The Distrest Poet

The engraving of The Distrest Poet in its third state was issued on 15 December 1741 as a companion piece to The Enraged Musician, a comic scene of a violinist driven to distraction by the noise from the street outside his practice room.Starved of inspiration and suffering writer's block, the poet sits on the end of his bed in his night gown, quill in hand, scratching his head.The poem he is attempting to write is entitled "Upon Riches", which suggests that the poet lives in a fantasy world, while his wife and child go hungry.The poet's dreams of riches are further suggested by the map that hangs over his head, entitled "A View of the Gold Mines of Peru", replacing the image of Pope that appears in the earlier states of the print.The poet's self-interest is hinted by the presence of his pipe and tobacco on the window sill, the mug of beer sitting on the chair in the back of the room, the lace cuffs drying by the fire, his ill-fitting wig, and gentleman's sword lying at his feet; it may be that despite his family's circumstances, he refuses to forgo his own personal pleasures and effects.Ned Ward, the author of The London Spy was a strong contender,[6] as was Lewis Theobald, to whom the lines quoted from Pope in Hogarth's original print referred.Hogarth was well acquainted with the struggles of the Grub Street hack though, through the travails of his own father, Richard, who had been unable to make a living as writer and had eventually ended up at the Fleet Prison as a bankrupt.
The Enraged Musician .
The third state print, completed in 1740 and issued in 1741, featured a different bill above the poet's head.
Hogarth reproduced this image of "Pope Alexander" in the painting, but whether his intention was to mock Pope or Pope's opponents is unclear. By the time the print was issued, the image of Pope had been removed.
William HogarthBirmingham Museum & Art GalleryBirminghamoil paintingetchingengravingAlexander PopesatiricalThe DunciadThe Enraged Musiciangarretwriter's blockEdward ByssheGrub Street Journalpapal tiaraEdmund CurllNed WardThe London SpyLewis TheobaldRonald PaulsonWilliam KentRichard Boyle, 3rd Earl of BurlingtonJames ThornhillShakespeareJohn GayEmblematical Print on the South Sea SchemeSouth Sea BubbleduncesGrub StreetMacheathA Harlot's ProgressFleet PrisonList of works by William HogarthTate PublishingList of worksThe Bad Taste of the TownA Just View of the British StageBefore and AfterThe Company of UndertakersStrolling Actresses Dressing in a BarnCharacters and CaricaturasIndustry and IdlenessBeer Street and Gin LaneThe Four Stages of CrueltyColumbus Breaking the EggSatire on False PerspectiveCredulity, Superstition, and FanaticismFive Orders of PeriwigsJohn Wilkes Esq.The Assembly at Wanstead HouseA Rake's ProgressSouthwark FairScene from Shakespeare's The TempestFour Times of the DayThe Shrimp GirlPortrait of Captain Thomas CoramTaste in High LifeThe Graham ChildrenCaptain Lord George Graham in his CabinDavid Garrick as Richard IIIPainter and his PugThe Gate of CalaisHogarth's ServantsThe March of the Guards to FinchleyHumours of an ElectionSealing the TombHogarth Painting the Comic MuseThe BenchThe Lady's Last StakeSigismunda mourning over the Heart of GuiscardoMarriage A-la-ModeThe Analysis of BeautyLine of beautyHogarth's HouseSarah MalcolmHogarth ClubMary Edwards (Patron)