37-448: Sir Richard Steele ( c. 1671 – 1 September 1729) was an Anglo-Irish writer, playwright and politician best known as the co-founder of the magazine The Spectator alongside his close friend Joseph Addison . Steele was born in Dublin , Ireland , in 1671 to Richard Steele, a wealthy attorney, and Elinor Symes ( née Sheyles); his sister Katherine was born the previous year. He
74-670: A Whig Member of Parliament in 1713, for Stockbridge . He was soon expelled for issuing a pamphlet in favour of the Hanoverian succession . When the Hanoverian George I of Great Britain came to the throne in the following year, Steele was knighted and given responsibility for the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane , London. He returned to parliament in 1715, for Boroughbridge . He wrote a preface to Addison's 1716 comedy play The Drummer . His wife Mary died in 1718, at
111-675: A comedy that same year titled The Funeral . This play met with wide success and was performed at Drury Lane, bringing him to the attention of the King and the Whig party. Next, Steele wrote The Lying Lover (1703), one of the first sentimental comedies, but a failure on stage. Steele was a member of the Whig Kit-Kat Club . Both Steele and Addison became closely associated with Child's Coffee-house in St Paul's Churchyard . Steele left
148-434: A group of Indians, who battle and kill many of his shipmates. After fleeing, Inkle hides in a cave where he discovers Yarico, an Indian maiden. They become enamored with one another's clothing and physical appearances, and Yarico for the next several months hides her lover from her people and provides him with food and fresh water. Eventually, a ship passes, headed for Barbadoes, and Inkle and Yarico use this opportunity to leave
185-434: A group of Indians, who battle and kill many of his shipmates. After fleeing, Inkle hides in a cave where he discovers Yarico, an Indian maiden. They become enamored with one another's clothing and physical appearances, and Yarico for the next several months hides her lover from her people and provides him with food and fresh water. Eventually, a ship passes, headed for Barbadoes, and Inkle and Yarico use this opportunity to leave
222-595: A minor role in the novel The History of Henry Esmond by William Makepeace Thackeray . It is during his time with the Life Guards, where he is mostly referred to as Dick the Scholar and makes mention of his friend "Joe Addison". Thackeray depicts Steele in glowing terms as a warm, generous, talented mentor who befriends the title character in his youth and remains loyal to him for years despite their political differences. The Spectator (1711) The Spectator
259-572: A polite manner. In keeping with the values of Enlightenment philosophies of their time, the authors of The Spectator promoted family, marriage, and courtesy. Despite a modest daily circulation of approximately 3,000 copies, The Spectator was widely read; Joseph Addison estimated that each number was read by thousands of Londoners, about a tenth of the capital's population at the time. Contemporary historians and literary scholars, meanwhile, do not consider this to be an unreasonable claim; most readers were not themselves subscribers but patrons of one of
296-572: A polite manner. In keeping with the values of Enlightenment philosophies of their time, the authors of The Spectator promoted family, marriage, and courtesy. Despite a modest daily circulation of approximately 3,000 copies, The Spectator was widely read; Joseph Addison estimated that each number was read by thousands of Londoners, about a tenth of the capital's population at the time. Contemporary historians and literary scholars, meanwhile, do not consider this to be an unreasonable claim; most readers were not themselves subscribers but patrons of one of
333-654: A target audience for The Spectator, because one of the aims of the periodical was to increase the number of women who were "of a more elevated life and conversation." Steele states in The Spectator , No. 10, "But there are none to whom this paper will be more useful than to the female world." He recommends that readers of the paper consider it "as a part of the tea-equipage" and set aside time to read it each morning. The Spectator sought to provide readers with topics for well-reasoned discussion, and to equip them to carry on conversations and engage in social interactions in
370-513: A time when she was considering separation. Their daughter, Elizabeth (Steele's only surviving legitimate child), married John Trevor, 3rd Baron Trevor . Steele ended his parliamentary career in March 1722. While at Drury Lane, Steele wrote and directed the sentimental comedy The Conscious Lovers , which was an immediate hit on stage in November 1722. Steele fell out with Addison and with
407-639: The Protestant gentry, he was educated at Charterhouse School , where he first met Addison. After starting at Christ Church, Oxford , he went on to Merton College, Oxford , then joined the Life Guards of the Household Cavalry in order to support King William's wars against France . He was commissioned in 1697, and rose to the rank of captain within two years. Steele's first published work, The Christian Hero (1701), attempted to point out
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#1732797976112444-495: The army in 1705, perhaps due to the death of the 34th Foot's commanding officer, Lord Lucas , which limited his opportunities of promotion. Also in 1705, Steele married a widow, Margaret Stretch, who died in the following year. After Margaret's death, a slave plantation she owned in Barbados came into the ownership of Steele. At her funeral he met his second wife, Mary Scurlock , whom he nicknamed "Prue" and married in 1707. In
