Richard Steele, "The Spectator Club" (1711)
- The Spectator " (1711)"> Back
The first of our society is a gentleman of Worcestershire, of an ancient descent, a baronet, his name Sir Roger de Coverley. His great-grandfather was inventor of that famous country-dance which is called after him. All who know that shire are very well acquainted with the parts and merits of Sir Roger. He is a gentleman that is very singular in his behavior, but his singularities proceed from his good sense, and are contradictions to the manners of the world, only as he thinks the world is in the wrong. However, this humor creates him no enemies, for he does nothing with sourness or obstinacy; and his being unconfined to modes and forms makes him but the readier and more capable to please and oblige all who know him. When he is in town he lives in Soho Square. It is said he keeps himself a bachelor by reason he was crossed in love by a perverse beautiful widow of the next county to him. Before this disappointment, Sir Roger was what you call a fine gentleman, had often supped with my Lord Rochester and Sir George Etherege, fought a duel upon his first coming to town, and kicked bully Dawson in a public coffee-house for calling him youngster. ("The Spectator Club," March 1st, 1711)
Basic Set Up:
Richard Steele introduces the character Sir Roger de Coverley, a member of the Spectator Club.
Thematic Analysis
Sir Roger de Coverley, a member of the Spectator Club, is a character made up by Richard Steele. Even though de Coverley's a fictional character, he represents a certain class of English gentleman.
Richard de Coverley is just one of a group of characters that make up the club, and Steele depicts them all in order to comment on English society as a whole—or at least its upper class. It's one example of how Augustan writers used fiction to make political and social statements about what was going on around them.
Stylistic Analysis
This excerpt was published in one of the most popular periodicals of the time, The Spectator , but what's interesting is that the Spectator Club, as Steele depicts it, is made up of fictional characters. That makes this straight up fiction, which means that even though The Spectator was a journalistic publication, a lot of the writing published in it was fictional.
During the Augustan age, the line between journalism and fiction was pretty thin. Novelists like Defoe and Swift routinely framed their novels as journalistic works, "true" stories that were being told, and here we see Steele upping the ante by publishing a fictional work in an actual journalistic periodical.
Have things changed since the Augustan era? Where is the line between fiction and journalism now?
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The Spectator Club by Richard Steele (Summary & Analysis)
The Spectator Club
by Richard Steele
(Summary & Analysis)
Richard Steele was born in Dublin, Ireland and educated at the Charter house and Oxford. He left before taking his degree and joined the army in 1694. In 1713 as a staunch Whig, he became the Member of Parliament. Steele owes his reputation to his effort as an essayist. The Tatler which he started in 1709, constitutes a landmark in English prose literature. Steele is sentimental and warm hearted, but always urbane. He has also a delicate sense of humour. Steele had knowledge of life and a sympathetic heart.
Steele then writes about "another bachelor," a member of the Inner Temple who is a man of great principles and wit who studies the stage and classical philosophers. He represents those in the upper class who do not understand matters of law or economics but are still well-read intellectuals.
The next member is Sir Andrew Freeport, a successful businessman from London. He is well-versed in economic matters and made his fortune himself. Because of his self-made success, he believes that "England may be richer than other kingdoms by as plain methods as he himself is richer than other men." He represents those in the upper class who felt that England's power should come through industry and not arms.
Then the reader learns about Captain Sentry, a brave military captain. Captain Sentry is someone who does not hold back at expressing his views about what makes a military man. He firmly believes that men can only be in the military if they "get over all false modesty," because holding back out of modesty is cowardice. He represents the idealized, upper-class military man whose bravery and commitment to his duty have made him successful and strong.
After Captain Sentry, Steele writes about Will Honeycomb. He is an old socialite who has always had easy access to money. He spends most of his time with women or engaged in what were considered to be women's interests, like fashion and gossip. Despite his age, he always seems to be the life of the party who can liven up any conversation. "Where women are not concerned, he is an honest worthy man," Steel writes. Honeycomb represents those in the upper class who were not concerned with serious business matters like Freeport but rather focused on their social lives.
Finally, Steele writes that there is another who seldom visits because of his poor health; but when he does, he is an enjoyable company. This is the clergyman, a "philosophic" man of "good breeding" who always speaks on divine topics with authority. He has a lot of followers and a positive attitude, despite his poor health. This representation depicts English clergymen as intellectual, caring people.
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