UNI

T–2

(
i)
JOSEPHADDI
SON:
SIRROGERTHETHEATRE

I
NTRODUCTI
ONABOUTAUTHOR

JosephAddi sonwasadi stinguished18t hcent ur

yEngl i
shpoet,aut hor,
play wri
ght,pol
it
icianandclassicalscholar
.Heis
recogni
sedasoneoft hef inestper iodicalessay i
sts,
whoal ongwi thhisfriend,RichardSteelefoundedt hedail
yjournal
,‘
The
Spectat
or’
.‘TheSpectator’becameapopul arandwel l-
readpublicationoft hatti
me.Hecont r
ibutedover274essay sfor‘The
Spectat
or’andalsowroteessay sf orthepubl icat
ion,‘
TheTat l
er’
.Hewr otet helegendaryplay,‘
Cato,aTr agedy
’,whichis
beli
evedtobet hel
iter
aryinspirationbehi ndt heAmer icanRevolution.Hehasal soauthored,‘
AccountOfTheGr eatestEngli
sh
Poets’
,‘
TheCampai gn’
,‘DialogueonMedal s’andt heunsuccessful operalibrett
o‘Rosamund’ .

Heser vedastheUnder-
SecretaryofState,
Commi ssi
onerofAppealsi
nthegovernmentofthe1stEar
lofHal
if
ax,
Memberof
Parl
iament,secr
etaryt
ot henewLor dLieut
enantofIr
eland,Lor
dWhartonandast heSecr
etar
yofStat
efort
heSouther
n
Department.Hewasknownf orhismagnanimouscharacterandcoolper
sonal
i
ty.Healsohelpedest
abli
sht
heEngli
shli
ter
ary
congregati
on,‘
Kit
-CatClub’
,whichhadpower f
ulpoli
ti
calconnecti
ons.

MajorWorks
Theplay,
‘Cato,aTragedy’washissemi nalworkandenj
oyedsuccessalloverEngland,t
heNewWor l
dandIrel
and.Theplayis
widel
yregardedasal i
ter
aryinspi
rationbehi
ndtheAmer i
canRevol
uti
on.Heco- foundedthedail
y‘TheSpect
ator
’,whi
chatthat
ti
mewasawel lrecei
vedandpopul arpubli
cat
ion.Anesti
matedonetenthofthepopul at
ionreadt
hepapermakingitthemost
readpubl
icati
on.
Hediedattheageof48att heHollandHouse,London.HewaslaidtorestattheWest minst
erAbbey,Ci
tyofWestminsteri
n
London.

SUMMARY

SirRogerdeCoverl
yatthetheat
reisanessaybyJosephAddisson.Si
rRogerexpresseshisdesi
reofwatchingagood
t
ragedytoAddison.Theymeetatspectat
orcl
ub,Si
rRogersaysthathehasnotwat chedanygoodplayinthelast20year
sand
t
helastplayhewatchedwasachur chofEngl
andcomedynamed' Commi tt
e'.thust
heyplantowatchagoodt ragedyast
oryof
Di
stresswomannamedAndr omach.i
tisthecl
assi
calt
ragedythatrev
olv
esar oundHector'
swidow(Andromach) .

Knightisoneoft hefr
iendsofRogerandAddisonheplanstotakeCapt ai
nSentryfortheplay.ThusAddison,SirRoger,Knight
,
CaptainSentryal
ongwi thaButl
erandaser v
anttakesthei
rcoachtothetheatre.Theygetthet i
cketandacomf ortabl
emi ddle
seatatthetheatre,t
heplaybegi
ns.Pyrr
us(SonofAchil
leswhokill
edHect ori
nTr oj
anwar )isthecharact
erthatentersthe
stagefir
st.Attheendofev er
yactSirRogerpassescomment saboutthecharacter
sandt hescenet ohisfr
iends.

