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Proquest Dissertations Joseph Addison as a Literary Critic by J. Frederick Doering, Ph.D. Chairman of the Division of Language and. Literature, Ott­ awa University, Kansas J JUia^-y^/^ £* **• A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the University of Ottawa. % 1944 UMI Number: DC53641 INFORMATION TO USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleed-through, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. UMI® UMI Microform DC53641 Copyright 2011 by ProQuest LLC All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 This thesis is humbly dedicated to my friend Dr. S. L. Lacy, Jr. Chairman of the Board of Trus­ tees of Mount Vernon University, D. C. Preface The author of this thesis makes no apology for having undertaken a study of Addison as a critic, conscious as he is that the work will appeal to only a limited audience. Addison may not have been the greatest critic of the eight­ eenth century, but he moulded the tastes of a large section of the English reading public. It may be true that his crit­ icism is unscientific, that he often judges by taste, and that even his best critical papers are sometimes superficial; nevertheless, the opinions on literature of a virtuoso and journalist should merit our serious consideration. Interest has been displayed in the critical comments of Reynolds, an artist, Hume, anjzf historian, and Burke, a ,statesman. Is it not reasonable, then, to want to explore the literary crit­ icism of a professional newspaperman? After all, people of his age knew Addison as one of the leading tragedians of his day, author of brilliant Latin verses, and outstanding exponent of the periodical essay. In reality, he has influen­ ced a much larger group than either Pope or Johnson. It should be mentioned that the war has affected this thesis in various ways. The quality of paper and carbons in the United States and Canada is no longer uniform. Fre­ quently, too, the author has had to be satisfied with other than the definitive editions of some of the works of eight­ eenth century critics because of the restrictions upon trav­ el. ii. This piece of research was begun at Duke University in 1935, under the direction of Dr. Allan H. Gilbert, who kindly loaned the author his unpublished translation of Trissino's Poetica. Others who gave valuable advice and ass­ istance are Professor Frank McDonald, Rev. Henri Poupart, 0. M. I., and other members of the graduate staff of the University of Ottawa, Dr. Richmond Bond, University of North Carolina, and Dr. Jay B. Hubbell, Duke University. Mention should also be made of the typing done by the writer's wife, an invaluable aid. The completion of the thesis was expedited by the kind co-operation of members of the staffs of the following librar­ ies: University of Ottawa(Canada) Duke University Columbia University University of Toronto University of Kansas Ottawa University (Kansas) University of Illinois University of North Carolina Library of Congress Canadian Parliamentary Library Toronto General Library Willard Library, Evansville, Indiana Ottawa, Canada july 14, 1944 J. F. D. Table of Contents Preface i Chapter I Addison the Virtuoso: His Qual­ ifications as a Critic 1 Chapter II On Literary Forms 39 Chapter III Addison's Criticism of Brit­ ish Authors 110 Chapter IV Clio's Minor Critical Disser­ tations 150 Chapter V The Peak of Addison's Critical Powers 180 Chapter VI The Fairy Way of Writing 228 Chapter VII Further Critical Principles 250 Chapter VIII Addison's. Place in English Criticism - 276 Appendix A 321 Bibliography 322 Autobiography of the Candidate 337 Errata 338 Chapter I. Addison the Virtuoso: His Qualifications as a Critic Literary men of almost every age have objected strenuously to professional criticism on the grounds that literary critics are prone to be unsympathetic and biased. John Keats, maligned by hypercritical British critics, passed on in his prime "to seek a 1 cindlier clime." Edgar Allan Poe, himself a reputable critic, was jontemned by reviewers writing for the New York Mirror, largely bec- iuse these custodians of public morals were more concerned with Poe's ability to imbibe alcoholic spirits than with the beauty of his mel- 2 >dious pure poetry. Shakespeare, considered by many Neo-classic sritics as an. inspired idiot, failed to impress some eighteenth cen- mry reviewers simply because they were too prejudiced to be able to ivaluate properly romantic genius. In one age it is the subservience o Aristotle's Poetics that perverts the judgment; in another, some ther influence or doctrine. When we have, therefore, a distinguish- d critic who recognizes certain a priori rules as governing art,4 and ho is at once the artist and the unbiased reviewer, the judgments laich he makes are worthy of our closest scrutiny; for, as Addison has aid, "Among the moderns likewise, no critic has ever pleased, or been . Edmund Blunden, Leigh Hunt's 'Examiner' Examined(London).p. 158. , Hervey Allen, Israfel(New York, 1934), p. 566. » See Bonamy Dobree, As Their Friends Saw Them(Loudon. 