

12. After all captions have been written, teacher will take random responses or ask volunteers to read their captions. Teacher should emphasize the incoherence of the scene. Note the energy and excitement of the scene, the coffin on the cart, and the Biblical reference at the bottom. Once the various parts of the image have been discussed, teacher will ask students for sample titles for the image – giving the actual title in the end.

13. Discussion Questions:
* What do these two images which were popular with employers in England in the Early Industrial Revolution tell us about the attitudes of employers toward hard work at the time?
* Do you think they were successful in teaching these values to workers?
* What evidence is there in the images that not everyone agreed with the employers? Here the teacher will need to draw students' attention to the crowd at the execution.
* Compare England 's attitudes toward hart work with modern American culture's attitudes toward hard work. Do we have models in our culture for hard work? Athletes? The apprentice ? What other values compete with hard work in American culture? Could a similar Industrial Revolution happen today in America ? What other factors could compensate for the differences in culture?

Lesson 2

Focus Artworks:
Industry and Idleness , I – The Fellow ‘Prentices – Industry and Idleness – at Their Looms , XI – The Idle ‘Prentice Executed at Tyburn
Artist: William Hogarth
Date of work: 1747
Media: Engravings 

Lesson Procedure:

1. Discuss Hogarth and the Industrial Revolution using information from Striking Gold at crockerartmuseum.org. The following provides some key points of interest:.
   1. Hogarth may be comparable to modern-day comic book artists. His Marriage a la Mode series is very similar to Industry and Idleness, the 12-part narrative that the two slides belong to.
   2. Both series are critiques to the society of the time. In this case, I – The Fellow ‘Prentices – Industry and Idleness – at Their Looms and XI – The Idle ‘Prentice Executed at Tyburn is a critique of the Industrial Revolution and also an analysis of the result of the attitudes of the people in London. The good and the bad are contrasted to the characters of Francis Goodchild and Thomas Idle.
   3. In order to spread the word faster, Hogarth chose to engrave his work. This work ties in with the hustling and bustling life in London at that time—everything seems to be moving faster than ever. Certain inventions were made to speed up the process of work.
   4. In a way, Hogarth’s piece is a form of an editorial, as seen in newspapers, or advertisements as seen in magazines, television, the internet, and other sorts of media.
2. Ask the students what other forms may be compared to Hogarth’s series? The following is a list of other examples:

Newsletters

E-letters

Comic books including Manga-(Japanese for comics; these comics are usually based    
from Anime Monet’s Haystacks and Waterlilies- Claude Monet created a series of paintings of these two subjects. Although they are similar to Hogarth’s series, these paintings concentrate more on the formal aspects of art such as light, color, and form.

MySpace and other similar sites-Networking has been a really big thing in the nation, and
websites such as MySpace, Friendster, and Facebook have been created to create a
network of friends online. Through these pages, people are able to advertise themselves
and their beliefs, and groups exist for people’s common interest.

1. As a group project, have the students cut a sheet of newsprint paper in half (crosswise). Given all the information discussed and mentioned, ask the students to refer to a magazine or an editorial and ask them to create either an advertisement or an editorial. (Recommended people per group:4+)
2. Once they are done, have each group talk about their work. After each idea is presented, they must discuss how these works may be produced and distributed. How else could they have spread the word?
3. Optional: Assign a short essay project on the power of the artist media. Suggested prompts:
   1. Chose another work of art (preferably of another media) and compare it to Hogarth’s engravings. To what extent does the artist’s medium help extend his message across?
   2. Discuss the effects of the electronic media to the arts. Why would Hogarth’s Industry and Idleness be considered a work of art, while a Dove logo is not considered as one? How did the art community deal with this? (Hint: Andy Warhol’s Campbell Soup Cans-Warhol is an icon in the Pop Art movement of the 1950’s where art was integrated with popular culture; related article can be found on http://observer.guardian.co.uk/review/story/0,6903,639878,00.html)

Ask the students to read the article for further understanding of Warhol’s ideals (or lack of).

Artwork

 
About William Hogarth
William Hogarth was born in London in 1697. An influential painter and printmaker, Hogarth made many significant contributions to the culture of 18th century England. He witnessed the city's enormous political, social, economic and industrial growth, and reported the progress and setbacks in accomplished paintings and elaborate engravings.