SirRogerwasnotfondofthechar
acterAndromachwhoisthewidowandheanxiousl
ywonder
swhatitwoul
dbecomeof
Pyrruswhoisaf
terAndromach.OntheotherhandKni
ghtadoresthechar
act
ersonthest
ageandhepassesgoodcomment
s
aboutAndromach.

Captai
nsentr
ynudgehisfr
iendsnottobeexpli
citi
nthei
rcommentsaboutt
hecharacter
sonstageast
wooft heaudience
werekeenl
yobser
v i
ngthei
rconver
sati
on.Atthefourt
hactHect
or'
sghostwasexpectedonst
ageandKnightmisunderst
andsa
pageforAst
ynax(Andr
omach&Hect or'
sson).

Theplayendswit
hAndr omachki l
l
inghersel
fandPyrr
usleftt
ofeelsorr
owabouthismist
akes.t
hef
ri
endsofthespect
ator
cl
ubwast hel
astt
ol eav
ethet heat
re.Theyall
leav
ethetheatr
ewiththesat
isf
act
ionofwatchi
ngagoodtr
agedy.t
hefri
ends
escor
tRogeranddropshim athishousesafel
yinthecoach. 

(
ii
)RI
CHARDSTEELE:
THESPECTATORCLUB

I
NTRODUCTI
ONABOUTAUTHOR

TheBriti
shessayi
st,dr
amatist
,andpoli
ti
cianSi
rRichardSteele(1672-1729)isbestknownf orhi
scoll
aborati
onwithAddi
son
onaser i
esofessaysfortheTatl
erandtheSpectat
or.RichardSteelewasbor ninDubl i
n,I
rel
and,i
nMarch1672.Theexactdate
ofhisbir
thisnotknown,buthewasbapt i
zedonMar ch12.St eel
e'
sf at
her,anattorney,di
edin1676,
andhi smotherdi
edthe
nextyear.Hewasplacedundertheguardi
anshi
pofhi smat er
naluncle,HenryGascoi gne,
whowassecr et
aryandconfi
denti
al
agenttotheDukeofOr monde.In1684hebeganat t
endingChar t
erhouseSchool, London,wher
ehemetJosephAddi son.

BothSt eel
eandAddi sonwenttoOxford,Steeleenter
ingChr i
stChurchin1689andtransferr
ingt oMer tonColl
egei n1691.His
Oxfordcareerwasundisti
ngui
shed,andhel eftin1692wi thouttaki
ngadegr eeinor
dertov olunteerf orcadetserviceunderthe
commandoft heDukeofOr monde.Steel
ethenser vedint heLifeGuardsandl at
ert
ransferr
edt otheCol dstream Guards.I
n
1695Lor dCutts,t
owhom Steel
ehaddedi catedapoem ont hefuneralofQueenMary,becameSt eele'spatron.St
eel ef
ir
st
servedhim aspriv
atesecr
etar
yandt henbecameanof f
icerinCut t
s'sregi
mentin1697.Twoy earslat erSteel
ereceiveda
captai
ncyinaf oot
 
