William Hogarth, Beer Street and Gin Lane

Ian Gordon (Anglia Ruskin University)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.05: English Writing and Culture from the Glorious Revolution to the French Revolution, 1689-1789.
Vol. editors: Paul Baines (University of Liverpool), Daniel Cook (University of Dundee), Pat Rogers (University of South Florida), Nicholas Seager (University of Keele)

Domains

Political Science

Dates

First circulation or publication 1751 - 1759

Places

England (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Comedy
Non-fictional prose
Satire

Resources

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Beer Street

and

Gin Lane

are arguably Hogarth’s two best known and certainly his most overtly political prints. He designed and published them as part of a campaign in support of the government’s Gin Act, eventually passed in the summer of 1751. Gin, an abbreviation of ‘geneva’, was first distilled in Holland in the early 17th century, where it was originally produced as a medicine and sold in chemists’ shops to treat stomach complaints. Distilled from grain, and flavoured with the juice of juniper berries, it became especially popular in England after the arrival of William and Mary from the Netherlands in 1688. Cheap gin, without the juniper flavouring, was readily available in the first half of the eighteenth century. It had a very high alcohol proof affording quicker and…

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2133 words

Citation: Gordon, Ian. "Beer Street and Gin Lane". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 18 September 2003 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=6398, accessed 24 November 2024.]