481-400: The book Isaac Bickerstaff, Physician and Astrologer later that year . Steele described his motive in writing The Tatler as "to expose the false arts of life, to pull off the disguises of cunning, vanity, and affectation, and to recommend a general simplicity in our dress, our discourse, and our behaviour". Steele founded the magazine, and although he and Addison collaborated, Steele wrote
518-488: The course of their courtship and marriage, he wrote over 400 letters to her. Steele wrote The Tender Husband (1705) with contributions from Addison, and later that year wrote the prologue to The Mistake , by John Vanbrugh , also an important member of the Kit-Kat Club. In 1706 Steele was appointed to a position in the household of Prince George of Denmark , consort of Anne, Queen of Great Britain . He also gained
555-453: The differences between perceived and actual masculinity. Written while Steele served in the army, it expressed his idea of a pamphlet of moral instruction. The Christian Hero was ultimately ridiculed for what some thought was hypocrisy because Steele did not necessarily follow his own preaching. He was criticized for publishing a booklet about morals when he himself enjoyed drinking, occasional duelling, and debauchery around town. Steele wrote
592-732: The eighth volume. Eustace Budgell , a cousin of Addison's, and the poet John Hughes also contributed to the publication. In Number 10, Mr. Spectator states that The Spectator will aim "to enliven morality with wit, and to temper wit with morality". The journal reached an audience of thousands of people every day, because "the Spectators was something that every middle-class household with aspirations to looking like its members took literature seriously would want to have." He hopes it will be said he has "brought philosophy out of closets and libraries, schools, and colleges, to dwell in clubs and assemblies, at tea-tables and coffee–houses". Women were
629-471: The favour of Robert Harley , Earl of Oxford . The Tatler , Steele's first public journal, first came out on 12 April 1709, and appeared three times a week: on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. Steele edited this periodical under the pseudonym Isaac Bickerstaff and gave the Bickerstaff character an entire, fully developed personality. "Bickerstaff's" best Tatler columns were published by Steele as
666-528: The government administration over the Peerage Bill (1719), and in 1724 he retired to his second wife's homeland of Wales , where he spent the remainder of his life. Steele died in 1729. He was buried in Carmathen at St Peter's Church . During the restoration of the church in 2000, his skull was discovered in a lead casket, having previously been accidentally disinterred during the 1870s. Steele plays
703-481: The island. After reaching the English colony, Inkle sells Yarico to a merchant, even after she tells him that she is pregnant. Arietta closes the tale stating that Inkle simply uses Yarico's declaration to argue for a higher price when selling her. Mr. Spectator is so moved by the story that he takes his leave. Steele's text was so well known and influential that seven decades after his publication, George Colman modified
740-426: The island. After reaching the English colony, Inkle sells Yarico to a merchant, even after she tells him that she is pregnant. Arietta closes the tale stating that Inkle simply uses Yarico's declaration to argue for a higher price when selling her. Mr. Spectator is so moved by the story that he takes his leave. Steele's text was so well known and influential that seven decades after his publication, George Colman modified
777-438: The late 18th and 19th centuries. It was sold in eight-volume editions. Its prose style, and its marriage of morality and advice with entertainment, were considered exemplary. The decline in its popularity has been discussed by Brian McCrea and C. S. Lewis . In The Spectator, No.11 , Steele created a frame narrative that would come to be a very well known story in the eighteenth century, the story of Inkle and Yarico . Although
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#1732797976112814-438: The late 18th and 19th centuries. It was sold in eight-volume editions. Its prose style, and its marriage of morality and advice with entertainment, were considered exemplary. The decline in its popularity has been discussed by Brian McCrea and C. S. Lewis . In The Spectator, No.11 , Steele created a frame narrative that would come to be a very well known story in the eighteenth century, the story of Inkle and Yarico . Although
851-542: The majority of the essays; Steele wrote roughly 188 of the 271 total and Addison 42, with 36 representing the pair's collaborative works. While Addison contributed to The Tatler , it is widely regarded as Steele's work. The Tatler was closed down in early 1711 to avoid the complications of running a Whig publication that had come under Tory attack. Addison and Steele then founded The Spectator in 1711 and also The Guardian in 1713. Steele had an illegitimate child, Elizabeth Ousley, whom he later adopted. Steele became
888-502: The periodical essay was published on 13 March 1711, the story is based on Richard Ligon's publication in 1647. Ligon's publication, A True and Exact History of the Island of Barbadoes , reports on how the cruelties of the transatlantic slave trade contribute to slave-produced goods such as tobacco and sugarcane. Mr. Spectator goes to speak with an older woman, Arietta, whom many people visit to discuss various topics. When Mr. Spectator enters