1933), p. 106. This dialogue illustrates the indifference 6f Neo-classicists to Shakespeare's art. See Henry Home. An Abridgement of Elements of Criticism.ed. J. Frost (New York,1850), p. 298 ff. Karnes says that there are certain things, unaffected by popular standards, which affect us the same. 2. looked upon as authentic, who did not show by his practice, that he was a master of the theoryJ^ Now It so happens that such a man is a rarity in any age. Perhaps Neo-classic England produced more than its share of such men-of-letters; but even the Augustan Age has few men who rank with Joseph Addison in the field of literary crit­ icism. Addison was not only one of England's greatest essayists and dramatists, but his scholarly estimates of Milton and the tradition­ al ballad, his origination of the cult of the imagination(with the publication of those delightful essays, "The Pleasures of the Imag­ ination," a series of papers which altered the course of eighteenth century poetry), together with his cogent comments on various aspects of English and classical literatures, have served to establish him as one of the most adept and unbiased of our English critics. One of the most important factors in determining the ability of a critic to judge the works of his contemporaries and predecess­ ors is his education. The author of penetrating criticism must be steeped in the past and alive to the present. Joseph Addison was particularly fortunate in this respect. His university training made him conscious of antiquity, and the highly developed mind of the mature Addison became singularly sensitive to the beauties of the artistic performances of his coetans. At an early age he was enrolled at Charterhouse School, later entering Queen's College2 and Magdalen College, Oxford. His first years of study were devoted 1. The Guardian. No. 115, July 23. 2. Addison's father had also attended Queen's (see The Works of the Right Honourable Joseph Addison, ed. R. Hurd(London,1889),VI, 673. 3. Addison originally planned to take holy orders (ibid-.,VI, 675). 3. largely to the masters of antiquity, whom he Imitated in his well-executed Latin poetry. As a result of this predilection for the works of the ancients, his language assumed a classical 2 tone. Doubtless this was one of the reasons why Ad.dison apprec­ iated the style of Milton, a style abounding in Latinisms. Our critic says: Milton, by the above-mentioned helps, and by the choice of the noblest words and phrases which our tongue would aff­ ord him, has carried our language to a greater height than any of the English poets have ever done before or after him, and has made the sublimity of his style equal to that of his sentiments. I have been the more particular in these observations on Milton's style, because it is that part of him in which he appears the most singular. The remarks I have here made upon the practice of other poets, with my observations out of Aris­ totle, will perhaps alleviate the prejudice which some have taken to his poem upon this account; though, after all, I must confess, that I think his style, though admirable in gaieral, is in some places too much stiffened and obscured by the fre­ quent use of those methods, which Aristotle has prescribed for the raising of it.s 1. The importance of this imitative verse may be understood if one peruses Trissino's Poetica, in which the Italian critic states: "It is easy, then, to understand.that it is natural for us to imitate, since man is more given to imitation than any other an­ imal, and he first learns from imitation; hence the children most given to imitation develop greatest ability." See Trissino's Poetica. tr. A. H. Gilbert(UNPUBLISHED MS.), pp.3-4. 2. The Miscellaneous Works of Joseph Addison . ed. A. C. Guth- kelch(London, 1914), I, xiii. 3. The Spectator. No. 285, January 26. 4. .When Addison was twenty-eight years of age, he journeyed to France, Italy, Austria, and other continental countries on a pen­ sion granted him by King William III, thus broadening his recep­ tive mind for the literary tasks he was to undertake later in his life.
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