Dr.Johnson's letter to Lord Chesterfield as an example of fine literary style and satire

      Dr Johnson's, "Letter to Chesterfield", has been keyed out as literature's "Declaration of Independence". This was a personal letter from Johnson to the Earl of Chesterfield, Philip Dormer, wrote on February 7, 1755. Although Lord Chesterfield was a patron, he made no moves to contribute to the progress of the Dictionary until seven years. When the Dictionary was upon the eve of publication, he wrote two papers in 'The World' for the recommendation of Johnson's work: A Dictionary of the English Language.

  

      This appalled Johnson and in response, he wrote to him one of the most acidic and effective letters of refusal ever written. Johnson crafts a dazzling and audacious rebuke no aristocratic patron had been dismissed this way before. Though Johnson's language used throughout the letter was very diplomatic, he was able to put his point across. His tone throughout the letter was very cynical and sarcastic; he also uses a handful amount of allusions to allude to his point. Instead of using offensive language, Johnson couched his words humbly. A satirical tone runs throughout the letter.

      Below are the quotations from the text (along with their explanation) which support my point:-

# "To be so distinguished is an honour which, being very little accustomed to favours from the Great, I know not well how to receive, or in what terms to acknowledge."

              

      Johnson says, 'Am I an ordinary man, became so prominent to get recommendation from such a great lord as Lord Chesterfield? I am, not generally, in habit of getting such approvals and hence, I don't understand how to receive such favours and how to thanks Lord Chesterfield'.

      Johnson, in a way, hammers Lord Chesterfield in these lines, because he did nothing, and hence, thanking him and receiving a favour, is just out of question.

# "Le Vainqueur du Vainqueur de la Terre"

            
      Lord Chesterfield was a noted patron of arts. When he agreed for being Johnson's patron, he (Johnson) got so much empowered that he felt he was the conqueror of the world's conqueror. But, in actual, he didn't have done anything to prove himself a patron at all.

# ".....without one act of assistance, one word of encouragement, or one smile of favour. Such treatment I did not expect, for I never had a Patron before."

    

      Here, Johnson says, 'Lord Chesterfield never uttered one word of motivation, not even a favourable smile for those seven years. And now, when my Dictionary is at the verge of publication, he wrote endorsements, which implies that because of my patron's assistance, I am able to complete my Dictionary. I never expected such behaviour from a patron, because I never had a patron before.'

# "The Shepherd in Virgil grew at last acquainted with love, and found him a native of the rocks. "

      Virgil, a Roman writer composed the epic poem, Aeneid. The shepherd looked for love everywhere and found at last that love is difficult. It is as impossible to get affection from Chesterfield as it is from rocks.

   

#    Then, Johnson took the metaphor of a drowning man. There is a satire in calling himself a drowning man. --- "Is not a Patron, My Lord, one who looks with unconcern on a Man struggling for Life in the water and when he has reached ground encumbers him with help."

#     He, later, criticizes Lord Chesterfield for taking the credit for helping Johnson financially, although he didn't have done anything.
"The notice which you have been pleased to take of my Labours...."

#     Johnson slyly says that now, his little help makes no difference to Johnson, because when he needed help, Lord Chesterfield didn't showed up and hence, he is not willing to say thanks when no help is being received by him. In fact, Johnson's fortune enabled him to provide help for himself. 
"I hope it is no very cynical asperity not to confess obligation where no benefit has been received, or to be unwilling that the Public should consider me as owing that to a Patron, which Providence has enabled me to do for myself."

               

#           Johnson finally admits satirically that if Lord Chesterfield got upset by his (Johnson's) letter and don't write anything in the recommendation of the Dictionary further, then Johnson would not get disappointed. "I shall not be disappointed though I should conclude it, if less be possible, with less...... "

#          After assaulting him so slyly, he called Lord Chesterfield most humble and himself, his obedient servant.   " My lord, Your Lordship's Most humble, most obedient servant."

            

            This letter of Johnson became a classic example of elegant writing. The satire in the letter is easily evident, but the language is a fine example of courtesy and restrain. He draws attention to the disappointing behaviour of Lord Chesterfield by projecting himself as utterly unqualified for the latter's favours. He clearly puts across the negligent attitude of Lord Chesterfield towards him. He also firmly rejects the attempt by the nobleman to appropriate the position of the patron. Lord Chesterfield is known to have displayed Johnson's letter on his table as an example of fine writing.

                                      THE END

             

THE NEVER- NEVER NEST: CHARACTER SKETCH OF JACK

                            

    Jack is an easy-going person. He is an ingenious man since he is fooled by the advertisements on easy monthly instalments. He lacked worldliness as he seems to be unaware of difficulties which would fall on him shortly because of these instalments. Though it is good that he bought the house on instalments, buying luxuries too on instalments is not the right thing to do.