925-449: The periodical essay was published on 13 March 1711, the story is based on Richard Ligon's publication in 1647. Ligon's publication, A True and Exact History of the Island of Barbadoes , reports on how the cruelties of the transatlantic slave trade contribute to slave-produced goods such as tobacco and sugarcane. Mr. Spectator goes to speak with an older woman, Arietta, whom many people visit to discuss various topics. When Mr. Spectator enters
962-533: The room, there is already another man present speaking with Arietta. They are discussing "constancy in love," and the man uses the tale of The Ephesian Matron to support his point. Arietta is insulted and angered by the man's hypocrisy and sexism. She counters his tale with one of her own, the story of Inkle and Yarico . Thomas Inkle, a twenty-year-old man from London, sailed to the West Indies to increase his wealth through trade. While on an island, he encounters
999-473: The room, there is already another man present speaking with Arietta. They are discussing "constancy in love," and the man uses the tale of The Ephesian Matron to support his point. Arietta is insulted and angered by the man's hypocrisy and sexism. She counters his tale with one of her own, the story of Inkle and Yarico . Thomas Inkle, a twenty-year-old man from London, sailed to the West Indies to increase his wealth through trade. While on an island, he encounters
1036-463: The short story into a comic opera , Inkle and Yarico . The Spectator (1711) The Spectator was a daily publication founded by Joseph Addison and Richard Steele in England, lasting from 1711 to 1712. Each "paper", or "number", was approximately 2,500 words long, and the original run consisted of 555 numbers, beginning on 1 March 1711. These were collected into seven volumes. The paper
1073-564: The subscribing coffeehouses. These readers came from many stations in society, but the paper catered principally to the interests of England's emerging middle class—merchants and traders large and small. The Spectator also had many readers in the American colonies. In particular, James Madison read the paper avidly as a teenager. It is said to have had a big influence on his world view, lasting throughout his long life. Benjamin Franklin
1110-452: The subscribing coffeehouses. These readers came from many stations in society, but the paper catered principally to the interests of England's emerging middle class—merchants and traders large and small. The Spectator also had many readers in the American colonies. In particular, James Madison read the paper avidly as a teenager. It is said to have had a big influence on his world view, lasting throughout his long life. Benjamin Franklin
1147-434: Was a daily publication founded by Joseph Addison and Richard Steele in England, lasting from 1711 to 1712. Each "paper", or "number", was approximately 2,500 words long, and the original run consisted of 555 numbers, beginning on 1 March 1711. These were collected into seven volumes. The paper was revived without the involvement of Steele in 1714, appearing thrice weekly for six months, and these papers when collected formed
Richard Steele - Misplaced Pages Continue
1184-467: Was also a reader, and the Spectator influenced his style in his "Silence Dogood" letters. Jürgen Habermas sees The Spectator as instrumental in the formation of the public sphere in 18th century England. Although The Spectator declares itself to be politically neutral, it was widely recognised as promoting Whig values and interests. The Spectator continued to be popular and widely read in
1221-410: Was also a reader, and the Spectator influenced his style in his "Silence Dogood" letters. Jürgen Habermas sees The Spectator as instrumental in the formation of the public sphere in 18th century England. Although The Spectator declares itself to be politically neutral, it was widely recognised as promoting Whig values and interests. The Spectator continued to be popular and widely read in
1258-482: Was revived without the involvement of Steele in 1714, appearing thrice weekly for six months, and these papers when collected formed the eighth volume. Eustace Budgell , a cousin of Addison's, and the poet John Hughes also contributed to the publication. In Number 10, Mr. Spectator states that The Spectator will aim "to enliven morality with wit, and to temper wit with morality". The journal reached an audience of thousands of people every day, because "the Spectators
1295-405: Was something that every middle-class household with aspirations to looking like its members took literature seriously would want to have." He hopes it will be said he has "brought philosophy out of closets and libraries, schools, and colleges, to dwell in clubs and assemblies, at tea-tables and coffee–houses". Women were a target audience for The Spectator, because one of the aims of the periodical
1332-515: Was the grandson of Sir William Steele , Lord Chancellor of Ireland and his first wife Elizabeth Godfrey. His father lived at Mountown House, Monkstown, County Dublin . His mother, of whose family background little is known, was described as "a very beautiful woman, of a noble spirit". His father died when he was four, and his mother a year later. Steele was largely raised by his uncle and aunt, Henry Gascoigne (secretary to James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormonde ), and Lady Katherine Mildmay. A member of
1369-511: Was to increase the number of women who were "of a more elevated life and conversation." Steele states in The Spectator , No. 10, "But there are none to whom this paper will be more useful than to the female world." He recommends that readers of the paper consider it "as a part of the tea-equipage" and set aside time to read it each morning. The Spectator sought to provide readers with topics for well-reasoned discussion, and to equip them to carry on conversations and engage in social interactions in
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