How did The Spectator help bring literary criticism to a broader public?

The Spectator, published by Joseph Addison and Sir Richard Steele, played a pivotal role in bringing literary criticism to a broader public by moving intellectual discourse out of exclusive academic settings and into the daily lives of the reading public.12

Rather than keeping learning confined to libraries or colleges, Addison and Steele made serious discussion a standard pastime for the leisured class by presenting it in accessible venues like coffeehouses and tea-tables. Addison, in particular, used his essays to elevate public taste, dedicating significant space to critical analysis—most notably his influential series on John Milton’s Paradise Lost and his papers on the "pleasures of the imagination".12

By framing these discussions within a popular, widely read periodical, the authors successfully integrated literary evaluation into the social fabric of 18th-century London. This approach not only fostered a more receptive audience for literature but also helped establish the intellectual foundation for the subsequent development of the English novel.12