1751

1751 of Samuel Johnson’s //The Rambler// Samuel Johnson’s periodical, //The Rambler// is a publication aimed specifically towards the rising middle class; or the proletariat who were marrying above their rank and into richer families. //The Rambler// is written explicitly by Johnson and attempts to educate the rising middle class on topics he deems necessary for acclimation into elite society — without the proper education background. Thus, //The Rambler// discusses a wide range of topics, including religion, politics, society, morality and literature. Johnson published //The Rambler// twice a week from 1750-1752, but the periodical was not popular at the time of publication. The lack of popularity and Johnson’s socioeconomic status caused Johnson to cease publishing the periodical and use his time for other advantageous pursuits. Then, in 1753, Johnson revised the essays he published in //The Rambler// and resold them, resulting in a severe increase in sales compared to his prior attempts. While //The Rambler// appears to be Johnson’s attempt to educate the rising middle class on all things elite, he includes a wide array of essays on topics other than education. For example, Johnson includes a personal essay about his childhood and how he grew up. He also discusses his parents and how lovely they treated him, mainly due to their decision to stay home so they could devote their lives to their family and to happiness. Yet, after Johnson grew up he realized that the world is a much different place than he used to believe it was. Johnson’s personal account shows the readers of the periodical that this publication deals with much more than strictly educating the rising middle class. Instead, //The Rambler// also serves as a venue for Johnson to publish personal memoirs of stories that are meaningful to him, and many other essays which detail random thoughts or occurrences. Overall, //The Rambler// became not only a periodical meant to assist the rising middle class in their social manners and graces, but a venue for Johnson’s personal recollections and opinions. Because of Johnson’s overt devotion to the rising middle class and the personal memoirs and commentary he includes on social event of the time, //The Rambler// had many skeptics — most of whom were nobles. Johnson regularly published the disparaging letters that he received in subsequent issues of //The Rambler//, in addition to any positive reviews he received. One deprecatory letter even went so far as to request that Samuel Johnson include articles on manners and other such matters so as to further assist the poor country folk of the alluring city privilege—so they don’t embarrass themselves and those around them. It’s not surprising that there was such a harsh critical remark about the content of //The Rambler//, seeing as there was a systemic belief, in which nobility is determined by bloodline alone rather than each individual’s monetary value. Johnson’s rejection of the bloodline ideal caused //The Rambler’s// content to be quite controversial for the time period, resulting in the consequent assortment of positive and negative feedback. The positive feedback is assumed to derive from the rising middle class and the working class, both of whom desired equal rights to those ranked above them; and the negative feedback coming from the threatened nobility. Part of Samuel Johnson’s content included various fine art and literary reviews. There were not any many theatre reviews, but there were literary reviews, one of which was a review on John Milton’s //Paradise Lost// — a lengthy poem detailing the biblical fall of man, which was published in 1667. Johnson focused on the poetic devices that Milton uses in //Paradise Lost// as to why he considered it such an astounding piece of literature, such as his use of assonance and consonance, his use of rhyme, and the spectacular way in which Milton’s poem never grew monotonous. Johnson also delves specifically into how Milton’s poetic form has the ability to touch and confound nearly everyone who was to encounter it. While Johnson’s review was valuable especially to the population that //The Rambler// was intended for, he never reviewed any fine art or literature that was current in 1751. Some readers may have been disappointed by this segment of the periodical, yet it is consistent for the audience that Johnson intended. The rising middle class was not raised in the same manner as nobles were. Nobles would have been well educated in specific areas depending on whether the individual were male or female, while the rising middle class would have worked for a living alongside their family. Therefore, Johnson reasoned that the rising middle class would need some educational knowledge in order to know the context of high society, and conform to their norms. Johnson also wrote a few theatre reviews, one of which discussed comedy—specifically the cruel critics of comedic plays. Preceding his argument, Samuel Johnson explains the importance of definitions. He begins by explaining how words are abstract constructs that humans created in order to communicate with one another. Because words are abstract constructs, and humans are temporary and ever-evolving creatures, language is also an ever-evolving construct. Due to the evolution of language, it is possible that some individuals may misunderstand or misinterpret the definition of the word, “comedy.” And according to Johnson, if someone were to misinterpret comedy, then it would be an impossible task to comprehend and appreciate the intelligent artistry involved in an eighteenth century comedic play. For this reason, Johnson defends comedic theatre, and demeans the critics of comedic plays as unintelligent individuals. Samuel Johnson tried to focus not only on the current affairs of the day such as comedic theatre, but on truth rather than the novelty of the then modern ideals. He did so by writing many essays in which he expresses his possibly controversial opinion freely. For example, in an essay that Johnson wrote on religion, he discusses the surrounding and oppressive fear of God that was present in eighteenth century British society. Johnson believes that this overwhelming fear of God has consistently oppressed the human mind from expanding. And while Johnson appreciates Christianity for the strict moral code that it enforces and its creation of philosophy, he believes that God’s mercy is the sole reason all of the positive effects of religion exist, rather than God’s influence of fear and oppression. The importance of hope, rather than the importance of fear, is greater because if there were no hope, then there would be no life. Another article that features fear as its main character discusses what Johnson perceives as the true motivation of humans: human will. A popular belief was that fear — created by either a religious authority or a national authority — is the main human motivator. But Johnson rejects that ideology and instead insists that human will reigns supreme. Instead, Johnson insists that a proper ruler should govern with persuasion rather than force so as to appeal to the human will. Johnson’s ideological rebellion in both of these articles comes as no surprise, seeing as 1751 was during the era of enlightenment, and was right before the industrial revolution.