 "Jack: You see, Aunt Jane, we realized how uneconomic it is to go on paying rent year after year when you can buy & enjoy a home of your own for ten pounds ....... " 

    It is quite wise to purchase the house on instalment because if he had been a tenant, then he would have to pay rent to the landlord every month, & one day he has to leave the house & move to another. But, since he has taken a loan on his house, he would be paying monthly instalment to the bank & then a day will come when he would own the house completely. But, he should have considered his monthly income before buying this house even on instalments. His monthly income is six pounds & what he has to pay every month is ten pounds. He could have brought a small house in a not so good part of Britain, but he acted foolishly by buying an expensive villa in a posh area like New Hampstead. His gratification for leading a standard life made him a spendthrift. He had the responsibility of wife Jill & a baby, & then too he acted unwisely. 
     He seems to be very influenced by the endorsements around him. He, in fact, seem to be quoting advertisements. He brought a house, a radiogram, a piano, furniture, a car & even the baby on instalments. He has to pay seven pounds eight & eight pence a week. When Aunt Jane asks him how he will pay this amount of money out of his income of six pounds, he modestly says of borrowing more money.

"Jack: .......... all you have to do is to borrow the rest of the money for the payments from the Thrift & Providence Trust Corporation."

      He is in-cognizant of the vicious, never-ending circle. He doesn't seem to realize the after-effects of taking a loan. He was a loving husband & doing well in his job.

"Jill: ....... Why, only last year he had a five-shilling rise ......

 Jack (modestly) : ...... I'm expecting ten this Christmas."

     Though he is grateful to Aunt Jane because she gave the couple a cheque of two hundred pounds as a wedding gift & then later, a cheque of ten pounds, he seems to be offended by her hysterical behaviour & calls her 'a tartar' when she is gone. He didn't unmask his attitude towards her, instead, he said "we owe it all to you", showing his gratitude towards her.

THE NEVER- NEVER NEST: THE THEME OF THE PLAY

        "The Never- Never Nest" centres around the popular modern practice of living through hire- purchase system, which enables the low- income group to have things, which they cannot at once buy with their money. This system makes people extravagant. It encourages lavishness & taking the loan.

           Purchasing things on instalments is easy, but to pay back is difficult. It is like struggling under the burden of the loan until it is paid off. The couple in the play, Jack & Jill acted ostentatiously by purchasing luxuries such as a car, radiogram, piano. This shows their indulgence rather than their necessity. Their desire for a sumptuous lifestyle compelled them to take a loan. Though they lived in voluptuous magnificence in the present day, they will have to suffer the encumbrance of paying back a huge amount of money altogether in the near future.

           The play is a satire on the materialistic bent of the modern man.

THE NEVER- NEVER NEST: SIGNIFICANCE OF THE TITLE ---"THE NEVER- NEVER NEST"

       "The Never- Never Nest", whose playwright is Cedric Mount, is a one-act play, depicting a naive couple Jack & Jill, who bought each & every luxury of life on instalments & are living cheerfully without even being aware that they would be struggling under the burden in the near future.

         The title of the play ---- "The Never- Never Nest" has two 'never' in it, ensuring that the nest would never be built. The double negative is emphasizing the impossibility of home. The 'nest' in the title, literally refers to the home of birds. Birds make their home by collecting straws & twigs of various trees. The nest acts as their temporary home as they do migration with respect to the changing weather conditions. Also, they are not safe, as different animals might attack their nest anytime. The same is the case with Jack & Jill.

         The word 'nest' is a suggestion of instability. It is suggesting a temporary home. The couple can be attacked by the money-lenders anytime if the instalments are not paid on the designated time.

         Moreover, they have not just purchased the home on instalments, rather they brought each & everything of the house like furniture, piano, radiogram & even the car on instalments. At the end of the play, humour takes on wings when we got to know that the couple had their baby on instalments.

"Jill: ........just one more instalment & BABY'S REALLY OURS !" 

          Since every opulence of their life is based on buy- now-pay-later marketing system, they were not secure at all. The family's income is very low as compared to the total instalment which is to be paid every week.

"Aunt Jane: .........How can you pay seven pounds eight & eight pence out of six pounds" 

          This situation tells that if anytime they would be unable to pay the instalments, they might have to leave the house, which simply shows the insecurity of the luxuries of their life.