Dur i
ngt hesey earsofmi l
itaryservi
cei nLondon, Steel
ebecameacquai nt
edwithacircleofli
terar
yandar t
isticfi
gures,andhe
begant owr i
te.Hi sfi
rstcomedy , 
TheFuner al,
orGriefA-l
a-mode,
 wasper for
medsuccessf ul
lyatDr ur
yLaneTheat r
ein1701.
Thisplaywasasat ir
eont henewpr ofessionofunder t
aking.I
twasf ol
lowedby TheLy i
ngLov erorTheLadi es'Fr
iendship 
in
1703.Hi sthir
dcomedy , 
In1722hewr ot ehislastandmostsuccessf ulcomedy,TheConsci
  ousLov er
s. 
In1724—st il
l
notori
ouslyimpr ov i
dent,i
mpul si
ve,ost entati
ous,andgenerous—Steelewasf or
cedtor eti
refr
om Londonbecauseofhi s
mount i
ngdebt sandhi swor seni
ngheal t
h.Hewentt ol
iveonhiswife'sestat
eofLlangunnorinWal es,andin1726hesuf fer
eda
paral
yticstroke.Hi shealt
hbr oken,Steeledi edatCarmarthen.
SUMMARY
TheSpect atorCl ub–Summar y
TheSpect atorCl ub isperhapsRi chardSt eel
e’sfinestachi evement.Thisessaywaspubl ishedi n TheSpect ator.Int hisessay ,
Steel ehasgi venanaccountoft hemember soft heCl ub.Thesemember srepr esentimportantsect i
onsofsoci et y
.St eele
descr ibessi xoft hemember soft heCl ubtheyar eSirRogerdeCov er
ley,Capt ainSentry,SirAndr ewFreepor t,Wi l
lHoney comb,
theCl er gymanandt heSt udentofLaw.St eeletalksaboutt hefir
stgentlemanofhi scompanywhosenamei sSi rRogerde
Cov erley .Thepeopl e,whoknewaboutt hecountyofSi rRoger ,
knewSi rRoger .SirRogerwasamanofext raor dinar ynat ure
andhadagoodsense.Heal waysf oundf aul
twi ththeway soft heworldbutt hi sunusualnatur enevermadehi m anyenemi es.
SirRogerhadauni quecapaci tytopleaseot hers.SirRogerwasabachel orbecausehewasdi sappointedint hel oveofa
beaut iful widow.Bef orethisdi
sappoi ntmentSi rRogerwasanor malhappyy oungman.Hemov edinsocietyofi mpor tant
per sonsl i
keLor dRochest erandSi rGeor geEtherege.Howev er
,aft
erbei ngil
l-usedbyt hewi dowhel ostallhisjov iali
tyand
i
nt er esti nsoci alli
fef ormor ethanay ear.Hebecamev er
yser i
ous.Graduallyhi sjovi
ali
tyreturned.Howev er,hegr ewcar eless
abouthi sdr ess.Hewor eacoatandj acketofacut ,whi chwasi nfashionatt hatt i
me.NowSi rRogerwasf i
fty-
si xy earsol dbut
wasqui tehaleandhear t
y.Hehadahousei nvill
ageandt own.Hehadsuchagoodnat urethatpeopl elovedhi m.Heal so
treat edhi sser vantswel l
.Hewasal sot hejusti
ceoft hequor um andshowedhi sjudici
alabi l
i
tiesont hehai roft hej usticeata
quar ter-sessi on.

Afterthi
s, St
eelehasdescr ibedanot hercompani onofthecl ub.Hei sal awy er.Hewasal soabachel or.Hewasamanofshar p
witandcl earunder st
anding.Hechosehi soccupationrathertoobeyt hedi recti
onofhi soldf atherthant oincli
net ohisown
tendencies.Het ooktot hest udyoflawinobedi encetohisf ather.Hewasmor einter
estedi nthest udyofdr amaanddr amat i
c
cri
tici
sm.Thephi l
osopher slikeArist
otl
eandLongi nuswer ewel lunderstoodbyhi m.Hisf atherusedt osendt ohi mv ari
ous
questionsonl awi nordertoensur ehisson’ sprogr
essinl egalstudies.Thesonout wit
tedt hef atherbyget ti
ngt hem answer ed
throughal awyerwhom hehadengagedf orthepurpose.Nobodyt ookhi m asaf oolbutonl yhi sfri
endsknewt hathehada
greatwit.Helikedt oreadt hebooks, whichwer enotoftheagehel i
ved.Hewasf ami
li
arwi tht hewr it
ings,customs, actionsand
manner sofanci entwriter
s, whichmadehi m akeenobser verofthewor l
dl yaffai
rs.Hewasagoodcr it
ic.Hisreal hourof
businesswast hetimeoft hepl ay.Thepresenceofanabl ecr iti
camongt heaudi encewoul dr ouset heactorst ogi v
et hebest
performancepossi ble.

