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History of English Literature

Notes Steele and Addison, George Sherburn maintains “Steele’s prose never attained the elegant ease
and correctness of Addison’s, and yet it is probable that his tendency to warm to a subject and to
write intimately and personally, as the reader’s friend, contributed much to the success of the
paper. Addison’s best essays are the result of his slightly chilly insight into the typical mental
attitudes of his day.” Later critics are apt to place Steele higher than Addison. Thus Leigh-Hunt, for
instance, affirms that he prefers “Steele with all his faults” to “Addison with all his essays.”

The Spectator

Without any warning to his readers, Steele suddenly wound up The Taller on January 2, 1711. But
two months later-on March 1,171 \-The Spectator began its memorable career of 555 numbers up
to December 6,1712. Whereas The Tatler had appeared only three times a week. The Spectator
appeared daily, excepting Sundays. The new paper became tremendously popular among English
men and women belonging to all walks of life. The best of all the periodical essays, it is an
important human document concerning the morals and manners, thoughts and ideas, of the English
society of the age of Queen Anne. Addison’s fame chiefly rests on The Spectator papers. As A. R.
Humphreys puts it: “Were it not for his essays, Addison’s literary reputation would be insignificant;
into them, diluted and sweetened for popular consumption, went his classical and modern reading,
his study of philosophy and natural science, reflections culled from French critics, and indeed]
anything that might make learning “polite”’. A particularly happy feature of The Spectator was its
envisagement of a club consisting of representatives from diverse walks of life. Among them Sir
Roger de Coverley, and eccentric but thoroughly lovable Tory baronet, is one of the immortal
creations of English literature. The Spectator drew a large female readership as many of the papers
were for and about women. Though both Addison and Steele were Whigs, yet in The Spectator
they kept up a fairly neutral political poise and, in fact, did their best to expose the error of the
political fanaticism of both the Tories and Whigs. Further, The Spectator evinced much interest in
trade and, consequently, endeared itself to the up-and-coming trading community which had its
representative in The Spectator Club-4he rich Sir Andrew Freeport. However, much of the charm
of The Spectator lay in its style--humorous, ironical, but elegant and polished. The chief importance
of The Spectator for the modern reader lies in its humour. As A. R. Humphrey reminds us, The
Spectator papers are important much more historically than aesthetically.

Notes The modern reader, “if led to expect more than a charming humour and vivacity, is
likely to feel cheated.”

“The Guardian” and Other Papers before Dr. Johnson

The tremendous popularity of The Toiler and The Spectator prompted many imitations. Among
them may be mentioned The Tory Taller, The Female Tatler, Tit for Tatt, and The North Taller. The
best of all was Steele’s own Guardian which had a run of 175 numbers, from March 12 to October
1,1713. It was, like The Spectator, a daily. “If,” says George Sherburn, “The Spectator had not
existed, The Guardian might outrank all periodicals of this kind, but it is shaded by its predecessor,
and the fact that Addison—busy with his tragedy Cato-had no part in the early numbers certainly
diminished its interest.” Another factor which diminished its interest was its open indulgence in
political affairs. Apart from Steele and Addison it included contributions from Berkeley and Gay.
The Englishmen, the successor of The Guardian, was even more politically biased. Steele’s Lover
(40 numbers) and Addison’s Freeholder (55 numbers) followed The Englishman. Even to name the
works of other periodical essayists would be difficult, so large is their number. “None of them,” to
quote Sherburn, “approached with any consistency the excellency of these (the periodical papers
produced by Steele and Addison).”

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