The Spectator (newspaper)
The Spectator was a daily London newspaper, founded 1711-12 by Joseph Addison and Richard Steele , who met at Charterhouse School . Eustace Budgell , a cousin of Addison, also contributed. The first edition appeared on March 1, 1711. Each number was about 2500 words long, the original series consisted of 555 numbers. They have been collected in seven volumes. The newspaper was revived without Steele in 1714 and appeared three times a week for six months. This new series comprised eight volumes.
aims
The stated aim of the Spectator was "to enliven morality with spirit, and to soften the spirit through morality ... to take philosophy out of the bookcases and libraries, schools and universities, for use in clubs and gatherings, at tea tables and may stay in coffee houses ". The reader was advised to view them as part of the tea set and not to leave the house without reading them in the morning. It should provide the reader with educated topics to talk about and guide them to conduct conversations in a polite manner. The authors sought to promote family, marriage, and courtesy in keeping with the ideals of the Enlightenment philosophers of the time. They also fought the custom of dueling .
readership
Despite a modest print run of around 3,000 copies, the Spectator was widely read; Addison estimated a readership of 60,000, about a tenth of the population of London. Contemporary historians and literary scholars do not consider this figure to be excessive; most of the readers were not subscribers themselves, but visitors to a coffee house where the newspaper was on display. Readers came from all walks of life, but the newspaper was primarily aimed at England's aspiring middle class, large and small merchants and traders.
Jürgen Habermas sees the Spectator as an important means of the "structural transformation of the public sphere" that took place in England in the 18th century. This transformation, he argues, arose out of the middle class, which was formed as a group through publications such as the Spectator. Officially, the Spectator was politically neutral, but it clearly represented the values and interests of the Whigs . Tory politics have been caricatured in the character of Sir Roger de Coverley, an endearing but somewhat ridiculous country gentleman.
The Spectator remained a popular read in the late 18th and 19th centuries. It was sold in eight volumes. His prose style and the combination of morality, life counseling and entertainment were considered exemplary.
There were other newspaper projects or discussion groups committed to the Enlightenment in Spain and Italy, whose supporters are usually also referred to by the English word "Spectators".
See also
- List of early modern magazines
- The Spectator (magazine) , 19. – 21. Century, London
Individual evidence
- ^ Project Gutenberg: Text of the first issue of the Spectator , requested on February 28, 2011
- ↑ a b The Spectator , No. 10
Web links
- Project Gutenberg: The Spectator , Volumes 1, 2 and 3: With Translations and Index for the Series (transcription of 1891 republication)