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Gowher Ahmad Naik, Lovely Professional University Unit 17: Hazlitt - On The Ignorance of The Learned

Unit 17: Hazlitt - On The Ignorance of The Learned: Notes
Introduction and Detailed Study

CONTENTS
Objectives
Introduction
17.1 William Hazlitt: Philosopher, Essayist, and Critic
17.2 Text-On the Ignorance of the Learned
17.3 Summary
17.4 Key-Words
17.5 Review Questions
17.6 Further Readings

Objectives

After reading this Unit students will be able to:
• Discuss Hazlitt as an essayist
• Explain On the Ignorance of the Learned

Introduction

William Hazlitt, the son of an Irish Unitarian clergyman, was born in Maidstone, Kent, on 10th
April, 1778. His father was a friend of Joseph Priestley and Richard Price. As a result of supporting
the American Revolution, Rev. Hazlitt and his family were forced to leave Kent and live in Ireland.
The family returned to England in 1787 and settled at Wem in Shropshire. At the age of fifteen
William was sent to be trained for the ministry at New Unitarian College at Hackney in London.
The college had been founded by Joseph Priestley and had a reputation for producing freethinkers.
In 1797 Hazlitt lost his desire to become a Unitarian minister and left the college.
While in London Hazlitt became friends with a group of writers with radical political ideas. The
group included Percy Bysshe Shelley, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Charles Lamb, William
Wordsworth, Thomas Barnes, Henry Brougham, Leigh Hunt, Robert Southey and Lord Byron. At
first Hazlitt attempted to become a portrait painter but after a lack of success he turned to writing.
Charles Lamb introduced Hazlitt to William Godwin and other important literary figures in London.
In 1805 Joseph Johnson published Hazlitt’s first book, An Essay on the Principles of Human Action.
The following year Hazlitt published Free Thoughts on Public Affairs, an attack on William Pitt and
his government’s foreign policy. Hazlitt opposed England’s war with France and its consequent
heavy taxation. This was followed by a series of articles and pamphlets on political corruption and
the need to reform the voting system.
Hazlitt began writing for The Times and in 1808 married the editor’s sister, Sarah Stoddart. His
friend, Thomas Barnes, was the newspaper’s parliamentary reporter. Later, Barnes was to become
the editor of the newspaper. In 1810 he published the New and Improved Grammar of the English
Language.
In 1813 Hazlitt was employed as the parliamentary reporter for the Morning Chronicle, the country’s
leading Whig newspaper. However, in his articles, Hazlitt criticized all political parties. Hazlitt
also contributed to The Examiner, a radical journal edited by Leigh Hunt. Later, Hazlitt wrote for

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