18th Century Non Fiction

8/11/2019 18th Century Non Fiction

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The periodical essay was the only literary form #sed by every ma=or writer of the 1 th

"ent#ry.

3 incl#ding writers as different as Steele, Swift, -ope, %ay, )ielding, >ohnson,

2oswell, "owper and %oldsmith.

-eriodical essays also had an important infl#ence on the early English novel.

The Tatleroriginally came o#t on T#esdays, Th#rsdays and Sat#rdays ? the days on

which the post left 0ondon.

The Tatler, Spectator and %#ardian form a more or less contin#o#s body of work ?

comprising of well over 1*** iss#es from (pril 1*+ to 4ecember 11.

The periodical essays were not primarily interested in providing news.

ne declared p#rpose of the periodical essayists was the healing of political differences

between @Whig and Tory, or -#ritan and -apistA, and a programmed fostering ofevasion seems present from the start.

(ddison claimed that the Spectator @4raws ;ens ;inds off from the 2itterness of

-arty, and f#rnishes them with S#b=ects of 4isco#rse that may be treated witho#t

Warmth or -assionA.

;oreover, (ddison preferred to excl#de politics from his periodical altogether beca#se

it was more profitable

it was safer.

(ddison advised -ope, @not to be content with the appla#se of half the nation.A

3 i.e. refrain from throwing in yo#r lot with either the Whigs or the Tories.

Bven so, the Tories fo#nd it hard to believe that anything associated with Steele co#ld

really be apolitical.

It was only after the demise of The Tatler, The Spectatorand The Guardianthat they

began to gr#dging respect the periodicals literary meritsC

In ;ay 111 fo#r month/s after The Tatler/s disappearance, >ohn %ay &a Tory' wrote

abo#t the co#rage with which it @vent#red to tell the Town that they were a parcel of

fops, fools, and co9#ettesD b#t in s#ch a manner as even pleased them, and made them

more than half inclined to believe that E2ickerstaffF spoke tr#e.A

When The Spectator began %ray expressed his hope that (ddison wo#ld moderate

Steele/s factionalism.

In fact, many of the opinionated article written by (ddison in the two periodicals were

wrongly attrib#ted at the time to Steele.

(ddison enco#raged his readers to see beyond ideology, #nite and criticize corr#ption

wherever it appeared.

Within six months of its la#nch, The Tatlerwas almost devoid of news and political

comment.


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The main ob=ective of the periodical essayists was to pro!ote civili#ed lie.

They took on many f#nctions that had previo#sly been f#lfilled by the "h#rch.

(ddison has been called 8the (rchbishop of %ood Taste/.

;any of the essays read like secular ser!ons.

This was not anti3religion b#t anti38enth#siasm/.

The periodical essayists believe in cheerf#l, 8rational/ faith, not religio#s fervo#r.

They believed that not to be a "hristian was slightly ridic#lo#s, a breach of good

manners.

$owever, they #nwittingly prepared the gro#nd for the 1+ th3cent#ry r#pt#re of old3time

religionC

The Spectatorspoke of how %od has perfectly adapted every creat#re for its life on

earth &Spectator G*'It also noted how @the little Transitions and 4eviations from one Species to another,

are almost insensible &i.e. impossible to perceive' &Spectator H1+'

o# only have to add the ingredient of a constantly changing world and 4arwinism is

the inevitable concl#sion.

Bach iss#e of The Spectatorwas read by some 7*,*** people in 0ondon alone.

;#ch of the s#ccess of (ddison and Steele lay in their ability to steer a middle co#rse in

their moralizing.

they deno#nced heavy drinking and gambling, b#t not the theatre.

The periodical essays promoted a type of gentleman very different from the 5estoration

heroC

he believes in reason and control,

val#es correct opinion higher than anarchic wit, and

is less ready to call a spade a spade.

$e is civic3minded, moderate and "hristian

3 instead of aristocratic, libertarian and sceptical.

$e admires women for moral and s#pportive 9#alities

3 rather than for drive, initiative or sex.

The Tatler and The Spectator &11131' stressed that a large part of their intended

a#dience was feminine

3 and that women had an important part to play in the civilizing process.

;any of the periodical essays/ readers were women and the literary form did m#ch to

advance the ed#cation ? and stat#s ? of women.

Some of the periodical were targeted specifically at women s#ch as

theFemale Tatler&1*+31*' and

Bliza $aywood/sFemale Spectator&137'.


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Women were also writing periodical essays.

4elarivier ;anley replaced Swift as propagandist and editor of the Tory Examiner

between 111 and 11.

The periodical essays were pop#lar beca#se they were short and were written in clearer,

more collo9#ial Bnglish than other literary forms.

The periodical essayists #s#ally adopted a ictional personato speak thro#gh.

)or instance, in The TatlerSteele wrote as 8Isaac 2ickerstaff/.

The periodical essays can be seen as the means by which !iddle class? as opposed to

both aristocratic and common ? valueswere defined and asserted.

Periodical Essays$ 18%&-'&11

>ohnson wrote

The Rambler&1H*3G' andThe Adventurer&1H!3'.

