Hudibras in Tribulation (Seventeen Small Illustrations for Samuel Butler's Hudibras, no. 7)

Hudibras in Tribulation (Seventeen Small Illustrations for Samuel Butler's Hudibras, no. 7) is an etching and engraving executed by William Hogarth between 1721 and 1726. This piece belongs to the artist's first major illustrated series, dedicated to Samuel Butler’s renowned 17th-century mock-heroic poem, Hudibras. Butler’s text, which fiercely satirized religious and political zealotry during the English Civil War, provided fertile thematic ground for the young Hogarth’s burgeoning narrative and satirical style. As a leading figure in the English printmaking tradition, Hogarth utilized the combination of etching and engraving to achieve the fine line work and expressive detail essential for capturing the complex, bustling scenes demanded by the satirical verse.

This specific illustration, the seventh in the complete series of prints, depicts a moment of high drama and public humiliation for the poem’s protagonist, Sir Hudibras. The composition is characteristic of Hogarth’s early work, packed with subsidiary action and utilizing a variety of figures to emphasize the chaos. We see groups of women and men observing or actively participating in the application of punishment upon the central figure. The scene is imbued with the artist's trademark biting wit, focusing intently on the indignity and suffering faced by the misguided hero. Hogarth often employed his prints to comment sharply on societal failings, and the physical predicament shown here highlights the themes of misdirected justice and folly central to Butler's poem.

The work is an important example of Hogarth’s early development and his reliance on the accessibility of prints as a primary means of distribution. The widespread popularity of these narrative illustrations secured Hogarth’s reputation as a preeminent satirist. Today, this impression resides in the distinguished collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Because this early 18th-century piece is considered to be in the public domain, high-quality images of this foundational series are widely accessible for scholarly study and public appreciation.