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Book 3, Chapter 9
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Joseph Andrews, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Hypocrisy
Lust vs. Chastity
Social Class
Religion and Charity
Summary
Analysis
While Joseph Andrews and Abraham Adams are tied to the bed posts, the narrator announces that there will be a brief interlude. One of the squire’s men is a poet and the other is an actor, and they each discuss poetry and drama. They argue about the two artforms, not reaching a conclusion, before they’re finally interrupted. The narrator tells the reader that the next chapter is similar to this one and can be skipped by an impatient reader, although he promises it contains some of the best writing in the whole book.
The narrator is making fun of how other stories sometimes have interludes that bring the action to a stop, either to examine a philosophical topic or for pure entertainment. He suggests that “good” writing will often have moments that bring the plot to a halt, perhaps satirizing the opinions that some people held about plays and literature.
Themes
Literary Devices
Quiz
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