✔ JOSEPH ADDISON (1672-1719)
👉 His life.
He was born in Milston, Wiltshire. He received his
education at the Charterhouse. Addison went to Oxford and became a fellow of
Magdalen College. He made his mark as a scholar, and he appears to have caught
the attention of Whig officials, who identified him as a future literary prop
for their group. He received a three hundred pound a year travel scholarship
and travelled extensively around Europe.
The Whigs' disasters in 1703 reduced him to poverty.
It is reported that in 1704 at the request of Whig leaders, he penned the poem
'The Campaign,' in which he praised the Whigs' war policy in general and the
worthiness of Marlborough in particular. This poetry made him famous and
wealthy. He held numerous governmental positions and pensions, married a
dowager countess, and served as Secretary of State.
👉His Poetry.
Addison rose to prominence early in his Latin poetry. These lyrics received significant recognition at a time when praise for ability in such a medium was valued. The Campaign, published in 1704, established him as one of the major poets of the time. The poetry is already unsatisfactory. It is written in the heroic couplet, and it has been called a "rhymed gazette" with some justification.
The story is little more than a pompous catalogue of
places and persons; the style is but mediocre, and warms only when it is feebly
stirred by the ignorant enthusiasm that a sedentary civilian feels for the
glory of war. The hero is Marlborough, who is drawn on a scale of epic
grandeur. The most famous passage of the work is that comparing the general to
the angel that rides the storm.
His only other poetical works worthy of notice are
his hymns, which are melodious, scholarly, and full of a cheerful piety. The
one that begins “The spacious firmament on high” is among the best.
👉 His Drama.
Addison was lucky in both his most ambitious theatrical production and his longest poem. He released the tragedy 'Cato', which had been in manuscript form since 1703, in 1713. It has little merit and no dramatist. It's written in painstaking blank verse, with wooden characters delivering long, boring speeches. However, it caught the attention of both political parties, who saw brilliant comparisons throughout the play that addressed the blazing passions of the period. The play ran for an incredible twenty nights and was a huge success.
Addison also attempted an opera, Rosamond (1707), which was a failure; and the
prose comedy of The Drummer (1715) is said, with some reason, to be his also.
👉 His prose.
Addison is credited with various political tracts,
however he is unremarkable as a pamphleteer. He lacked Swift's candour, and his
pen frightened his opponents. In reality, Addison is almost totally renowned as
an essayist.
Addison is the originator of
the quote, "Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body". The
quote can be found in Issue 147 of the Tatler.
We have approximately 400 essays from Addison's writing. He intended to be a moderate censor of the age's morals, and the majority of his compositions deal with contemporary issues like as fashions, head-dresses, practical jokes, and polite discourse. Deeper subjects like as adultery, jealousy, prayer, death, and drinking were dealt in a popular manner. Politics was mentioned, but just briefly. Sometimes he used allegory to express his beliefs more vividly to his audience, as in 'The Vision of Mirza' and 'Public credit.'
Sir Roger de Coverley was a fictional figure created by Addison, who was an ancient country knight who frequented London's Spectator club. Characters such as Will Honeycomb, a middle-aged beau; Sir Andrew Freeport, a city trader; Captain Sentry, a soldier; and Mr Spectator, a shy, reticent individual, serve as foils. We should have had the first regular novel in our language if Addison had pinned the Coverley papers together with a greater storyline, love theme, or female characters. His sense of humour is exceptional. It's subtly satirical, gentlemanly, tolerant, and sophisticated. His style has frequently been praised. It follows the pattern of the medium style, which is never sloppy, obscure, or unmelodious.
In his 1735 Epistle to Dr Arbuthnot, Alexander Pope
mocked Addison, labelling him "Atticus" and likened him to an adder,
"willing to wound, but afraid to strike." Dr. Johnson dubbed
Addison's particular demeanour the "Middle Style." Clarity in subject
matter, simplicity in construction, lucidity in structure, absence of
obscurity, and freedom from rigidity distinguish Addison's created style. He
never wrote phrases that were unduly ornate. With great care and scrupulosity,
he avoided composition faults, low words, slang phrases, and words of common
use, colloquial words.
Regarding Addison's help, Steele
remarked, "when I had once called him in, I could not subsist without
dependence on him"
👉Literary Works of Joseph
Addison.
👉Prose and poetry.
To Mr. Dryden (1693)
An Account of the Greatest
English Poets (1694)
To Sir Godfrey Kneller, on his
Picture of the King (1716)
A Poem To His Majesty,
Presented to the Lord Keeper (1695)
An Essay on Virgil's
Georgics (1697)
The Campaign, A Poem, To His
Grace the Duke of Marlborough (1705)
👉Dramatic Works.
Rosamond: An Opera (1707)
Cato: A Tragedy (1713)
The Drummer, or the Haunted
House: A Comedy (1716)
👉Journalism.
Contributions to The
Tatler (1709-11)
The Whig-Examiner (1710)
Contributions to The
Guardian (1713)
Contributions to The Lover, by
Marmaduke Myrtle, Gent. (1714)
The Free-Holder, or Political
Essays (1715-16)
Work cited
Albert, Edward. History of English literature, Oxford University Press, 1979.
J Long, William. English Literature Its History and Its Significance for the Life of the English Speaking world. Rupa Publications, 2015.
Carter, Ronald and John Mcrae. The Routledge history of literature in English : Britain and Ireland. Routledge, 2016.
No comments:
Post a Comment