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 PolishThese 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 SteeleJoseph Addison

Sir Richard Steele

A typical representative of the post-Restoration 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 middle-class 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 Under-Secretary 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