Summary of the Theatre Season As previously stated, some of //The Rambler’s// content includes the defense of comedic theatre, and during 1751, comedic theatre was the most popular form of theatre entertainment. This is apparent both from the list of plays performed, and from Johnson’s critical essay in defense of comedic theatre. Simultaneously, tragedies were being performed, but not with the high vigor of the past. The majority of popular tragedies include various Shakespeare plays, such as //Othello// and //Romeo and Juliette.// Costuming and scenery was becoming more ornate in the eighteenth century, which meant that more individuals were needed to conduct these plays on a daily basis. This means that theatre was becoming beneficial for the economy rather than entertainment for the nobles.

Summary of //The Modern Husband// by Henry Fielding One of the plays performed in 1751 London theatre is //The Modern Husband,// which is a comedic play written by Hendy Fielding. It features the lead character, Mr. Modern, who decides to sell his wife for a large sum, to a man he believes is Captain Bellamant, but is really Lord Richly. Mr. Modern then tries to sue Lord Richly for adultery in order to gain even more money, but is unsuccessful. Simultaneously, Mrs. Modern is having an affair with Captain Bellamant until Mr. Modern catches them together. Overall, the play depicts a deceitful and greedy husband, who treats his wife horribly in his pursuits. The majority of criticism for this play was controversial, and while Johnson did not review this specific play in his periodical, he likely would have been a great fan.

Conclusion While Samuel Johnson’s periodical, //The Rambler// did not specifically review any eighteenth century plays, he does discuss the value of poetry and comedy — two elements that determine whether a play is considered successful. He also discusses matters that are relevant to the enlightenment period such as the rebellion of authority, the questioning of religion, the uncertainty of the bloodline and its importance in rank, and the endorsement of the rising middle class. Cumulatively, these elements point in the direction of societal change, and a step closer to the academic and material growth that caused the industrial revolution. While none of these modern beliefs are directly present in //The Modern Husband,// they imply that Fielding indented the play to be a societal comment on the derogatory treatment of women in marriage, and the law that allows men to sue other men if his wife were to commit adultery. The way that Mr. Modern assumes he can sell his wife for monetary profit and legally escape unharmed is a harmful notion Fielding used in order to illustrate the complexity and inherent wrongs of marriage laws.

Works cited: Johnson, Samuel. “The Rambler.” 1751. //Burney Collection of Newspapers//. Web. 06 July 2015. "The Norton Shakespeare." //The Norton Anthology of Drama//. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 July 2015. . "The Rambler | 18th-century English Periodical." //Encyclopedia Britannica Online//. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 06 July 2015. . Zarrilli, Phillip B., and Gary Jay. Williams. //Theatre Histories: An Introduction//. New York: Routledge, 2006. Print.