How Did Hogarth Critique The Poor

William Hogarth, a painter and engraver in the 1700s, was important to the development of satire in England. Most of his famous art would send out strong messages. Each series, between six and eight paintings, taken together, tell cohesive stories that issue strong warnings. Hogarth created Gin Lane to support the Gin Act, which limited the sale of cheap gin (Austin 322). Hogarths famous Gin Lane painting critiques of the poor for drinking gin because he shows many scenes of the poor in one picture, and the environment of the picture seems to be a poor setting.
Hogarth is very detailed with this painting to critique the poor and the abuse of gin. By the middle of the seventeenth century gin had become one of the most destructive forces in urban England (Austin 322). The painting depicts a man holding a bottle …show more content…
People are very badly dressed and seem to have no morals. The people seem to not care what is going on with society, and all they are interested in is drinking gin. The buildings on the right side seem to be tipping over, and no one seems to be bothered by it. There is a building with a man hanging from the ceiling. This isn’t seen in a neighborhood full of wealthy people. A drunken man marches down the street waving a baby impaled on a stick. He most likely found this baby just dead on a street. This is an effect of drinking gin, not being in a right state of mind. There are two or three people who are well dressed. These few people seem to be the gin sellers and pawn owner. The rest are just poor individuals who can not seem to have a stable life.

Hogarths painting is a critiques poor people for drinking gin by the setting, the way they present themselves, and the careless things going on. It is probably normal for people to drink gin back in this era, but it was not meant for people who just used it to get away from their problems. A response to William Hogarths question number four.