Why did William Hogarth create narrative series about contemporary life?

William Hogarth created narrative series about contemporary life primarily to capture "honest naturalism" and to provide both entertainment and moral instruction. Influenced by his connections in the theatrical world and the work of Pieter Bruegel the Elder, Hogarth sought to extract instructive incidents from everyday society.1

His narrative works, such as A Rake’s Progress, allowed him to ridicule the follies and vices of his time while painting clear moral lessons. These series were designed to appeal to a wide public, and their immense success granted Hogarth the financial and artistic independence to pursue his own creative inclinations, free from the constraints of traditional patronage. Furthermore, he used these prints to advocate for the protection of artists' rights, successfully lobbying for copyright legislation—known as the Hogarth Act—to prevent the piracy of his work.1