When Hogarth was 10 years old, his father, Richard Hogarth, was confined to the Fleet Prison after a business he owned went bankrupt. This experience introduced young Hogarth to the harsh effects of urban commercialism. From 1716 to 1718, while still a teenager, he served an apprenticeship with a silverplate engraver. By 1720, he established his own business of engraving bookplates and painting portraits. At the same time, Hogarth worked for a printseller, and began to produce political satires, setting the stage for the work that would bring him success. About this time, he met Sir James Thornhill, with whom he began to take drawing lessons. Friendship with his teacher grew and in 1729, Hogarth married Thornhill's daughter. Hogarth's first-hand experiences as an apprentice engraver and shop owner informed his incisive views on the impact of technology and commerce on the fast-growing city of London .

In addition to satire, he was also drawn to the themes of the manners and morality (how and why people behave as they do). In 1732, Hogarth produced A Harlot's Progress , the first in his series of successful paintings that he translated into engravings. The series followed the downfall of a young country girl after her move to the big city. Two other important series followed: The Rake's Progress and Marriage à la Mode. Contemporary urban life, popular literature and the raucous imagery of 17th century Dutch and Flemish art inspired these tales of the adventure and misfortune. The engravings were so popular with the buying public that in time, printsellers began pirating Hogarth's work and selling them without paying him royalties. Outraged by this practice, Hogarth urged his contacts in Parliament to pass the Copyright Act of 1735. Later that same year, Hogarth set up a guild and an art school for established artists known as St. Martin's Lane Academy .

During the 1740s, he painted a number of portraits, but by the end of the decade he returned to producing his insightful, popular images of London social life. Industry and Idleness was produced in 1747. More individual prints and series followed in the 1750s: Beer Street , Gin Lane , and The Four Stages of Cruelty. Hogarth's imagery drew from current affairs as well as an extensive knowledge of literature, music and theatre. Some of his more biting political commentary upset certain English leaders, but Hogarth would retaliate against his foes with new satirical engravings, a form of editorial cartoons for the masses.

Hogarth continued working until 1763 when he suffered a paralytic seizure. He recovered sufficiently in the following year to produce his final work, Tailpiece: The Bathos. He died on October 25, 17 64 at age 67.


About Industry and Idleness
Industry and Idleness , a 12-part visual narrative produced by Hogarth in 1747, provides an entertaining view of London 's social and commercial life in the mid-18th century. Hogarth uses contemporary London as a stage, and presents the characters in various forms of work and play. The series celebrates the virtues and rewards of hard work and discipline through the lives of two characters with descriptive names: Francis Goodchild and Thomas Idle. Although presented as a cautionary tale, Hogarth infuses his story with levity and clever references to popular culture. The two young men are presented in terms of good (hard work) and evil (idleness), but the artist reveals a subtle empathy with Thomas Idle, showing him as a victim of poor choices and sordid circumstances.

By using humor and exaggeration, Hogarth delivered an incisive social warning without heavy-handed preaching. Due to Hogarth's desire to distribute his message to a broader audience, this series was designed as a set of engravings. He hoped that shopkeepers and merchants would display the series where their employees or apprentices could see them. Whether his works fulfilled this educational goal or not, they sold quickly to an enthusiastic audience of over 6,000 customers!

Each print in the series includes at least one Biblical passage. The title for each print appears above the image and spells out the significance of the scene. Each of the first 10 prints are framed with symbols of reward and punishment: the Lord Mayor's mace, chains of office, and sword of truth on one side; a whip, handcuffs and hangman's rope on the other. Plate XI, which depicts Idle's demise, is framed with dangling skeletons. Plate XII, which depicts Goodchild's rise to the position of Mayor, is framed with cornucopiae (horn of plenty).

Plate I: The Fellow ‘prentices – Industry and Idleness – at their Looms

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Reflecting the significance of the textile industry in England , the opening scene of this visual narrative shows two young men – Thomas Idle and Francis Goodchild – who are apprentices to a silk weaver in Spital-fields, East London, an area known for textiles. The horizontal composition is divided into two richly detailed sections.

