Unit Five: Political Satire
Lesson Ten
The Masters of the Essay
The Spectator
“Thus I live in the world rather as a
spectator of mankind than as one of
the species.”
Contributions to the Middle
Class of England
At the time they were writing, England
was undergoing a great shift, from power
being in the hands of the aristocracy to
power being in the hands of the “middle
class”.
That’s rather a misnomer, as there were
some incredibly wealthy trades people.
Shifting Society
England was rapidly shifting from an
agrarian economy to a mercantile
economy, and people of “no birth and
breeding” were coming into positions of
great power.
Meritocracy
Political jobs no longer were going to the
children of the aristocracy immediately,
but a meritocracy was coming into being,
especially after the Whig Ascendancy after
the death of Queen Anne.
Social Polish
These powerful and wealthy people were
often the children or grandchildren of
butchers, bankers and tradesmen.
They didn’t grow up knowing the “rules” of
society and having certain standards of
behavior, so many of the writers of the
time were setting standards of “civilization”
and polish for the middle class.
Addison and Steele are two of the most
powerful of these writers.
Standards of Behavior
Based on Locke and the basic Christian
humanism that had been the dominant
intellectual current in Europe for centuries.
It is during this period, though, that the
“Christian” part of humanism tones down
remember, people were tired of the religious
wars and fighting
what is called modern liberal humanism
emerged.
Prevailing Ideology
This is still the prevailing ideological ideal
in the West.
In the US, there’s more of a trend towards
the older Christian humanism
America is the most religious country in the
West by far.
Serious Reformers
Both men knew that they were setting
standards, and they took their roles in
society quite seriously.
Sir Richard Steele
Joseph Addison
Sir Richard Steele
A typical representative of the postRestoration mood, Steele was a zealous
crusader for morality
His stated purpose in The Tatler was ``to
enliven Morality with Wit, and to temper
Wit with Morality.''
Joseph Addison
With The Spectator, Addison added a
further purpose: to introduce the middleclass public to recent developments in
philosophy and literature and thus to
educate their tastes.
Enormous Influence
Although The Spectator and The Tatler
each only ran two years, the influence that
Addison and Steele had on their
contemporaries was enormous
Their essays often amounted to a
popularization of the ideas circulating
among the intellectuals of the age.
Set Tastes for Centuries
With these wide-spread and influential
publications, the literary circle revolving
around Addison, Steele, Swift and Pope
was practically able to dictate the
accepted taste in literature during the
Augustan Age
Critical Influence
In one of his essays for The Spectator, for
example, Addison criticized the
metaphysical poets for their ambiguity and
lack of clear ideas
This critical stance which remained
influential until the twentieth century.
Importance to Scholars
For scholars studying the relation between
commerce and culture or the emergence
of what Jurgen Habermas has called the
`bourgeois public sphere,' the work of
Addison and Steele is seminal.
Moreover, the periodical in general has
recently become a great source of interest
for literary scholars and academics
working on `the history of the book.' '
Addison (1672-1719)
After five years at Oxford,
Addison left to travel
Europe and earned a
reputation as a great
gentleman whose only
fault was a weakness
for wine and an
occasional smoke.
Strange Path to Power
Finding himself without a job at 33 years
old, he was asked to write a poem about
the Duke of Marlborough's victory of
Blenheim
The poem was so well liked by the Whig
party that he was named Vice
Commissioner of appeals and later UnderSecretary of State
Thackerey on Addison
"It is as a tatler of small talk and a
spectator of mankind that we cherish and
love him, and owe as much pleasure to
him as to any human being who ever
wrote. He came in that artificial age, and
began to speak with his noble, natural
voice. He came, the gentle artist, who hit
no unfair blows; the kind judge, who
castigates only in smiling.”
The Coverly Papers
Steele (1672-1729)
Born in Dublin and educated at Oxford. In
1694 he left Oxford
without a degree and
enlisted in the Life
Guards.
Many Career Aspects
Steele went on to be a
dramatist,
a gentleman waiter to Prince George of
Denmark,
gazetteer,
Commissioner of Stamps,
the founder of numerous periodicals,
a member of parliament,
and a patentee of Drury Lane Theatre
Great Marketer
Steele was the first writer to gear his work
toward more than just the educated male
market.
He wrote to all people, especially to
women
He took his material from first hand
knowledge of the city and the people he
met while in the service.
Thackeray Again
"Addison wrote [Steele's] exercises.
Addison did [Steele's] best themes.
[Steele] ran on Addison's messages;
fagged for him and blacked his shoes: to
be in Joe's company was Dick's greatest
pleasure."
How to Behave
In the essays, especially the first ones that
we looked at for today, we can see how to
behave in society.
We can see the qualities that are admired
by Addison and Steele, which they
believed should be valued by all men and
women of good sense in society.
Arbiters of Literary Taste
All writers need a sponsor
As Shakespeare had Dryden to help
elevate him to “England’s bard,” so Milton
had Addison and Steele.
Why Milton?
 Paradise Lost is a major accomplishment, probably one
of the biggest in English. But it’s difficult.
 But Milton and his poem are perfect examples of
greatness to be held up to the rising middle class.
 Milton was not from the aristocracy--his family earned its
money, albeit quite a lot of money.
 He was a republican, and a staunch one at that, which
may have been slightly problematic, but he was a
staunch supporter of liberty and political freedom.
Political Poem
The poem is a blueprint for a Whiggish
society when read looking for political
messages.
If you are interested in the politics of PL,
there are two articles on EngSite for week 6:
Milton and Modernity: Politics, Masculinity, and
Paradise Lost
“’Warring chains of signifiers’: metaphoric
ambivalence and the politics of Paradise Lost.”)
Perfect Example
Milton’s work was staunchly moral,
Christian, and did not reflect the decadent
values of the aristocratic society.
As such, it was perfect for Addison and
Steele’s purposes