          The word 'nest' in the title may also be interpreted as a source of humour, especially satire, which the playwright tried to bring. Birds take a lot of time to build their nest as they have to collect several straws & twigs from different places. They work very hard. But, in this play, both Jack & Jill show their instant gratification for luxuries & had brought them on instalments without saving any money. That is, the word 'nest' acts as a contrary word for such a house.

           Therefore, the title of this act is appropriate as it connotes the theme of the act ---- the pathetic condition of the couple, leading a luxurious life on an instalment basis under their charming nest, which is too on easy monthly instalments.

THE ONE-ACT PLAY

1. Brief Historical Survey                   

           One-Act plays were written & staged throughout the 18th & 19th centuries as "The Curtain Raisers" or "The After Pieces". They were chiefly farcical & served to amuse the audience before the commencement of the actual drama or were staged for their amusement just after it had come to an end.

          The famous one-act play "Monkey's Paw" was first staged as a 'Curtain Raiser' & it proved to be more entertaining than the main drama. It may be said to mark the beginning of the modern one-act play.

         The origin of the one-act play may be traced to the very beginning of drama ---- in ancient Greece, Cyclops, a play on the forest God, by Euripides, is an early example.

        It was great Norwegian dramatist Ibsen, who, for the first time, introduced the minute stage-directions into the one-act play. Before him, one-act plays were written in poetry, but he made prose the medium of his one-act plays. In short, he made the drama, simple & real, & brought it nearer to everyday life. He made the modern one-act play what it is & his example has been widely followed. George Bernard Shaw & John Galsworthy are two of his greatest followers.

         The one-act play requires no elaborate setting & costumes, & so comes in handy to be staged in amateur dramatic societies & clubs.

          One-act plays by major dramatists -----

 (i)  Anton Chekhov ----- A Marriage Proposal (1890)

 (ii) August Strindberg -----Pariah (1889)

                                        Motherly Love (1892)

                                        The First Warning (1892)

 (iii) Thornton Wilder ----The Long Christmas Dinner (1931)

 (iv) Eugene Ionesco ---- The Bald Soprano (1950)

 (v)  Arthur Miller ----A Memory of Two Mondays (1955)

 (vi) Samuel Beckett ---- Krapp's Last Tape (1958)

 (vii) Israel Horovitz ----Line (1974)

 (viii) Edward Albee ---- The Goat, or Who is Sylvia? (2002)

2. Chief Characteristics

(i) The one-act play is a play that has only one act but may consist of one or more scenes.

(ii) One-act plays are usually written in a concise manner.

(iii) It deals with a single dominant situation, & aims at producing a single effect.

(iv) It deals with only one theme developed through one situation to one climax in order to produce the maximum effect.

(v) It treats the problems of everyday life like marriage, punishment for crimes, labour conditions, divorce, etc.

(vi) The one-act play, like the longer drama, should have a beginning, a middle & an end. It may be divided into four stages: The Exposition, The Conflict, The Climax & The Denouement.

                   

       The exposition is usually brief, serves as an introduction to the play.

       It is through the conflict that the action of the drama develops. It is the very backbone of the one-act play.

       The climax is the turning point of the drama. It is an important part of the one-act play & constitutes its moment of supreme interest.

       The Denouement is very brief & often overlaps with the climax.                       

 

(vii) The action begins right at the start of the play.

(viii) There are no breaks in the action, that is, it is continuous since its a short play; no intervals.

(ix) Everything superfluous is to be strictly avoided as the play is short & the action takes place within a short period of time. It introduces elaborate stage directions to minimize the time taken by the action itself.

(x) The creation of mood, or atmosphere is indispensable to its success.

(xi) There are three dramatic unities which are observed in the one-act play. The unities are ---- the unity of time, unity of place & the unity of action.

(xii) It aims at the simplicity of plot; concentration of action & unity of impression. It does not rely on spectacular effects & common dramatic tricks of old.

(xiii) The characters in a one-act play are limited in number. Generally, there are not more than two or three principal characters.

(xiv) There is no full development of character. All the different aspects of a character are not presented. The attention is focused on only one or two salient aspects of character & they are brought out by placing the characters in different situations & circumstances. The author implies the past & intimates the future of a character by presenting a crucial moment in the life of that character.

(xv) There is an influence of realism. The characters in modern one-act play are ordinary men & women. It depicts characters that seem to be real & related to everyday life.

(xvi) It must present a question, for which the audience eagerly awaits the answer.

(xvii) Its language is simple & can be followed without any strain. All superfluity is to be avoided in the dialogue. The dialogue must be purposeful; the best dialogue is that which does several things at one time. Every word is to be carefully chosen & sentences must be compact & condensed. Effort should be made to say, whatever is to be said, in the least possible words. Thus, the language of the dialogue should be simple, brief & easy to understand. Long speeches & arguments & long sentences would be out of place & would lessen the charm & interest of the play.

