The late-seventeenth- and eighteenth-centuries are characterised as the period of Enlightenment: an age in which intellectual discourse and discovery played key roles in the development of Western societies and cultures. Within the context of English culture, members of the educated gentility were greatly influenced by Enlightenment ideals and found common spaces in which to exchange and debate their ideas and opinions. Taverns functioned as spaces of intellectual and genteel sociability, where consuming alcohol in an Anacreontic spirit became the essence of fashion and wit, during this epoch. The consumption of alcohol was part of everyday life in eighteenth-century England, as it served as food, a quencher of thirst, and a means of entertainment—particularly within the tavern setting. However, it was not seen in an entirely positive light.
An Illustration of Eighteenth-Century England’s Public Drinking Culture
For example, William Hogarth illustrated the moral anxieties surrounding the drinking culture of mid-eighteenth century England in his painting, ‘An Election Entertainment.’ Hogarth also offers important visual evidence as to how public houses, taverns, and other drinking institutions functioned as public spaces, as well as the ways in which social customs affected the material culture and architecture of these institutions. While it is important to keep the artist’s political biases in mind, this visual satire is nonetheless essential to the comprehension of the contemporary world of socialising. Needless to say, Hogarth’s depiction of one of the key settings of England’s eighteenth-century political and intellectual climates is neither elegant nor poetic. The ultimate goal of this paper will be to contextualise Hogarth’s painting within the complex layers of eighteenth-century English drinking cultures.
William Hogarth painted the series, entitled ‘An Election,’ in 1754 in response to the Whigs’ two-year campaign to steal the Oxfordshire Parliamentary seats from the Tories, who had held them uncontested since 1710. The 1754 General Election consequently came to be renowned for its high levels of corruption. Indeed, the first painting of the ‘Election’ cycle, ‘An Election Entertainment,’ captures the fraudulent means by which the Whigs gained Oxfordshire’s support. Situated in a public house, the two Whig candidates seated at the head of the two tables on the left side of the canvas attempt to put on an aura of republican virtue through the orange banner, bearing the slogan of ‘Liberty and Loyalty,’ and laurel wreath. However, their powdered wigs, silk shirts, and velvet, teal coats—one of which is embroidered with gold thread and buttons—indicates their preference for the cosmopolitan, courtly lifestyle of the English elite over any sort of political and intellectual ideology.
Even a portly, richly dressed Quaker sourly examines an I.O.U. (most likely a political payoff) alongside the Whigs, thereby falling prey to the very customs railed against by his religion. In other words, Hogarth points to a disregard of moral integrity amongst these supposed symbols of political and religious purity. More important, however, is the fact that Hogarth utilised the contemporary drinking culture to portray his disdain for the contemporary political agenda. The surrounding scene of drunken revelry and debauchery points to the reality of the image: the cunning politicians had bribed a group of potential voters with food, drink, and money. In order to understand the tavern scene depicted by Hogarth better, it is first imperative to establish the world of drinking in which Hogarth lived himself.
Part 2 coming soon
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