Plot
The play is begun with a prologue that describes the origins of the heroic Muse who uses satire in order to deal with those who are villains. However, she is not limited to satire, and the heroic Muse is said to provoke individuals towards the destruction of evil in general.
After this set up, Fielding introduces a traditional comedic love plot in which Hilaret contemplates running off and marrying Constant. Her father, Politic, stops her from running off with Constant in order to argue about the role of private and public concerns in regards to love. Their discussion serves as a model for the actions surrounding Justice Squeezum and Justice Worthy, particularly Justice Squeezum's corruption when it comes to the judicial system, and the play promotes the need for virtue within public and private settings.
As the plot progresses, Hilaret is set upon by Ramble, which provokes her to cry out "rape". During this time, Constant, in an attempt to help a woman, is also accused of rape. They are taken before Justice Squeezum, who reveals his abuses of the judicial system. Hilaret comically forms a plot in order to catch the corrupt Justice Squeezum; he is able to overcome it because Fielding promotes dealing with corruption only through legal means, which Hilaret fails to do when she resorts to relying on falsified evidence. Although Justice Squeezum and his corrupt nature almost overcomes the other characters, the manner in which this happens is done in a farcical way to provoke laughter.
Read more about this topic: Rape Upon Rape
Famous quotes containing the word plot:
“Ends in themselves, my letters plot no change;
They carry nothing dutiable; they won’t
Aspire, astound, establish or estrange.”
—Philip Larkin (1922–1986)
“There saw I how the secret felon wrought,
And treason labouring in the traitor’s thought,
And midwife Time the ripened plot to murder brought.”
—Geoffrey Chaucer (1340?–1400)
“If you need a certain vitality you can only supply it yourself, or there comes a point, anyway, when no one’s actions but your own seem dramatically convincing and justifiable in the plot that the number of your days concocts.”
—John Ashbery (b. 1927)