Page 88 - DENG402_HISTORY_OF_ENGLISH_LITERATURE

Unit 11: The Age of Johnson-The Decline of Neoclassicism (Devotional Verse, Popularity of Periodical Essays)

Reasons for the Popularity Notes

The periodical essay found a spectacular response in the eighteenth century on account of various
reasons. Fundamentally this new genre was in perfect harmony with the spirit of the age. It
sensitively combined the tastes of the different classes of readers with the result that it appealed to
ail-though particularly to the resurgent middle classes. In the eighteenth century there was a
phenomenal spurt in literacy, which expanded widely the circle of readers. They welcomed the
periodical essay as it was “light” literature. The brevity of the periodical essay, its common sense
approach, and its tendency to dilute morality and philosophy for popular consumption paid rich
dividends. To a great extent, the periodical essayist assumed the office of the clergyman and taught
the masses the lesson of elegance and refinement, though not of morality of the psalm-singing
kind. The periodical paper was particularly welcome as it was not a dry, high-brown, or hoity-
toity affair like the professional sermon, in spite of being highly instructive in nature. In most
cases the periodical essayist did not “speak from the clouds” but communicated with the reader
with an almost buttonholing familiarity. The avoidance of politics (though not by all the periodical
essayists yet by a good many of them) also contributed towards their popularity. Again, the
periodical essayists made it a point to cater for the female taste and give due consideration to the
female point of view. That won for them many female readers too. All these factors were responsible
for the universal acceptance of the periodical essay in eighteenth-century England.

11.3.1 The History of the Periodical Essay

The Tatler

It was Steele’s Tatler which began the deluge of the periodical essays which followed. The first
issue of The Tatler appeared on April 12, 1709. At that time Addison. Steele’s bosom friend, was
functioning as Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, in that country. Steele had not informed
Addison of his design, but if he desired to write in secret he was not lucky; a single month detected
him and Addison’s first contribution appeared on May 26. Though Addison contributed to The
Tatler much less than Steele, yet he soon overshadowed his friend. Of the 271 numbers, 188 are
Steele’s and 42 Addison’s; 36 of them were written by both jointly. The rest were penned by others
like Tickell and Budgell. Steele spoke of himself as “a distressed prince who calls in a powerful
neighbour to his aid,” and added: “I was undone by my auxiliary [Addison]: when I had once
called him in, I could not subsist without him. “The Tatler appeared thrice a week-on Tuesdays.
Thursdays, and Saturdays, that is why the days on which the post went to the country. As regards
the aim of the paper, we may quote the words of Steele in the dedication to the first collected
volume (1710): “The general purpose of this paper is to expose the false arts of life, to pull off the
disguises of cunning, vanity, affectation, and recommend a general simplicity in our dress, our
discourse and our behaviour.” All the material of The Taller was purported by Steele to be based
upon discussions in the four famous coffee-houses, and was divided as follows:
“All accounts of gallantry, pleasure and entertainment”-White’s Chocolate-house.
Poetry-Will’s Coffee-house.
Learning-the Grecian.
Foreign and domestic news-St. James’ Coffee-house.
“What else I shall on any other subject offer”-”My own apartment”
The chief importance of The Toiler lies in its social and moral criticism which had a tangibly
salubrious effect on the times. Both Addison and Steele did good work each in his own way. Addison
was a much more refined and correct writer than Steele whom Macaulay aptly calls “a
scholar among rakes and a rake among scholars.” Addison’s prose is, according to Dr. Johnson, a
model of “the middle style.” And this is his famous suggestion: “Whoever wishes to attain an
English style, familiar but not coarse, and elegant but not ostentatious, must give his days and
nights to the volumes of Addison.” Steele, on the contrary, was a thing of moods and moments.
His writing has a look of spontaneity and human warmth which Addison’s lacks. Comparing

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