How has Fielding indeed achieved his goal of writing “comic epic in prose” in The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling?
THE PANORAMIC VIEW IT PROVIDES OF THE 18TH-CENTURY ENGLISH COUNTRY AND CITY LIFE WITH SCORES OF DIFFERENT PLACES AND A WHOLE GALLERY OF ABOUT 40 CHARACTERS IS SUPERB. THE LANGUAGE IS ONE OF CLARITY AND SUPPLENESS. AND LAST OF ALL, THE PLOT CONSTRUCTION IS EXCELLENT. ITS EIGHTEEN BOOKS OF EPIC FORM ARE DIVIDED INTO THREE SECTIONS, 6 BOOKS EACH, CLEARLY MARKED OUT BY THE CHANGE OF SCENES: IN THE COUNTRY, ON THE HIGHWAY AND IN LONDON. BY THIS, FIELDING HAS INDEED ACHIEVED HIS GOAL OF WRITING A “COMIC EPIC IN PROSE”.
