Daniel

Defoe’s
literary work
"It is never too late
to be wise."
Daniel Defoe
Daniel Defoe is an English writer and
publicist. He is known, first of all, as the
author of the adventure novel "Robinson
Crusoe".
In Defoe's biography, three periods
should be distinguished according to
the predominant type of occupation:
he was a businessman until the age of
forty, a journalist after the age of
forty, and a writer from the age of
about sixty.
Daniel was born in late 1659 or early 1660 - the exact
date of biographers is still unknown. His father, James
Foe, was a merchant. The future writer was educated at
the then-famous Charles Morton Dissenter Academy in
Stoke-Newington, where he studied theology, as well as
classical and modern languages, history, geography and
mathematics. The father wanted to see his son as a priest,
but Daniel thought otherwise.
These times old feudal order collapsed, the
era of the bourgeois class began, and he
plunged headlong into the realm of private
enterprise and trade.

Beginning in 1680, as a trade intermediary between

importers and merchants, the young man traveled extensively
in Europe, especially in Spain and Portugal. Unfortunately,
he did not succeed as a businessman. He suffered both minor
defeats and great bankruptcy.
The writer began his literary career in
1697 as a publicist with a pamphlet
"Essays on Projects", in which he
proposed a number of political and
economic reforms.
In 1700, at the age of forty, Daniel Fo became a
professional journalist, starting to publish the
weekly newspaper "Review". In 1702 he published
an anonymous pamphlet "How to deal with
dissenters as soon as possible." He was imprisoned
for this and, after paying a large fine, was exposed
to a shameful pillar three times.
In prison, he wrote the Hymn to the Pillar of Shame
(1703), which the crowd gathered to support the writer
sang as a folk song in honor of the author. His release
from prison was made possible only by his consent to
become a secret agent of the authorities.
1703 was the year of birth of
the Defoe’s phenomenon in
literature. He adds the particle
"de" to his family name, and
since then the energetic
merchant and popular
pamphleteer Foe has become
a well-known first-class
journalist-innovator, reporter,
editor-in-chief, author of
sensational articles and a
skilled master of true fiction.
In general, Defoe's literary activity was quite diverse -
from poetry to large-scale novels with a clear moral trend.

"Robinson Crusoe" (1719)

 "Captain Singleton" (1720)

"Memoirs of a Cavalier"
 "Colonel Jack"

“Moll Flanders”
“A Journal of the Plague year”

"Roxana" (1724)
He is the author of a huge number of journalistic
articles, essays, historical and ethnographic works. He
became the first professional writer in England in the
early eighteenth century.
I would like to emphasize that the writer actively continued his
creative and intellectual activity at a respectable age. At this time,
Defoe enjoyed his wealth and a quiet measured life in his own
home in Newington, near London, surrounded by three daughters.
His son, already married, lived separately and was also engaged in
literature.

Some time later, in London, separated from his

family, he died. All the items left behind were
sold by the landlady at auction to cover the
funeral expenses. Thus, on April 26, 1731, at the
age of 71, the famous author of "Robinson", a
living legend of English literature, passed away.
Some Important Facts of His Life
• Young Defoe married Mary Tuffley at the age of twenty-
four in 1684 and the couple had had eight children.
• Afterthe publication of his satirical work “The Shortest
Way with Dissenters” he was imprisoned in May 1703
and charged within three days. However, he was released
shortly.
• He is widely acclaimed for his work, Robinson Crusoe.
• He is said to have used at least 198 pennames.
His Style
Daniel Defoe enjoyed a successful literary life. His
trade experiences, political passions, and the
personal tragedies he encountered during his early
years played a pivotal role in his writing career.
Using his unique style, he beautifully portrayed
his ideas in his literary pieces. Although the
satirical style and harsh tone of his political and
religious pamphlets annoyed the ruling class, yet
he continued presenting the true picture of his time
in his writings.
For example, his much-appreciated work, Robinson
Crusoe, presents the realistic projection of the human psyche
and emotion. Marked with the use of reflective tone, satirical
style, irony, symbolism, and metaphors, his works won
universal recognition. The recurring themes in most of his
writings are prejudice, politics, religion, and human nature.
Daniel Defoe’s Impact on Future Literature
Daniel Defoe’s writing style and literary qualities of his
masterpieces brought praiseworthy changes in the global
English literature years later him. His distinctive writing
approach and unique expression have made him stand
among the best historical fiction writer of his time as well
as the later times. Also, his political passion and views
regarding legitimacy and power had a significant
influence on a diverse range of writers and other
influential figures. He is so much popular at this time that
intertextualities have made it easy for other writers to
allude to him in every other novel they create.
Important Quotes

- “Those people cannot enjoy comfortably what God has given

them because they see and covet what He has not given them. All
of our discontents for what we want appear to me to spring from
want of thankfulness for what we have.” (Robinson Crusoe)

- “It put me upon reflecting how little repining there would be

among mankind at any condition of life, if people would rather
compare their condition with those that were worse, in order to be
thankful, than be always comparing them with those which are
better, to assist their murmurings and complaining.” (Robinson
Crusoe)
- “…in the course of our lives, the evil which in itself we seek
most to shun, and which, when we are fallen into, is the most
dreadful to us, is oftentimes the very means or door of our
deliverance, by which alone we can be raised again from the
affliction we are fallen into…” (Robinson Crusoe)

- “And I add this part here, to hint to whoever shall read it

that whenever they come to a true sense of things, they will
find Deliverance from Sin a much greater Blessing than
Deliverance from Affliction.” (Robinson Crusoe)