The open Education College

Department of English

Short story Second stage/ 1st course

The early life of the writer :

William Hazlitt

)English Writer & Literary Critic(

))Birthday: April 10)

Born In: Maidstone, Kent, England

William Hazlitt is considered as one of the greatest literary critics and

essayists. He was also a painter, philosopher and social commentator. He
is recognized as the best art critic of the Romantic period. Hazlitt was a
political liberal and wrote expressive defenses of the ideas of the French
Revolution. His father was a sympathizer of the American struggle for
independence. Hazlitt inherited liberal views from his father. Even though
he was not entirely devoid of political prejudices himself, he attacked the
politically conservative works of the Lake Poets. He has left a vivid
account of his meeting with Samuel Taylor Coleridge and how he taught
Hazlitt the gospel of revolution. His writing style was simple, colloquial
and insightful without any literary pretension. His works cannot be
classified into a single school of criticism. His essays followed the trend of
‘familiar’ essays, i.e. essays which used the model of common
conversation to discuss matters of human experiences. The topics of
William Hazlitt’s essays ranged from such specialized topics as Milton’s
sonnets or Sir Joshua Reynold’s ‘Discourses’ to his fondness for old books.
His literary pieces gave the readers a lens through which the
compositions of his Romantic contemporaries can be seen

What is the main of this story

The writer offers in his story many ideas the first one that should be
discussed that He loves his solitude and freedom. A journey should be
liberating oneself from the everyday world and its concerns. To remove
oneself from the prison of company and anxieties one must become
connected to nature. The only way to achieve such a union is through
complete freedom of thought

The second idea that is inside the writter's mind is a large number of his
essays are on abstract ideas such as Egotism, Reason, Imagination, and
the fear of Death etc. He is more interested in the idea than in the essay
as a form. He does not indulge in moralizing. In his hands essay became a
means of self-expression

William Hazilitt depicts in his works his best pictures he could, whether
they flattered their subjects or not, and neither poet was satisfied with
his result, though Wordsworth and their mutual friend Robert Southey
considered his portrait of Coleridge a better likeness than one by the
celebrated James Northcote

Why does Hazlitt write the letter to his son ?

The great lesson that should be convyed in his style is the advice itself for
all humanity as well to the reader
It's a beautiful piece of advice given by a father to his son. He writes on
how this advice may help him in the future to correct his own errors. He
advises on the boy's complaint on how he was treated at school and how
he found a different treatment at home and school

The writer begins with praise of a journey. He expresses delight in

journeying alone with nature being his only companion. He hates being in
the company of fellow travellers who like to chat and worry about the
.world when they travel. He loves his solitude and freedom

A journey should be liberating oneself from the everyday world and its
concerns. To remove oneself from the prison of company and anxieties
one must become connected to nature. The only way to achieve such a
.union is through complete freedom of thought

He enjoys the silent commentary of wildflowers or the music of flowing

waters than constant repartee with a fellow human over worldly topics.
Such freedom does not demand a confession of feelings in words or
.gestures

He claims that when we are with others we should completely devote our
attention to them and entertain their thoughts and opinions. However,
when we are alone and travelling, we should just concentrate on our own
.thoughts and reflect on them

We can either be alone or together, not both at the same time. We

cannot talk and reflect at the same time. We cannot converse and have
internal thoughts at the same time.
”Analysis of William Hazlitt's “on Going a Journey

Ongoing a journey is an essays written by William Hazilitt. As it's clear as

its title, the essay is about the art of enjoying oneself when making a
journey. From the beginning of the essay, Hazlitt makes it clear that
travelling is a pleasurable experience, also he provided that to make the
most of the journey we must consider these conditions, going on the
journey alone, Hazlitt emphasizes on the importance of avoiding useless
arguments. One should devote himself entirely to contemplation, this
could only be achieved in a true mood of good thinking. Also we have to
be aware of that we cannot do two things at the same time, on the
contrary, we ought to concentrate on only one thing at a time. For
instance, we should not argue because it will certainly spoil
contemplation. This stresses the relation between loneliness and
achievement, in travel man achieves peace with himself instead of
quarrelling with the others. Also freedom could be felt when one is alone,
it is the only way that one could contemplate wholly with nature. This will
secure the full enjoyment of travel and by necessity, escaping from
painful thoughts and the depressing reality.

.by necessity, escaping from painful thoughts and the depressing reality

To conclude, one should mention the style of writing, in spite of the

romantic nature of the writer, he managed to make his language simple
to suit history. That is why he arranges his ideas logically, creating a
coherent structure not only does this clarify his theme, but it also
achieves a deep effect on the reader. All this proves the dexterity of the
writer .