How did Henry Fielding use novels to continue his comic satire after leaving the stage?

After the Licensing Act of 1737 effectively ended his career as a playwright by imposing government censorship on the stage, Henry Fielding transitioned his satirical talents to the novel. He utilized this new medium to continue his critique of society, politics, and contemporary literature through several key methods:

• Parody and Travesty: Fielding began his prose career by targeting the sentimental morality of Samuel Richardson. Works like An Apology for the Life of Mrs. Shamela Andrews and Joseph Andrews utilized burlesque and irony to subvert the conventions of popular fiction.12
• Integration of Dramatic Devices: He brought techniques from his theatrical background—such as wit, irony, and structured plot—into his novels, which he famously described as a "comic Epic-Poem in Prose".12
• Authorial Presence: Fielding developed a flamboyant narrative voice that "buttonholed" the reader, allowing him to air ethical and critical questions directly, much like a commentator on the stage.1
• Mock-Heroic Satire: In The Life of Mr. Jonathan Wild the Great, he used a mock-heroic idiom to draw derisive parallels between the criminal underworld and the political elite, continuing his long-standing critique of corruption.12