Write a note on Addison's prose style.

Write a note on Addison’s prose style.

Ans.

1. Introduction-Addison, the Man- Addison has been universally praised as the greatest periodical essayist. He was certainly the most respected man and the most admired writer of his day. He was not only a successful man, he was also virtuous and upright. He was a man of great moral courage. He boldly undertook to remove the many evils of the middle-class English society of his day. Addison was successful in his aim to a very large extent. And his remarkable success was largely due to the charm of his style.

2. His style suited his aim- Addison’s style cannot be termed a great style. But it was perfectly suited to his aim. He aimed at approaching the com mon reader. He aimed at circulation his message among the widest majority of the reading public. In his own words, his purpose was to bring philosophy” out of closets and libraries, schools and colleges, to dwell in clubs and assemblies, at tea-tables and coffee-houses.” To achieve this aim he had to develop a most clear and precise medium for conveying his message. And he did develop a style which is recommended so highly even by a learned man like Dr. Johnson. It is considered to be a model for English prose.

3. A happy combination of entertainment and instruction- In Addison’s prose style there is a happy marriage of entertainment and instruction. Addison is not a great writer. Nor is he a very charming writer. Very often the substance of what he says is rather thin. But there is a rare smoothness and flow in his style. There is an abundance of humour and irony in his writing but hardly any trace of bitterness is to be found anywhere. Wielding the weapons of humour and irony, he exposes the littleness of human ambition, the follies of fashion, the empty boast of a vacant mind, etc, Nothing is too trivial for him if he feels that it will be of healthy interest to his readers.

4. His humour- Of the many gifts which fitted Addison for his great task of social reform, the greatest was his sense of humour. His humour is gentle but penetrating. He takes up each social evil, holds it up as a mirror in his hand, and passes his gentle comment on each. Irony forms a large part of. his humour, and sympathy is seldom absent from his utterances. He has a keen sense of the ludicrous and a delicacy of feeling. These qualities united with his study of classical models give him precision of expression, grace of movement, and an unerring sense of proportion.

5. Some examples- It now remains to have a few examples of the charm, the simplicity, the clarity, and the precision of Addison’s style.

1. The picture of Sir Roger’s household is effective because it is drawn in such a simple and clear way and with true sympathy;

“This humanity and good nature engages everybody to him, so that when he is pleasant upon any of them, all his family are in good humour, and none so much as the person whom he diverts himself with……

(Sir Roger at Home)

2. Presenting Sir Roger at the country assizes the writer refers to his speech in the court-room as insignificant even though it makes a good impression;

“Upon his first rising the court was hushed, and a general whisper ran among the country people that Sir Roger was up. The speech he made was so little to the purpose, that I shall not trouble reader with an account of it….”

(Sir Roger at the Assizes)

3. Describing a scene from “The Dream”, Addison remarks:

“I took notice of a profligate fellow, who I did not question came laden with his crimes, but upon searching into his bundle I found that, instead of throwing his guilt from him, he had only laid down his memory. He was followed by another worthless rogue who flung away his modesty instead of his ignorance.

(The Dream)

Thus we see that Addison wrote his essays in an engaging style. His expression was extremely simple and clear. It was quite free from vagueness and ambiguities.