Introduction to the

Eighteenth Century
The Periodical Essays
The Emergence of Periodical Essays in the 18th Century

More than most literary genres, the periodical essay belongs to a specific time
period because of its tight connection to specific changes in politics, in law and
in publishing practices. The emergence of the periodical essay coincides with a
certain phase of periodical publication, which got its start in England during the
Civil War but was not fully established until 1702. In the early years, government
control of the press had a powerful effect on periodical publication, which
flourished most when there were disruptions in the government itself. Essays
that formerly comprised the whole of a particular publication appeared more
and more frequently in magazines. A crucial example is Dr. Samuel Johnson’s
Idler, which appeared weekly as part of the Universal Chronicle from 1758 to
1760. As parts of magazines and other publications, periodical essays survived in
great numbers throughout the century.
 Defining Features of the Periodicals
In the periodicals, several characteristics come together more or less in
concert:
• Regular and frequent appearance (daily, weekly, etc.)
• Presentation of a particular point of view, often spoken by a literary
persona or a related group of personae
• Correspondence with readers (either fictional or real)
• Predominance of the essay in periodicals
• Discussion on politics, social affairs, topical issues. The periodical essay,
however, was not bound as much by partisan politics as by a more deep
involvement with the public sphere of private individuals.
 The Author and Audience
The periodical essay, like all serial publication, was part of the evolution of the
professional writer from his or her role as a member of the court or parliament to
his or her reliance on publishers and, through them, on the reading public. The
ideal readers of the periodical essay might have valued learning and even had
some, but did not have settled habits of study. Young, often female, and nearly
always middle-class, these readers were the same ones who embraced the rising
new novel. In fact, many of the best periodical writers also composed fiction and
early forms of the novel. For eg. Jonathan Swift and Daniel Defoe. Although the
periodical essays of the eighteenth century are stylistically diverse, as a group, they
champion the ‘improvement’ and ‘correction’ of English. It is telling that several of
the principal essayists of the century were also involved in plans to reform English
by means of a national dictionary. Addison, Swift and Pope all proposed
dictionaries, and Dr. Johnson finished the job in 1755.
Many eighteenth century authors cut
their teeth by writing contributions for
periodicals - that is, short, regularly
published journals or magazines, often
printed on just a single sheet of paper,
which became increasingly common in
Britain from the late seventeenth
century. Periodicals were a crucial
conduit for new writing; in themselves,
they cannot be said to have comprised a
genre for they presented short works of
many different kinds - poems, anecdotes,
book reviews, theatre reviews, fiction,
parliamentary reports, and so on - but
they became known particularly as an
outlet for essays, a towering standard for
which was set early in the period by
Joseph Addison and Richard Steele
(1672-1729), the collaborators behind
The Tatler (1709-11) and The Spectator
(1711-14).
In 1709, Steele launched The Tatler, a
periodical paper that appeared three
times a week under the persona of
Isaac Bickerstaff that he invented for
himself, featuring essays by his friends,
including Jonathan Swift and Addison.
Steele thus effectively invented a new
and quintessentially English form of
literary journalism, which led in 1711 to
their joint venture in The Spectator, the
immensely popular periodical paper
which they (and a number of other
guest writers) produced in six hundred
and thirty‐two numbers from 1711 to
1714. The Tatler was Steele's inspiration
but he was soon joined in it by Joseph
Addison with whom he had been a
close friend both at Charterhouse
School and at Oxford. In its orientation
toward reform, particularly reform of
the theatre, The Tatler continued to
bear the imprint of Steele throughout
its history.
 The Purpose of Periodical Essays
Addison's and Steele's essays addressed a wide range of topics, such as politics, trade, manners,
philosophy and aesthetics, all with a general purpose of entertaining, enlightening and refining their
readers. The main aim, as Addison put it in The Spectator (No. 10), was “to enliven Morality with Wit, and
to Temper wit with Morality.” A further goal was to shift plenty of copies. Steele, in particular, needed the
income, but both authors were also keen that their writing should have social impact - that their essays
should become a talking-point and influence patterns of public behaviour and belief. This cultural
penetration was achieved both through the regularity of the publications - The Tatler appeared thrice
weekly, while The Spectator appeared daily between March 1711 and December 1712, and then was
revived as a thrice-weekly paper for a run in 1714 - and through wide circulation.
Addison, reckoning that each copy of The Spectator would be passed around some twenty readers,
suggested he reached around 60,000 people in London alone. He was probably exaggerating here in a bid
to promote The Spectator as an essential reading for anyone wishing to keep abreast with the affairs of the
day, but both The Tatler and The Spectator were tremendously popular, and they remained so throughout
the period when published in collected editions - the essays proved to be of enduring interest, much
praised for their wit and stylistic elegance, despite the topicality of many of the matters they addressed.
 The Cultural Milieu and Characters
These periodicals were important in part because they put printed matter at the center of social exchange and public
debate. As Addison was keen to note, periodicals were often shared- they became closely associated with the
chocolate and coffeehouses of London, where they could be handed around from customer to customer and could
feed into the general conversation such establishments fostered. Indeed the register of many periodicals derives from
such sociable settings: many Tatler essays are presented as written in 'White's Chocolatehouse', while the Spectator
appears as a type of journal recording the goings on and correspondence of 'Mr. Spectator's Club', a motley
assemblage of contemporary character types. The printed matter, then, poses as an extension of the clublike world in
which its consumption is assumed to take place, and this enhanced the ability of periodicals to trigger and lead
debates.
Steele, for example, was able to use a Tatler essay (No. 25) to invite reflection on the ethics of duelling - a barbarous
practice, in Steele's eyes, quite inappropriate for the modern civilized society which he and Addison were engaged in
forging and refining through their writing. And the characters of the Spectator could be used to explore social
tensions and to shape - or attempt to shape - readers' political views: the inclusion, for instance, of Sir Roger de
Coverley, an old Tory squire, and Sir Andrew Freeport, a representative of new money derived from trade, allowed
Addison and Steele to dramatize the shifting structures of society as well as to promote their own Whig politics by
generally speaking up for the trading interest.
The divergent political currents of the age were evidently
expressed in The Spectator. The Spectator club to which
the supposed author belonged had as one of its members
Sir Andrew Freeport, a merchant. And when Sir Andrew
spoke for the ideals of commerce, he was greeted with
applause by all. On the other hand, the old landed interest
was represented by Sir Roger de Coverley, a lovable old
Tory who, through the affection that those around his
property felt for him, still reigned in his area like a
benevolent monarch.
We learn much of Sir Roger - his old loves, his relations
with his family and tenants, his ideas. It is impossible not
to like him, but no one would take anything he had to say
seriously. He belonged to a quaint, dying world, as
moribund as that of Sir Andrew Freeport was full of
movement and energy. No more direct statement of
political opinion could be made, but it was not made
directly. Instead, it was given by way of the impression
these fictional characters make on the reader.