6either were pop#lar in periodical form,

tho#gh they were more s#ccessf#l in book form.

The periodical essay lost pop#larity at the end of the cent#ry when the revol#tions and

the 5omantics #ndermined the idea of a co!!on groundof good taste.

$owever, there was a res#rgence in the Jictorian -eriod and the periodicals only went

into terminal decline after the Second World War.

In 1+H ".S. 0ewis commented on the decline of the periodicals sating, @Bverything the

moderns detest, all that they call smugness, complacency, and bourgeois ideology, is

bro#ght together in E(ddison/sF work and given its most perfect expression.A

Some periodicals still exist s#ch as

The Quarterly Review,

The Times Literary Supplementand

The New Statesman.

The names of 2ritish newspapers and =o#rnals were largely established by the

periodicalsCThe irror

The Guardian

The Spectator

The Echo

The Tatler

3 are all still names of p#blications.


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(iterary )riticis!

( portion of the periodical essays was reg#larly dedicated to literary criticism.

The periodical essayists established the idea that a knowledge of a few great writers was

not a matter only for scholars, b#t a part of general c#lt#re, almost of good !anners.

2y recommending and criticizing literat#re, the periodical essays greatly increased

p#blic interest in other literary forms, s#ch as poetry and novels.

ne conse9#ence of the rise of literary criticism was the evol#tion of a canon.

The Essay on )riticis!

(nother ma=or contrib#tion to literary criticism was, of co#rse, -ope/s precocio#s

Essay on Criticism&111'.

3 its f#ndamental message is 8moderation/C a middle co#rse between passion andfollowing r#les and conventions.

(ccording to *ristotle, poetry has to be =#dged according to how well it represents

some reality or p#rpose o#tside itself.

It is not an independent creative power expressing its own reality, b#t is

descriptive of,

responsible for, and

s#bordinate to

o#r 8real3life/ experiences, and sho#ld be accessed in those terms.

)or (ristotle, the tr#ths of poetry are #niversal and general, and sho#ld therefore be

comm#nicated clearly, convincingly and morally.

"riticism is the b#siness of =#dging how well these aims have been carried thro#gh.

InArs !oetica+oracearg#es for 8decor#m/, appropriateness. This involves

the relating of the parts to the whole, and

the #se of a style s#itable to a poem/s s#b=ect ? so, the lang#age of epic will be very

different from that of pastoral or elegy.

0inked to this is the importance of avoiding irrelevance, shapelessness, conf#sion, or

mere self3ind#lgence.


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The 1st3cent#ry "B writer known as 0ongin#s re=ected this "lassical tradition in his 8 ,n

the Su"li!e/ &!eri "ypsous'' sayingC

@Whatever transports #s with wonder is more effective than something which merely

pers#ades or pleases #s. When we are being pers#aded we are #s#ally in control, b#t

S#blimity has an irresisti"le poerover #s... ( well3aimed stroke of S#blimity scatters

everything before it like a th#nder3flash, and the poet is revealed in all his power.A

0ongin#s/s image is the noct#rnal volcanic er#ption of ;o#nt BtnaC a fire shro#ded in

darkness.

$#man beings, he says, val#e the extraordinary, b#t scorn what is merely #sef#l.

4ryden tried to find a middle gro#nd defending prescriptive r#les b#t saying that,

exceptionally, they co#ld be s#spended ? for example in the case of Shakespeare.

-ope/s starting point is that r#les are good when they are useul, not in themselves.

2oth $orace and 0ongin#s are great and tr#e to themselves and we sho#ld #se 6at#re to

choose between them in any specific moment.

Natureis not an external standard for -ope b#t an inner living principle.

It is what seems 8nat#ral/ rather than 8artificial/D what feels 8right/.

It is sincere and #naffected, s#itable and good for #s.

The principle of 6at#re is embedded in the writing of the ancients &$omer, etc.', so to

imitate them and their r#les is to imitate 6at#re.

In any case, what is important is not if the r#les have been followed b#t if the desired

result has been obtained.

)or -ope a good criticwill endeavo#r to discover what the poet was trying to do and

=#dge him on those terms, not on those of his own pre=#dices.

( good critic is not affected by the latest fashion or the importance of the poet.

$e is the sort of person who will constr#ctively point o#t fa#lts in a friend/s character

and acknowledge the merits of an enemy.

G literally .on lying high/0 ."eing transported "y passion/


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The Essay on an

In the 1th"ent#ry -ope/s Bssay on ;an &1!' was his most widely read and admired

work.

It established him as a ma=or B#ropean writer.

ver the following cent#ry it was translated into "zech, 4anish, 4#tch &x7', )rench&x17', %erman &xG', $#ngarian &xG', Icelandic, Italian &x1', 0atin &xH', -olish &xH',

-ort#g#ese &xG', 5#manian, 5#ssian &x', Spanish &x!', Swedish &x', T#rkish and

Welsh &xG':

The s#b=ect is the nat#re of h#manity and o#r place in creation.

In #haracteristic$s &111' 0ord Shaftesb#ry had arg#ed in favo#r of h#manity/s

8nat#ral affections/ &< o#r instinctive love for o#r fellow h#mans'.

