|
4 Tobias George Smollett
(1721-1771)
Life
Tobias George Smollett was born in an old aristocratic Scots family. He
learned first at a grammar school and then entered Glasgow College to study
medicine and anatomy. In 1739, he went to London with his “Regicide, a
Tragedy” to seek achievement. Yet he failed. In 1740, he served as an
assistant surgeon on board the “Cumberland”, one of the largest fleets of
England, in an expedition to the West Indies. After he left the service, he
lived in Jamaica for some time and returned to England in 1746. Then he
worked as a medical practitioner. During this period, he wrote some poems
and dramas that were not popular. In 1748, he published his novel The
Adventures of Roderick Random anonymously which turned out to be a great
success. In 1749, he translated Gil Blas by the French writer Le
Sage. In 1751 appeared his second novel Peregrine Pickle. In 1753, he
wrote and published his third novel The Adventures of Ferdinard Count
Fathom. In 1755, he made a translation of Don Quixote. In 1758,
Smollett published his fourth novel, The Adventures of Sir Launcelot
Greaves. In 1770, he wrote his fifth and the last novel in epistolary
form, The Expedition of Humphrey Clinker. He died in 1771 in Italy in
his vacation.
Smollet's comic inventiveness influenced Sheridan, Dickens
and Thackeray, and Scott paid tribute to his impact on him, pointing out
Smollett's ability to make readers laugh out loud. Smollett's other books
include a Complete history of England (1757-58), which was popular
and financially successful, The Present state of all nations, a world
geography, notable for its time, and The History and adventures of an
atom (1769), a coarse satire on English public affairs.
Smollett played a part in Britain's first Scottish
administration, that of the Earl of Bute. After editing the Critical
review (1756-63), he produced The Briton (1762-63) a government
propaganda sheet, which more than met its match in the opposition's North
Briton, edited by Wilkes. He also translated the French picaresque
romance Gil Blas by Le Sage and the Spanish classic Don Quixote.
His poetry includes The Tears of Scotland, a heartfelt lament for
Culloden, and his Ode to Leven Water, celebrating the famous river
which flowed past his childhood home.
Major work
Although Smollett tried his hand at various literary genres,
he is mainly regarded as a novelist. His novels drew a lot from his own
adventures. Roderick Random and Humphrey Clinker are his two important
novels.
Roderick Random
As the first sea novel in English literature, Roderick
Random is written in the picaresque tradition and in the first person
singular. The novel begins with the departure of hero Roderick Random with
his friend Strap from home to London to make a fortune. In London, Roderick
enters the Navy as a surgeon’s mate and starts his adventures on the sea. At
last he returns to England and is married to his sweetheart Narcissa. In
this novel, Smollett reveals the vicissitudes of the poor people’s life in
Scotland, and satirizes the cruel and inhuman treatment of British sailors,
the idle, depraved and intriguing life led by upper class in London, as well
as the hypocrisy and selfishness of the middle and lower-middle classes. He
obviously shows his sympathy for the poor and miserable people.
The Expedition of Humphrey Clinker
This is Smollett’s last but the best and pleasantest one. It
describes the adventures of Mr. Mathew Ramble’s family from England to
Scotland. Humphrey Clinker in this family is shabby stableman who helps them
to overcome various difficulties with his resourcefulness. Having gone
through all kinds of hardships they arrived at the terminal and finally
proves Humphrey is the natural son of his kind-hearted master. This novel is
constructed in the form of letters that are written by the characters
participating in the journey except Humphrey Clinker. It offers a
contemporary record of 18th century England and Scotland with Smollett’s
remarks on it. However, this novel tinges sentimentalism that was growing
popular that time.
|
