THE PECULIARITIES OF THE RECEPTION OF HENRY FIELDING’S DRAMATURGIC HERITAGE IN CONTEMPORARY LITERARY CRITICISM

Abstract

The research is devoted to exploring the features of reception of Henry Fielding’s dramatic heritage. The aim of the study is to analyze literary critics’ research of Henry Fielding’s creative work. We make the conclusion that Henry Fielding’s unprecedented success was due to the relevance of the topics and issues which the author focuses on. The characters, plots and themes were extremely close to the audience of that time and that is why they gained incredible popularity. In literary criticism, it was thought that the dramatic works served as a kind of start for Fielding to create his further fundamental works. But the writer should be considered in several guises: Fielding as a playwright, Fielding as a journalist, Fielding as a novelist, each of which deserves the detailed study and can help to provide a complete picture of the search that became the key to success in each new round of his creative evolution. We consider the analysis of Fielding’s plays, which can become a material for studying the genre preferences of the writer, the key to the study of his novels and Fielding’s impact on the next generations of playwrights.