Seminar Paper: Addison and The Spectator

Addison and the Spectator - what the essays reveal about civil society and the reading public in the restoration age

· Born in 1672

· Was writing around 70 years before Dr Johnson

· Was a keen traveller, travelling around Europe. Significant due to renaissance

· Was asked to produce poetry, that apparently pleased the lord treasurer so much that he was appointed commissioner in Halifax’s Government


· Secretary to Lord Lieutenant of Ireland 1709 – 1713


· This is where he met Jonathan Swift (poet, essay writer), both influenced each other’s writings. Also believed to be heavily influenced by the adoration that Daniel Defoe recieved.

· Also met Steele a childhood friend, who was producing Tatler, began contributing. The two of them then produced the Spectator. First edition released in 1711.

· At first, the spectator appeared daily, running until 1714 with a break of around a year and a half.

· Also wrote works of fiction. Cato, written in 1712 is regarded as his most famous

· The spectator was very popular,it had a great deal of influence on the public.

· Assisted with Steele’s setting up of the Guardian 1713

· Died in 1719

Joseph Addison’s publications are largely based on public observation. It seems to show off Addison’s love for social commentary, this can be seen in his essay ‘The Royal Exchange’ where he discusses his satisfaction of watching the gathering and mixing of nationalities and cultures at The Royal exchange in London. There were huge social changes taking place in England thanks to the rise in immigration and the rise in foreign trade, The Royal Exchange was the head of International trade. He constantly writes with a sense of joy and excitement when discussing the diversity that he witnesses around there. This was also an exciting time in England thanks to the end of Cromwell’s puritanism and and an enhancement of the trade and finance available across the world.

Addison is very relevant in terms of Journalism; he speaks of the importance of writing precisely and with method. He claims that ‘men of great knowledge or genius ‘ ‘are often too full to be exact and therefore choose to throw down their pearls in heaps before the reader, rather than be at the pains of stringing them.’ It is likely that this represents the views of the reading public throughout the restoration age. Although readers of Addison would have been well educated and wealthy men, there is still a huge importance on being able to group ideas clearly and concisely. They should not be ‘thrown together without order and connection’. Addison says that man, when reading a well organised precise piece of writing ‘comprehends everything easily, takes it in with pleasure and retains it long’

In Short, number 476 of the spectator makes me think that the reading public during the restoration age were greatly concerned with accuracy, although it was being written nearly 70 years before Dr Johnsons dictionary was produced, the spelling and punctuation in his publication seem quite standard throughout.

Addison was writing around the time of the restoration age, when England was beginning to restore itself and calm down after many years of unrest under Oliver Cromwell. Free speech was returning after a long period of puritanism; this helped Addison’s cause massively during this exciting period. He already had quite a following before the magazine had even been published; it is believed that he would attract large crowds of friends, acquaintances and often complete strangers when simply discussing the world in public. I imagine these meetings to be similar to the way that Plato’s dialogues take place.

Joseph Addison could also be seen as the first man who could be regarded as a journalist in the way that we do today, he was one of the first people to begin writing to entertain people, not to enhance a political party or organisation. He was also writing to make money, despite the fact that the printing press was not fully capable of mass production. It seems as though with The Spectator, Addison and Steele felt like the public were once again ready for philosophy to be part of everyday life, as it was during the renaissance. It may have seemed like some form of secret society to many people, only taught to the elite of society. They wanted to bring philosophical discussion back into people’s lives. The reading public were finally looking to read something entertaining, for leisure, not just propaganda from the ruling classes, religion or political parties. This is how modern journalism has evolved.