Nexttheauthorhasdi scussedaboutSirAndrewf reeportwhowasi sagoodbusi nessmanofLondon.Hewasv erylabori

ous,
experi
encedandhadagr eatunderst
andi
ng.Hisknowl edgeofcommer cewasext ensiv
e.Hehadhi sowni deal
soft heway sof
enlar
gingacount r
y’strade.Hewasoft heopi
ni onthatadomi ni
onmaybeext endedbyar tandindustr
ythanbypower .
Dil
igenceorindustryalonewouldhelpthecount r
yt ogai
nt hingsofpermanentvalue,andslot
horidlenessmoret hant hesword
hadcausedt heruinofmanynat i
ons.Heknewmanyshor tmaxims.Hehadauni queartofspeech.Hewasasel fmadeper son
andbeliev
edt hatEnglandt oocoul
dbecomer icherthanot herkingdoms,bymethodswhi chhadsobenef i
tedhim.

Aft
erSi rAndrew, theauthorhasdescr i
bedt hemeritsofCaptai
nSentry.Hewasv erycour ageousintell
igentandhadgood
understanding.Hewassuchamanwhohadnotr ecei v
edgoodconsiderati
onofhisabi l
i
ties.HehadbeenCapt ai
ninmi l
it
aryfor
somey earsandf oughtbravelyonfronts.Heleftt
hear mybecauseev enthoughher enderedmer it
oriousser vi
ce,whichanyone
couldseeandappr eci
ate,pr
omot i
ondi dnotcomet ohi m.Heusedtosayt hatonl
ythatmancoul dhol daposi ti
oninmi l
it
ary
whoget soverhisf al
semodest y.Hewasoft heopinionthati
tiscowardi
cetostandbackmodest l
y.Simi lar
lyamanwhof ai
led
toasser thi
mselfanddemandwhatwashi sduewasacowar d.Hewasf rankinspeakingaboutt heweaknessesofhi soffi
cers.
Thisfranknesswasapar tofhischaracter
.Thoughhecommandedmanyper sonsinmi l
itary,
hewasnev erhaughty
.Henev er
becameaf lat
terer,alt
houghheobey edhi ssuperi
ors.

Theaut hort
hentalksaboutWi ll
Honey comb.Thoughhewasol d,ther
ewerenot r
acesofthepassageoft imei nhisbr ainorin
hi
sper son.Hehadanat t
racti
veper sonali
tyandcouldi
mpr esswomenbyhi st al
k.Hedressedwellandwaswel l acquainted
wit
ht hehistor
yofeveryfashiont hatremainedinvogueinEngland.Wil
lHoney combwasal waysint
erestedinmat ter
s
pert
ainingtowomen.I nhisconv entionshetalkedmostl
yofwomen, t
hei
rdresses,thei
rmannersandt heirfashions.Hehada
goodknowl edgeofhistory.Hecoul dtellt
hatthehai
rst
ylesorhatsofourwivesanddaught er
sresemblet othoseoft he
wenchesofFr enchKings.Buttheaut horsaysthat
hewasagent l
eman.Leavingtherel
ati
onsofwomenhewasanhonestand
worthyman.

Attheendoftheessay,t
heauthortel
l
susaboutoneofhiscompanionswhosel dom wai
tedhim.Hewasaphi l
osopherand
cl
ergyman.Heliv
edasacr edl
if
e.Hewasv er
yweakinconsti
tut
ion.Becauseofil
lheal
th,
hecouldnotful
fi
lther
esponsibi
li
ti
es
whichpromoti
oninthechurchmighthav
ebroughthi
m.Hespokeondi v
inetopi
cwithauthor
it
y.Hewishedfort
hegoodoft he
worldevenaf
terhisdeat
h.