Joseph Addison

Joseph Addison (1672-1719) was an English essayist, poet, playwright and politician. In 1709, Addison’s friend, Richard Steele, began to bring out the Tatler journal to which Addison immediately became a contributor. Soon after, he started The Spectator, a daily paper. Its goal was to ‘enliven morality with wit, and to temper wit with morality.’

In the Spectator No 476, Joseph Addison debates the differences between regularity and method styles of writing and irregularity styles of writing. Addison begins by saying he writes with both regularity and irregularity. When writing his daily papers, he more frequently writes with method and has the whole scheme of the discourse in his head, much like planning his structure of writing before writing the final piece. However, he then says that he uses the style of irregularity when writing ‘essays’. It seems to me that he thinks writing methodically, planning your writing and ideas and thoughts in order, seems to be a trouble because instead you can write quickly and more freely.

Although, based on what he says, it seems he strongly prefers to write methodically because without regularity he says it can cause confusion and disorder probably to both the reader and writer. He describes an author of irregular style of writing as a Genius but I think he uses this word sarcastically to an extent, because he compares this style of writing to being lost in a Wood where great objects arise and surround you but you’re in confusion. He says that geniuses are too full to be exact and therefore, ‘throw down their pearls in heaps rather than be at the pains of stringing them’. It seems he’s not speaking seriously about these geniuses because surely geniuses have the brains and power to ‘suffer at the pains of stringing them’ rather than writing the easy way, freely and continuously writing ideas from their heads.

It seems he also writing with sarcasm in The Royal Exchange. He mentions being a citizen of the world and seems to portray the fact that he loves mankind as he says: ‘Nature seems to have taken a peculiar care to disseminate the blessings among the different regions of the world, with an eye to this mutual intercourse and traffic among mankind.’ He also says natives of several parts of the globe might have a kind of dependence upon one another and be united as if he loves to see citizens of the world uniting as one but in actual fact, I think he’s mocking the concept with a purpose to entertain his audience and add humour to his writing.

In the Spectator, to show his preference for method, Addison describes method as an ‘advantage to a work, both in respect to the writer and the reader.’ I agree with him when he says that method helps a writer’s invention because, as he says, ‘when a man has planned his discourse, he finds a great many thoughts rising out of every head’. This makes sense because when you plan your writing it gives you the time and opportunity to think about what you’re writing and to expand on your thoughts rather than simply writing what is already in your head. I think it is also true when he says that thoughts are more intelligible and better discover their drift and meaning when they follow one another in a regular series rather than when they are thrown together without any order or connection. It makes much more sense to link the ideas and thoughts you are writing especially for journalists who are publishing information to their public audience. They need to be sure that their readers are able to connect with the writing and understand the information they are being given rather than writing information that will confuse the readers and have no meaning to them.

Addison also suggests that method is not less requisite in ordinary conversation than in writing, because it is generally known that people talk to make themselves understood. Therefore, we often ‘think before we speak’ to make sure what we say is necessary and understood by others for us to receive replies and have conversations. 

Addison also compares Tom Puzzle and Will Dry. Tom Puzzle is an immethodical disputant and describes him as the admiration of all those who have less sense than himself, and the contempt of those who have more. Will Dry is a ‘clear methodical head’ and Addison interestingly says Dry gains the same advantage over Puzzle, that a small body of regular troops would gain over a numberless undisciplined Militia.

In the Royal Exchange, Addison talks in a very feminine and witty manner. He writes about his fondness for trading and the positive impacts it has on society but as I’ve mentioned before, he does speak, I believe, with a lot of sarcasm to entertain his audience.  He uses a lot of feminine ways of describing objects. For example, when he writes about the food and products from different countries, he describes them in great detail in a very feminine way. He says:

“The infusion of a china plant sweetened with the pith of an Indian cane. The Philippine Islands give a flavour to our European bowls. The single dress of a woman of quality is often the product of a hundred climates. The muff and the fan come together from the different ends of the earth. The scarf is sent from the Torrid Zone, and the tippet from beneath the pole. The brocade petticoat rises out of the mines of Peru, and the diamond necklace out of the bowls of Indostan.”

This paragraph is written in a very womanly way, the descriptions such as sweetened and diamond is very feminine and the places such as the Philippines and India are very exotic places. The fact that the clothing mentioned is all for women, such as the dress, muff, fan, petticoat and diamond necklace, makes me think that his writing is aimed at women rather than men.

He also mentions a list of exotic fruit including melons, peaches, figs, apricots and cherries which also suggests to me this is for a female audience. Mainly because it was stereotypical then of women to stay at home to clean and prepare meals for their families whilst men went out to work and therefore, this would mostly be of the interest of women.  

Joseph Addison also talks a lot of Sir Andrew Freeport, a fictional character he created. Addison created Sir Andrew with an intention of him being a representation of himself, a character which shared his views in order to make his writing unique.