Article No.2: Of the club by Steele in "The Spectator Club"---Text Analysis

Next post on The Spectator Club

The next post will be on "The Spectator Club" by Addison & Steele, Article No.2: 'Of the Club' by Richard Steele, in which members of the spectator club has been told about. I will try to post it soon on my blog.

Of Studies by Francis Bacon Text (Important lines highlighted)

Important lines from the text , which can be quoted in exams for obtaining good marks , are highlighted.

Of Studies
by Francis Bacon (1625) [500 words]
Studies serve for delight, for ornament, and for ability.Their chief use for delight is in privateness and retiring; for ornament, is in discourse; and for ability, is in the judgment and disposition of business. For expert men can execute, and perhaps judge of particulars, one by one; but the general counsels, and the plots and marshalling of affairs, come best from those that are learned. To spend too much time in studies is sloth; to use them too much for ornament, is affectation; to make judgment wholly by their rules, is the humor of a scholar. They perfect nature, and are perfected by experience: for natural abilities are like natural plants, that need pruning, by study; and studies themselves do give forth directions too much at large, except they be bounded in by experience. Crafty men condemn studies, simple men admire them, and wise men use them; for they teach not their own use; but that is a wisdom without them, and above them, won by observation. Read not to contradict and confute; nor to believe and take for granted; nor to find talk and discourse; but to weigh and consider. Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested; that is, some books are to be read only in parts; others to be read, but not curiously; and some few to be read wholly, and with diligence and attention. Some books also may be read by deputy, and extracts made of them by others; but that would be only in the less important arguments, and the meaner sort of books, else distilled books are like common distilled waters, flashy things. Reading maketh a full man; conference a ready man; and writing an exact man. And therefore, if a man write little, he had need have a great memory; if he confer little, he had need have a present wit: and if he read little, he had need have much cunning, to seem to know that he doth not. Histories make men wise; poets witty; the mathematics subtle; natural philosophy deep; moral grave; logic and rhetoric able to contend. Abeunt studia in mores [Studies pass into and influence manners]. Nay, there is no stond or impediment in the wit but may be wrought out by fit studies; like as diseases of the body may have appropriate exercises. Bowling is good for the stone and reins; shooting for the lungs and breast; gentle walking for the stomach; riding for the head; and the like. So if a man’s wit be wandering, let him study the mathematics; for in demonstrations, if his wit be called away never so little, he must begin again. If his wit be not apt to distinguish or find differences, let him study the Schoolmen; for they are cymini sectores [splitters of hairs]. If he be not apt to beat over matters, and to call up one thing to prove and illustrate another, let him study the lawyers’ cases. So every defect of the mind may have a special receipt.


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This is my last post on "Of Studies" by Francis Bacon. If you want more help on this topic, you can mail me or comment on my blog. I will try my best to provide you with more help.

Bacon's "Of Studies" Text with meanings; Explanation with critical comments; Two Questions on Pope's quote on Bacon

Quotes on Bacon (Of Studies)

Summary of Bacon's "Of Studies"

More on Bacon's "Of Studies"

