Joseph Addison

Joseph Addison was born in May 1672 and could perhaps be considered one of the first true Journalists.  The majority of his works focused on minute social observation and his writing style contained much flair and humour.

In 1712 Addison began publishing ‘The Spectator’ with the help of his childhood friend Richard Steele.  The Spectator was something of an entertainment paper with articles often featuring the leading fashions at the time as well as frivolous issues such as how to correctly throw a tea party. In many ways the paper was representative of the Restoration period in which Addison worked.  This era saw an end to the Puritan reign started by Oliver Cromwell, where plays, parties and enjoyment in general were often seen as immoral. Addison’s style of writing is certainly a step away from this as he uses much humour and colour in his work. There is often something of a sarcastic tone to his style such as when describing the Royal Exchange in one essay he comments that there were ‘tears that have stolen down my cheeks’. This over-exaggeration is a clear example of the gentlemanly style of tongue-in-cheek wit that was fashionable at the time.

Another interesting aspect of Addison’s work, particularly The Spectator, was that it was aimed at both male and female audiences.  Many articles focused on what was fashionable at the time and this shows that Addison clearly understood he had female readers as well. This was very reflective of the age as the increasing industrialisation had led to a rise in the middle class and therefore it was considered very proper for domestic women to spend their growing leisure time sat around a table cheerfully discussing papers like The Spectator. Addison himself acknowledges the value of female writers in his piece ‘On the Essay form’ commenting that he received letters from ‘persons of the best sense in both sexes’. This is yet another example of a change in attitude in the Restoration period as during Puritan times women were somewhat distrusted and witch hunts were still prevalent – no doubt with Eve and the apple firmly in mind!

Addison was also very interested in the structure and style of essays and conversation, something that highlights his importance to Journalism. In one issue of The Spectator he discusses two different styles of writing; Regulation and Method, and much longer essays.
Method writing is described as being a ‘plantation’ where everything is laid out and planned in a certain order, making what is being written clear and easy for the reader to comprehend. He also believes that this style is effective in conversation and debate as it prevents losing sight of the question, as well as helping the author come to terms with their ‘invention’.
In contrast to this lengthy ‘essay’ writing is portrayed as a ‘great wood’ full of ‘noble objects and confusion’.  Addison praises the writing of a single volume of ones work but suggests that many great pieces have perhaps been lost due to writers being unwilling or unable to construct such a large amount of work. He likens this style to throwing down ‘Pearls in heaps’ in front of the reader rather than the ‘pains of stringing them’ and this would suggest that though Addison saw the genius in long volumes of work, he preferred shorter, concise pieces. 

To press this point further Addison used two characters to describe each form – Tom Puzzle and Will Dry. This humorous method was often used by Addison for entertainment purposes and also to help emphasize his points of view. Tom Puzzle represents the Unmethodical style of writing, with Addison stating that he knows enough to ‘raise doubts but not to clear them’.  This suggests a person that knows a lot about a handful of subjects but has no concise knowledge and therefore has to revert off topic in conversation. In contrast Will Dry’s character is a ‘clear, methodical head’ that uses less words but has an advantage of Puzzle and cuts him short with precise questions.
Such characters help to show Addison’s own views and opinions. Puzzle and Dry appear to depict Addison’s own preference for methodical writing of short, lively pieces and these are common in the work of the press, which is a great way of dealing out ‘lectures’ to the public. Addison himself stated that he wished the great writers before him had had such an invention as it would have made their own works much more concise. 

This perhaps best shows Addison’s importance to journalism as a profession. As well as understanding its potential as a business, The Spectator in particular was vital in bringing philosophy, information and stories into everyday life via the press, as previously it had only really been used as propaganda for religion and political parties. His love of precise, entertaining articles is also something that should be adhered to by any good journalist.