On the left, a disheveled Idle dozes in a dark alcove and his loom is unused. A cat (symbol of idleness in earlier eras) plays with the dangling, unused shuttle. The inscription on a large tankard sitting on the loom reads, Spittle Fields – a humorous play on the name Spital-Fields . A sheet with the heading Moll Flanders , hangs above his head – a reference to the protagonist of Daniel Defoe's popular novel, published 25 years earlier in 1722. The novel had significant interest to the artist, and specific connection to the theme of this work. Moll Flanders , the daughter of a convict, was forced into service as a maid as a young girl. In time, she learned that she could earn more as a pickpocket or prostitute. In this way Hogarth is suggesting that the disadvantages with which some people start life contribute to their downfall. Idle's copy of The Prentices' Guide is cast on the floor, probably unread. On the right, Goodchild works in an area illuminated by light from a diamond-paned window. His face is the picture of diligence and attentiveness. His left hand works the shuttle. The thick roll of cloth indicates that he has been productive. Above his head hangs Dick Whittington, Lord Mayor , in reference to the English legend. On the floor nearby is Goodchild's open copy of The ‘Prentices' Guide . Behind him, standing in the doorway, is their employer Mr. West. His raised cane and his angry gaze towards Idle unity, the divided composition dominated by the vertical lines of the loom, with an implied diagonal line across the picture plane. A biblical verse from Proverbs appears beneath each of the apprentices. Beneath Idle, the passage reads, “The drunkard shall come to poverty and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags.” Beneath Goodchild it reads, “The hand of the diligent maketh rich.”

Plate XI: The Idle ‘Prentice Executed at Tyburn

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After descending into a life of crime, Idle is betrayed by a crook, and his case is decided by Goodchild who is by now an Alderman of London. The scene shows Idle on the day of his execution: a pigeon carrying the announcement of his arrival flies off from the stands on the upper right. Hogarth indicates a crowd of hundreds who witness this form of public entertainment. Idle is shown in an open cart, accompanied by his coffin and a spirited preacher. Following close behind is group of soldiers. The prison chaplain rides in a closed carriage ahead of Idle. Further to the right is cart filled with prostitutes and a well-known madam who have come out for the holiday. To its right is a smaller cart on which Idle's sobbing mother rides. In front of these carts, in the lower right of the composition, is a merchant hawking his wares, while a boy picks his pocket and two characters upset a wheelbarrow of fruit. Hogarth includes an assortment of characters who have climbed the surrounding walls for a better view of the hanging. The gallows protrude from the rear of the crowd, towards the right side of the composition. In the foreground a woman holds a pamphlet printed for the event: The Last Dying Speech & Confessions of The Idle. Hogarth accompanies this scene with verses from Proverbs. “When fear cometh as desolation, their destruction cometh as a Whirlwind; when distress cometh upon them. Then they shall call upon God, but he will not answer.”
In Plates II through X, Hogarth alternates between the activities of Idle and Goodchild, illustrating their respective progress upon their chosen paths: Idle to his hanging, and Goodchild to the position of Lord Mayor of London . Hogarth may have identified with each of his subjects. Like Tom Idle, he did not complete his apprenticeship. Like Francis Goodchild, Hogarth married his master's daughter. Hogarth knew the consequences of crime, having seen his father thrown into debtor's prison. However, by showing teeming crowds of spectators representing broad cross-sections of society in the two final scenes, he demonstrates the impact of a rapidly changing economy on society, and its complex result.

Context

 
About the Industrial Revolution
Most historians agree that the Industrial Revolution took hold in England by the mid-18th century, and in fact England became the first “industrialized” country in the world. The momentum can be traced to the agricultural revolution that occurred in England during the 17th century. A scientific attitude towards farming, introduced new methods and machinery, increased agricultural output and created a significant decrease in need for labor. At the beginning of the 17th century, 80% of England 's people lived off the land; by 1800, only 40% subsisted by farming. That shift directly impacted the social life and economy of the cities. By the time of Hogarth's death, London 's population was over one million, making it one of the largest cities in the world. In turn, this move to the cities produced a labor surplus that supported a growing factory system. One of England 's most important products was its textiles, and some of its most important technological advances directly affected textile production, such as:

•  Flying shuttle invented in Lancashire in 1733.
•  First spinning machines patented in England in 1738.
•  English cotton factories set up in Birmingham and Northampton in 1742.
•  Process for bleaching textiles on large scale developed in England in 1746.

With technological and commercial progress also came the problems of crime and rampant exploitation. Artists and writers captured and reported these ironies and moral dilemmas to an increasingly diversified and concerned audience.