What are the salient features of Addison as an essayist?

Write an essay on Joseph Addison as an essayist.

Ans.

Introduction: Joseph Addison occupies a very important place as an essayist and social reformer. He is a great 18th century writer. He is one of the wisest and most kindly of social reformers. His name is associated with Sir Richard Steele on account of their collaboration in the Periodical essays. The Spectator is a collection of his essays on country life, London life, fashions, morals, theatrical treats and characters. The Coverley Papers in which Sir Roger De Coverley is the central figure is an immortal piece of prose literature. Cazamian gives the following reasons for the success and popularity of Addison’s essays the variety of the subject dealt with, a supple adaptation to the preferences of the public and at the same time a sufficiently skillful reaction against certain habits and certain defects; a broad outlook upon social realities; an avoidance of political prejudices or partisanship; a gift for the concrete illustration of themes; a gallery of original portraits; and a finished literary art. To this catalogue one might add Addison’s gift of humour and irony, the uniform brevity of his essays, and the personal note in them.

The Purpose of Writing Essays: The motivating force behind these essays was a moral and didactic one. Addison desired to reform the manners of his readers and impart to them information which would go towards dispelling their general ignorance but he had no intention of imparting political news. He was to give them knowledge and advice which would help them to make them better human beings. But this desire to reform was accompanied by an intention of making this morality lively and attractive through humorous presentation.

He wished to combine wit and morality whereas all this time after the Restoration wit had been associated with vice and morality or virtue with dullness. He chooses themes and topics which would interest his readers while at the same time give him an object to criticize and an opportunity to reform the taste of the readers. It was a courageous aim to reform the society and combine wit with morality.

His Essays covering a Wide Range of Themes: The themes of his essays cover a wide range. Completely moral or didactic subjects, literary subjects, the stage and opera, manners and fashions of the day-these are a variety of subjects. All the topics of the essays are closely related with life. This adds to their popularity. Political happenings found no place in his essays in the Spectator. The wide variety of themes and subjects are broadly related under the major aim of the writer to attack bad manners and bad taste and ignorance and immorality. Within this scheme, came the idea of improving the status and education of women.

His Character-Portraits: Addison’s skill at characterization has been remarked upon by every critic. The Coverley Papers are remarkable for their wonderful characterization. In them Steele also shares the honours but the greater credit goes to Addison because it was he who took the sketches and developed them into the characters that they are new. It is the ability to make a character live which makes critics regard Addison as a possible pioneer of the English novel. Addison has created a number of immortal characters in English literature. The chief among them is Sir Roger de Coverley. He is one of the most memorable and delightful characters in the whole range of English literature. The other members of the Spectator Club such as the Squire, Captain Sentry, the Temple, the Clergymen and Will Honeycomb represent the whole London Society.

Offering the Picture of the Genteel Society: The essays offer the best picture of the times of Addison–the new social order and its many new interests of the England of the times. The editors of the Spectators were able to reflect the thought of the day; sometimes were able to direct it, and never lost touch with it. It is true that the essays do not give a comprehensive picture of England of the period in the sense that they exclude from their sphere the low classes or the underworld of criminals. But there is no other piece of literature which gives so clear a picture of the genteel society and the manners prevalent in it.

Wit, Humour and Irony: Addison was closely connected with the aim of social reformation. The very purpose of his writing essays was to reform society of its vice and folly. He had declared his aim of enlivening morality with wit and tempering wit with morality a brave intention considering that the age had separated wit and morality into apparently irreconcilable polarities. He proceeds to combine the two in a remarkable manner in his essays. It was Addison’s aim to use wit and humour to laugh men out of their vice and folly whereas, till then, it was used to laugh men out of virtue and good sense. Addison also implies that morality would be made more palatable and acceptable if it were presented in a humorous and interesting manner. It was his intention to bring the wisdom and philosophy and great ideas out of the colleges and closets to the common man and this he was to do in a lively and interesting language so that they could form a part of the discussions in coffee houses, clubs and the tea tables.

Exhibition of a Fine Sense of Humour : The quality of humour is another marked ingredient which makes them popular. Apart from the purely moral and didactic essays which are serious and grave in tone and atmosphere, the others are full of Addison’s satirical and ironical humour which makes these compositions delectable. He ridicules in Stage Realism and in Nicolini and the Lions the preposterous artifices and devices that were employed on the stage in his time. The essay Valetudinarians is humorous from beginning to end. So are A Grinning Match and London Cries. His ironical and satirical observations on women in A Lady’s Library, French Fopperies, Fans, Ladies’ Head Dresses and The Philosophy of Hoods are entertaining in the highest degree, while Female Orators is a masterpiece in this respect. His humour is free from bitterness and scorn, and is exquisitely penetrative.

The Use of Illustrations: Addison’s essays are full of illustrations in the form of fable, parable, anecdote, analogy and allusion, which help towards the elucidation of arguments and aid the reader’s comprehension. The essay, Malicious Wit, for instance, contains references to Socrates. Julius Caesar, Pope Sextus Quintus and others. It also contains anecdotes about these personalities and a fable from Sir Roger L’ Estrange. The essay Friendship contains analogies in the form of quotations from Tully, Bacon.. Confucius, Marital, etc. Wealth and Poverty contains a fairly long allegorical story. Uncharitable Judgement contains the fable of Biton and Clitobus. These illustrations lend a concreteness to the essays and enrich them.

The Establishment of the Personal or Intimate Note with the Reader: It is true that the intimacy of the Spectator papers is not the close and confidential one of the Essays of Elia. But if we compare the essays of Addison with previous essayists, we can readily see the difference. The earlier essayists used to declaim whereas we see in the Spectator essays the beginning of the genial intimacy between writer and reader. Undoubtedly. Addison does not reveal himself like Lamb or speak in as familiar tone as Hazlitt, but the champion of moderation that he was, he strikes a fine balance between friendly familiarity and refined dignity.

Addison’s Prose Style: Addison is regarded by most eminent critics to have created and wholly perfected English prose as an expression of social thought. Addison was a fastidious artist and chose his words carefully and correctly. His use of words is precise and his writing is correct and fluent. It is refined and polished as well. But the middle style is flexible enough to adopt itself to a variety of subjects. Everywhere the matter and manner blend and harmonize. Everywhere there is a sense of order and lucidity and elegance of expression and cultivated ease. It is style that is neither grave, stately and excessively formal nor completely easy and familiar like every day speech. It lies in the middle of the two extremes and is hence most suitable for the addressing of a vast company of readers on a wide range of subjects.