18th-century Non-Fiction

Richard Steele
We are faced with a bit of an enigma when looking at The Tatler and The Spectator.
While they existed as living periodicals, they were viciously and continuously
criticized.
Steele was seen as a Whig propagandist by the Tories who therefore were incapable of
conceding any literary merit to him.
In 11! he was expelled from the "ommons for s#pporting the $anoverian s#ccession.
When %eorg of $anover &%eorge I' did s#cceed (nne, Steele was knighted.
)rom 1*+ to 11, Steele advanced in the Whig -arty from being an apprentice
pamphleteer to being their n#mber one propagandist.
.pen war between The Tatler and the Tories/ The Examiner was declared in 11*.
0ondon remained the foc#s of literat#re in the first half of the 11
th
"ent#ry, in part
thanks to the periodical essayist.
The Periodical Essayists
2efore The Tatler Deoe was writing his Review &1*,311!' single3handed.
$owever, this was political and historical in foc#s.
The innovation of The Tatler was that is was all-e!"racingly cultural.
In fact, even before 4efoe/s 5eview 6ed Ward/s The London Spy &17++' was offering
8sketches/ of the common people of 0ondon and the capital/s sights, smells and so#nds.
(ddison and Steele had a nearly lifelong friendship based on an interest in the theatre.
The rise of the periodicals is intimately linked to the proliferation of
coee houses and
chocolate houses.
The 9#ality of conversation is different if yo# are drinking coffee rather than alcohol:
Steele virt#ally invented the periodical essay in (pril 1*+ when he started #p The
Tatler
1
, while (ddison was away in Ireland &1*+31!' as an ;- in the Irish -arliament.
In fact, The Tatler started life in newspaper format b#t grad#ally evolved towards a
periodical format.
The Tatler was two3thirds written by Steele, one sixth by (ddison.
In The Spectator Steele and (ddison wrote more or less e9#al amo#nts.
1
this is an archaic form of 8tattler/ &< gossip, s.o. who talks too m#ch'
The periodical essay was the only literary form #sed by every ma=or writer of the 11
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 Tatler originally 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 of
evasion 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 Spectator and The Guardian that 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 Tatler was almost devoid of news and political
comment.
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+
th
3cent#ry r#pt#re of old3time
religionC
The Spectator spoke 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+'
Io# only have to add the ingredient of a constantly changing world and 4arwinism is
the inevitable concl#sion.
Bach iss#e of The Spectator was 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
the Female Tatler &1*+31*' and
Bliza $aywood/s Female Spectator &1,,3,7'.
Women were also writing periodical essays.
4elarivier ;anley replaced Swift as propagandist and editor of the Tory Examiner
between 111 and 11,.
The periodical essays were pop#lar beca#se they were short and were written in clearer,
more collo9#ial Bnglish than other literary forms.
The periodical essayists #s#ally adopted a ictional persona to speak thro#gh.
)or instance, in The Tatler Steele wrote as 8Isaac 2ickerstaff/.
The periodical essays can be seen as the means by which !iddle class ? as opposed to
both aristocratic and common ? values were defined and asserted.
Periodical Essays$ 18%&-'&11
>ohnson wrote
The Rambler &1H*3G' and
The 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 ground of 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 Supplement and
The New Statesman.
The names of 2ritish newspapers and =o#rnals were largely established by the
periodicalsC
The irror
The Guardian
The Spectator
The Echo
The Tatler
3 are all still names of p#blications.
(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 and
following 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.
In Ars !oetica +orace arg#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.
The 1
st
3cent#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 po-er over #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 $orace and 0ongin#s are great and tr#e to themselves and we sho#ld #se 6at#re to
choose between them in any specific moment.
Nature is not an external standard for -ope b#t an inner living principle.
It is what seems 8nat#ral/ rather than 8artificial/D what feels 8right/.
It is sincere and #naffected, s#itable and good for #s.
The principle of 6at#re is embedded in the writing of the ancients &$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 critic will 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/
The Essay on 1an
In the 11
th
"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,', $#ngarian &xG', Icelandic, Italian &x11', 0atin &xH', -olish &xH',
-ort#g#ese &xG', 5#manian, 5#ssian &x,', Spanish &x!', Swedish &x,', T#rkish and
Welsh &xG':
The s#b=ect is the nat#re of h#manity and o#r place in creation.
In #haracteristic$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""es arg#ments in Leviathan &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 $obbes.
Two -rinciples in h#man nat#re reignD
Self3love to #rge, and 5eason, to restrain
Eii. H!3H7F
.#r passions &hate. pride, desire, anger, etc.' well #p inside #s and express o#r selfish
#rgesD they can only be restrained or directed by reason, which keeps reminding #s that
there are other people in the world besides #s, and
other p#rposes in live beyond merely satisfying o#r passions.
-assions are the engine, reason is the steering3wheel.
Sensi"ility
The term became pop#lar in the 11
th
"ent#ry, when it ac9#ired the meaning of
@suscepti"ility to tender eelingsA.
Th#s, a capacity not to feel sorry for oneself so m#ch as being able to identify with and
respond to the sorrows of others &i.e. e!pathy' ? and to respond to "eauty.
This empathy was probably a reaction against
1
th
3cent#ry stoicis! &which emphasized reason and the #nemotional will as the
sole motives of virt#e' and
+o""es/s theory that ;an is innately selfish and motivated by self3interest and the
power drive.
In sermons, essays, fiction and philosophical writings in the early 11
th
"ent#ry it was
asserted that man was innately "enevolent and th#s wished others well.
In the periodical The !rompter &1!H' a writer defended the h#man attit#de that is not
content merely with good3nat#red actions @b#t feels the misery of others with inward
painA.
This was deservedly termed 8sensibility/.
2y mid3cent#ry s#ch feelings were an accepted part of social ethics and p#blic
morality.
It was a sign of good "reeding and good !anners to shed a sympathetic tear, as indeed
in %ray/s Ele&y &1H*',
%oldsmith/s The 'eserted (illa&e &1*' and
"owper/s The Tas$ &11H',
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/s A Sentimental )ourney &171' 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, 1111' 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.
3iography
2iography has been aro#nd since the (ncient %reeks b#t 11
th
3cent#ry 2ritain saw a
flowering of the form.
-op#lar biography grew o#t of The Ne-gate )alendar ? a collection of biographical
sketches of notorio#s criminals.
In the Li*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 Rambler 6K 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/s Lives o* the En&lish !oets &1+311' developed the elegant tradition f#rther.
>ohnson wrote a 0ife of (ddison.
$owever, it is >ames 2oswell/s Li*e o* Samuel )ohnson &1+1' which is considered the
first masterpiece of Bnglish biography.
3 brilliant for its i!aginative tension between the private and the p#blic self.
In any case 11
th
3cent#ry novels were conceived of as fictional biographies.