Henry Fielding's early writing has been considered mere farce, commercial “theatre,” which has no intrinsic relation to his later ethical work. A reëxamination of his plays indicates, however, that they have a basic seriousness which in many respects anticipates his great novels. For the present I confine my discussion to Fielding's second play, The Temple Beau (1730). Though in general The Temple Beau is conventional in satire and derives from the tradition and practice of the comedy of manners, the play contains at least one important anticipation of the mature work of Fielding, his initial endeavor to find and to use a symbol which has the power to express his attitude toward life.