William Hazlitt Biography
English Essayist, Critic, and a Biographer, Known for Table Talk
Oct 26, 2009
William Hazlitt (1778-1830) was one of the greatest English essayists. He was also a journalist and critic. His various essays include the famous Characters of Shakespeare's Plays (1817-1818) and The Spirit of the Age (1825).
Early Life of William Hazlitt
William Hazlitt was born on April 10, 1778, in Maidstone, Kent, southern England. His father was a friend of Joseph Priestley and Richard Price, a Unitarian minister. At an early age, young Hazlitt showed talent as a writer.
His first essay was written when he was just 14-years-old. At the age of 15, he went to university in London to study religion, but decided to take up art instead. He also continued painting. In London he also met Charles Lamb, and wrote various periodicals from 1812. He spent a number of years painting portraits before turning to literature.
When he was 20-years-old, and through his father, he met the poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge, who also introduced him to Wordsworth. Here onward, he became a part of London's busy literary scene. He described this time in "My First Acquaintance with the Poets" which some regard as one of his best essays.
The Height of Hazlitt's Literary Life
Between the ages of 39 and 49, he wrote various essays on practically anything from philosophy to drama. Many of these are enthusiastic examinations of literature, which he enjoyed. He was a passionate man and highly opinionated which brought him trouble from his indiscriminates.
His attacks on fellow writers in works such as Table Talk cost him friendships. He was friendly with writers of the Romantic Movement, but later, bitterly disagreed with Coleridge and Wordsworth on politics and criticism. In The Spirit of the Age he set out his belief that emotion and reason can be in harmony with each other. His lively and personal writing style is entertaining.
Hazlitt's Last Years
Hazlitt devoted his time to writing a four-volume biography of French emperor Napoleon, whom he greatly admired. Although he was deeply concerned about the social conditions of England, he was also a strong critic of it, and supported the aims of the French Revolution. He died on September 18, 1830, at the age of 52.
Books by William Hazlitt
- "My First Acquaintance with the Poets," 1798
- Characters of Shakespeare's Plays, 1817
- English Poets, 1818
- A View of the English Stage, 1818-1821
- English Comic Writers, 1819
- Political Essays, 1819
- Table Talk, 1821-1822
- The Spirit of the Age, 1825
- Life of Napoleon (4 volumes), 1828-1830
Sources:
- McGovern, Una, editor. Chambers Biographical Dictionary. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap, 2002.
- Ousby, Ian. The Cambridge Guide to Literature in English. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993.
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