Welcome to The Harlot’s Progress in Context. This website is dedicated to William Hogarth (1697-1764), a well-known eighteenth-century painter and engraver, and will give in-depth analysis of his six-part series of engravings, A Harlot’s Progress. The six plates, visible below, depict the story of Moll Hackabout and her descent from a simple country girl to a Harlot, ending in her death. The six plates highlight critical social issues common in English culture during Hogarth’s life. By following Moll, Hogarth’s series illustrates concerns with prostitution, sanitation, and low quality of life for the poor and working classes. Explore the site to learn more about the material culture, the social world, people and places, as well as allusions and symbolism contained within this series. Each plate has been annotated, providing context to scholarly sources. The engravings can be enlarged for highly detailed viewing. Additionally, each theme can be explored individually through the sidebar. Sources to all information on the site can be found on the Works Cited page.

This website is best viewed in Chrome and Firefox browsers. The website was created by a class of undergraduate students in ENGC37 at the University of Toronto Scarborough, during the winter semester of 2015. Staff from the Digital Scholarship Unit at the UTSC Library and the UTSC Writing Centre provided technical, research, and writing support.