Write the critical appreciation of the essay entitled Sir Roger at

Write the critical appreciation of the essay entitled Sir Roger at Church.

Ans.

Introduction: The essay entitled Sir Roger at Church aims at reform in the attendance at church. The essayist depicts the days or time when the parsons and the squires were at daggers drawn with one another. In his days most of villages in England were notorious for the differences existed between the parsons and the squires. The squires never came to church. They, having no interest in church activities, had made all the tenants atheists. Thus, people had lost faith in the existence of God. In the present essay the essayist desires peaceful relation between the squire and the parson in a village to ensure good attendance at church and improvement of the faith of people. In this essay, there is a support of Steele’s appraisal of the character of Sir Roger as an eccentric man.

Thought-Content: The observance of Sunday as a day of divine worship is a healthy practice, especially for the village people. Sir Roger is very particular about the people of his village attending the church on Sundays, and he is himself a regular church goer. He does not tolerate anybody dozing in the church though he himself enjoys a nap during the sermon. He suffers from certain singularities of behaviour, which are not, however, regarded as a defect by his parishioners. He gives all possible encouragement to the young fellows to study the Bible well. He is on terms of perfect understanding with his chaplain. In this matter, he is far more fortunate than the squire of the next village, who is mostly quarrelling with his chaplain. Feuds between squires and their chaplains are very harmful to the ordinary people.

Humour, Irony and Satire : Sir Roger is a very religious person, and his views on church discipline are also coloured by the same God fearing reason. But Addison points out satirically Sir Roger’s odd behaviour in the church. There is much humour in his behaviour at church and delicate irony too. One cannot help smiling at the queer ways of the good knight. Often Addison’s humour takes on an ironical turn. Sir Roger’s dozing during the sermon, his habit of sometimes lengthening out a verse in the singing of psalms, his pronouncing ‘amen three or four times to the same prayer, etc., are the singularities which amuse us. He passes satire on those citizens who visit the stock market in place of church. He passes satire on those villagers who discuss petty politics even in church.

The Essayist’s Didacticism: Addison is frankly didactic in his aim. This essay is clearly critical of the prevailing habit of the country squire and the country parson being hostile to one another. This according to Addison harmed the parishioners who slacked off and finally became atheistic. A harmonious relationship between the squire and the parson helps in the development of morality and steadfast religious faith. He gives the example of Sir Roger as the ideal to be followed. As usual Addison conveys his point with the help of a concrete example.

Language and Style: Addison talks to his readers in chaste, colloquial and informal language. His style is plain, simple and clear. It has Biblical quality. He does not parade his classical learning. His style is direct, informal and intimate, but graceful, polished and refined. It is marked by exactness of expression. Nothing is purposeless and superfluous. There is no embellishment for the sake of eye or ear charm. There is no playing on words. His sentences are long. He likes the use of uncommon words. Some of his sentences look like proverbs. For instance:

“Sunday clears away the rust of the whole week. “

His descriptions are lively, they are full of word-pictures rich in sensuousness:

“Sometimes he will be lengthening out a verse…”