Q.) Comment on the style of Bacon's essay.
A.)Sir Francis Bacon’s fame in England and even abroad rests very largely on his Essays. According to W.J. Long, Bacon’s famous essays are the one work, which interests all students of English literature. In these Essays, Bacon presents himself as a novelist, a statement and a man of the word. They are specimens of that wisdom which arise our of a universal insight into the affairs of the world. They are the fruits of the observation of life. In fact, the Essays are the fullest and finest expression of the practical wisdom he had acquired from study experience and meditation.
It was the greatness of Bacon as a stylist that he sets up a model of writing prose particularly in Essays, which avoided the prevailing defects of the English prose. His prose style was suitable for all kinds of subjects ranging from heaven to earth. Bacon’s style was completely different.
Bacon’s prose style includes a number of features common to the Elizabethans and the Jacobeans:
1) The of Bacon remains for the main part aphoristic. These are a terseness of expression and epigrammatic brevity in the essays of Bacon. In fact, the essays of Bacon have to be read slowly because of the compact and condensed thought.These sentences show that Bacon is a man of practical wisdom.
2) This aphoristic style always depends on the device of balance and antithesis. In the essay Of Studies. Bacon says, Studies serve for ornament and for ability In the essay Of Studies he says “ Read not to contradict, nor to believe, but to weigh and consider." He scrupulously presents the advantages and the disadvantages of a particular issue. This sort of weighing and balancing makes his style antithetical.
3) In Bacon’s style there is an over luxuriance of figures of speech. Bacon is a past master of simile and metaphor. The fact is that Bacon’s mind was wonderfully quick in perceiving analogies of ass types. His similes and metaphors are telling. They strike, they charm and sometimes they thrill.  In Of Study he says: "Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed and some few to be chewed and digested."
4) Bacon is a master of rhetoric and pithy sentences in his essays. Indeed, Bacon’s strength lies in his conciseness. He knew, how to high up his thought with well-placed figures and give to it an imaginative glow and charm when required.
Bacon’s style was suited for all occasions. The adaptability to the subject matter was a characteristic quality of his writings. Some of the examples of style of Bacon as proverbial expressions in his essay - "Of Studies" are as follows---
             "Crafty men contemn studies, simple men admire them, and wise men use them;"
            "Read not to contradict and confute; nor to believe and take for granted; nor to find talk and discourse; but to weigh and consider."
            "Reading maketh a full man; conference a ready man; and writing an exact man."
He adapted a Latin line from Obeid Haroids, Chapter 15, Verse 83 in order to show a high degree of refinement and the assurance that comes from wide social experience. That Latin line was--
                                                                 "Abeunt studia in mores"
This line means that our study pass into our personality. Another Latin phrase as used by Bacon was--
                                                                        "cymini sectores"
This phrase means hair splitters. In context to this essay, it means a very very deep study.
To conclude we may say that Bacon’s style is compact yet polished and indeed some of its conciseness is due to the skillful adaptation of Latin idiom and phrase. But its wealth of metaphor is characteristically Elizabethan and reflects the exuberance of the Renaissance. No man in English literature is so fertile in pregnant and pithy comparisons. Bacon set up a new method of prose writing, which was at once easy, simple, graceful, rhetorical, musical and condensed.



Q.)What are Francis Bacon's views on studies in his essay "Of Studies"?
A.)Bacon's essay "Of Studies" is part of The Essayes or Counsels, Civil and Moral, of Francis Lord Verulam, Viscount St. Alban (London, 1625)
Bacon argues that studies "serve for Delight, for Ornament, and for Ability."  For delight, Bacon means one's personal, private education; for "Ornament," he means in conversation between and among others, which Bacon labels as "Discourse."  Studies for "Ability" lead one to judgment in business and related pursuits.  From Bacon's perspective, men with worldly experience can carry out plans and understand particular circumstances, but men who study are better able to understand important political matters and know how to deal with problem according to their severity ("Marshalling of Affairs").
At the same time Bacon encourages studies, he warns that 1) too much studying leads to laziness; 2) if one uses one's knowledge too often in conversation with others, then one is showing off; and 3) to be guided solely by one's studies one becomes a scholar rather than a practical man.  Bacon's argument about the value of studies is that moderation is the key to using studies appropriately: studies are wonderful only if influenced by experience because a person's natural abilities are enhanced by studies, but studies without experience, lead to confusion in dealing with the outside world.
According to Bacon, dishonest men condemn education; stupid men admire education; but wise men use education as their real world experience dictates.  He warns the educated man not to use his education to argument unnecessarily with people; not to assume that education always leads to the correct behavior or understanding; not to use education merely to focus on conversation with others.  Rather, Bacon argues, education ("some Bookes") should be read but their advice ignored; other books, ignored completely; and a few books are to be "Chewed and Digested," that is,  understood perfectly and used to guide behavior.  In addition, Bacon advises that some books can be read by others, who take notes, and the notes can substitute for reading an entire book--but these books should not be those that cover important subjects.
Bacon returns to addressing the effects of reading, conversation, and writing: reading creates a well-rounded man; conversation makes a man think quickly; and writing, by which Bacon usually means argument essay writing, makes a man capable of thinking with logic and reason.  Further, Bacon argues, if a man doesn't write very much, he has to have a good memory to compensate for what he doesn't write; if he doesn't exercise the art of conversation, he needs to have a quick wit; and if he doesn't read very much, he has to be able "to fake it," to pretend that he knows more than he does.
History, Bacon argues, makes men wise; poetry, clever; mathematics, intellectually sharp; logic and rhetoric, skilled in argument.  Further, Bacon believes that there is no problem in thinking that cannot be fixed by the appropriate study--just as the right physical exercise cures physical illnesses.  Every disorder of the mind has a cure--for example, if a man cannot use one set of facts to prove the truth of an un-related set of facts, Bacon advises the study of law.
Every defect in thinking can be cured by another form of study.

Everything about Francis Bacon's "Of Studies"

 I will publish more on this topic later.