So h#manity is sociable and benevolent.

This is the basis for sensi"ility&see below'

This re=ected +o""esarg#ments inLeviathan&17H1'.

Thomas $obbes had arg#ed that 8good/ and 8evil/ are merely 8good for me/ and 8bad for

me/C

Self3preservation is the key to h#man behavio#r and it is nat#ral that one person will

wish to dominate others.

$#mans only come together thro#gh fear, not love.

Sociability and virt#e are #nnat#ral, and h#man instit#tions are set #p only to prevent

nat#ral anarchy from taking over.

We are back to the contrasting definitions of 8nat#re/ fo#nd in%in& Lear.

)or $obbes nat#re is competition and domination.

)or Shaftesb#ry it is harmony and empathy

-ope aims to reconcile these opposing positions b#t s#ggesting that h#manity is torn

between !atter and spirit, materialism and idealism.

This stress on o#r 8paradoxical/ &i.e. contradictory' nat#re is what clearly separates -ope

from both Shaftesb#ry and $obbes.

Two -rinciples in h#man nat#re reignD

Self3love to #rge, and 5eason, to restrain

Eii. H!3H7F

#r passions &hate. pride, desire, anger, etc.' well #p inside #s and express o#r selfish

#rgesD they can only be restrained or directed by reason, which keeps reminding #s that

there are other people in the world besides #s, and

other p#rposes in live beyond merely satisfying o#r passions.

-assions are the engine, reason is the steering3wheel.


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Sensi"ility

The term became pop#lar in the 1th"ent#ry, when it ac9#ired the meaning of

@suscepti"ility to tender eelingsA.

Th#s, a capacity not to feel sorry for oneself so m#ch as being able to identify with andrespond to the sorrows of others &i.e. e!pathy' ? and to respond to "eauty.

This empathy was probably a reaction against

1th3cent#ry stoicis! &which emphasized reason and the #nemotional will as the

sole motives of virt#e' and

+o""es/s theory that ;an is innately selfish and motivated by self3interest and the

power drive.

In sermons, essays, fiction and philosophical writings in the early 1 th"ent#ry it was

asserted that man was innately "enevolentand th#s wished others well.

In the periodical The !rompter&1!H' a writer defended the h#man attit#de that is not

content merely with good3nat#red actions @b#t feels the misery of others with inward

painA.

This was deservedly termed 8sensibility/.

2y mid3cent#ry s#ch feelings were an accepted part of social ethics and p#blic

morality.

It was a sign of good "reedingand good !annersto shed a sympathetic tear, as indeed

in %ray/sEle&y&1H*',

%oldsmith/s The 'eserted (illa&e&1*' and

"owper/s The Tas$&1H',

not to mention the vario#s odes to sensibility from the 17*s onwards.

Two other relevant works in the history of this attit#de were

Sterne/sA Sentimental )ourney&17' and

;ackenzie/s The an o* Feelin&&11'.

@4ear sensibility:A writes Sterne &in an almost ode3like tone',

@so#rce inexha#sted of all that/s precio#s in o#r =oys, or costly in o#r sorrows:A

In The an o* Feelin&sensibility becomes self3ind#lgent.

It declines into senti!entalis!, and shows a propensity for 8the l#x#ry of griefA.

2oth >ohnson and (#sten &Sense + Sensibility, 111' attacked sensibility.

In the 1+th"ent#ry the term was more or less replaced by 8sensitivity/, b#t the latter

never established itself as a literary term.

In fact, sensibility received a renewed and vigoro#s life in the critical essays of T2S2

Eliot, for whom it represented the creative fac#lty and the 9#ality of temperament in a

poet.


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3iography

2iography has been aro#nd since the (ncient %reeks b#t 1 th3cent#ry 2ritain saw a

flowering of the form.

-op#lar biography grew o#t of The Negate )alendar? a collection of biographicalsketches of notorio#s criminals.

In theLi*e o*Richard Sava&e&1' >ohnson combined the pop#lar and the elegant

traditionC

Savage was a failed poet who was convicted of m#rder.

>ohnson presents his story as a black comedy.

>ohnson wrote abo#t the genre in The Rambler6K 7* &1H*'C @6o species of writing...

can more certainly enchain the heart by irresistible interest, or more widely diff#se

instr#ction to every diversity of condition... We are all prompted by the same motives,

all deceived by the same fallacies, all animated by hope, obstr#cted by danger,entangled by desire, and sed#ced by pleas#re.A

2efore >ohnson biographies tended to be r#ined by excessive adulation.

>ohnson re=ected 8honeys#ckle lives/ in favo#r of more ro#nded detailed portraits.

>ohnson/sLives o* the En&lish !oets&1+31' developed the elegant tradition f#rther.

>ohnson wrote a 0ife of (ddison.

$owever, it is >ames 2oswell/sLi*e o* Samuel )ohnson&1+1' which is considered the

first masterpiece of Bnglish biography.

3 brilliant for its i!aginative tensionbetween the private and the p#blic self.

In any case 1th3cent#ry novels were conceived of as fictional biographies.

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18th Century Non Fiction