Joseph Addison

Introduction
Early life
Government service
The Tatler and The Spectator
Later years
Legacy

Quotes References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics

Images

Joseph Addison, engraving, early 19th century.

At a Glance

Joseph Addison summary

Quizzes

Illustration of "The Lamb" from "Songs of Innocence" by William Blake, 1879. poem; poetry

A Study of Poetry

4:043 Dickinson, Emily: A Life of Letters, This is my letter to the world/That never wrote to me; I'll tell you how the Sun Rose/A Ribbon at a time; Hope is the thing with feathers/That perches in the soul

Famous Poets and Poetic Form

Emily Dickinson (1830-1886) only confirmed photograph of Emily Dickinson. 1978 scan of a Daguerreotype. ca. 1847; in the Amherst College Archives. American poet. See Notes:

Poetry: First Lines

Related Questions

How did Joseph Addison and Richard Steele first become friends?
How did Joseph Addison and Richard Steele help establish the periodical essay as a respected form of writing?
How did Joseph Addison's poem to William III help his career?
How did Sir Roger de Coverley represent the country gentry of early 18th-century England?
How did The Spectator avoid intense party-political controversy despite its Whig tone?
How did The Spectator help bring literary criticism to a broader public?
How did The Spectator influence the development of the English novel?
How did The Spectator use the fictional Spectator Club to discuss English society?
How did The Tatler encourage standards of good behavior and taste?
How did coffeehouses help distribute and popularize The Spectator?
How did the Whig defeat in the election of 1710 affect Joseph Addison's employment?
How did the death of William III affect Joseph Addison's political patrons?
How did the success of "The Campaign" affect Joseph Addison's career?
How many issues of The Spectator did Joseph Addison contribute?
How many issues of The Tatler did Joseph Addison write or help write?
How often was The Tatler published?
What caused Joseph Addison's disagreement with Alexander Pope?
What dates marked the first publication run of The Spectator?
What government offices did Joseph Addison hold after George I became king?
What kinds of people belonged to the Kit-Cat Club?
What responsibilities did Joseph Addison hold as secretary to the lord lieutenant of Ireland?
What topics did The Tatler discuss in addition to news from London?
When and where was Joseph Addison born?
When and where was Joseph Addison's tragedy Cato first performed?
When did Joseph Addison and Richard Steele launch The Spectator?
When did Richard Steele begin publishing The Tatler?
Where did Joseph Addison go to school before attending the University of Oxford?
Where was Joseph Addison buried after his death in 1719?
Which Oxford colleges did Joseph Addison attend?
Which Whig leaders became important patrons of Joseph Addison?
Which constituency elected Joseph Addison to Parliament in 1708?
Which government position did Joseph Addison receive after John Locke's death?
Which pseudonym did Richard Steele use in The Tatler?
Who was Sir Roger de Coverley in The Spectator?
Whom did Joseph Addison marry in his later years?
Why could both Whigs and Tories find political meaning in Joseph Addison's Cato?
Why did Joseph Addison and Richard Steele become estranged near the end of Addison's life?
Why did Joseph Addison receive a treasury grant to travel in Europe?
Why did The Tatler stop publication in January 1711?
Why is Joseph Addison remembered as an important master of English prose?
Why was Joseph Addison asked to write a poem about the Battle of Blenheim?
Why were Joseph Addison's essays on John Milton's Paradise Lost important?
What is Oscar Wilde known for?
Who was Samuel Taylor Coleridge?
What is Lyrical Ballads known for?
What are “Kubla Khan” and “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” about?
Why is Lord Byron significant?
What was Lord Byron’s disability?
Why did Lord Byron leave England in 1816?
What is a Byronic hero?
Who was Lord Byron’s famous daughter?
What was Lord Byron’s early life like?

Literature Poetry Poets A-K

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External Websites

Dictionary of Irish Biography - Joseph Addison
Luminarium - Biography of Joseph Addison
Theatre Database - Biography of Joseph Addison

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Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students.

Joseph Addison - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up)

Joseph Addison

English author

Written by

Donald F. Bond

Emeritus Professor of English, University of Chicago, 1952–67. Editor of The Spectator.

Donald F. Bond

Fact-checked by

Britannica Editors

Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....

Britannica Editors

History

Joseph Addison (born May 1, 1672, Milston, Wiltshire, England—died June 17, 1719, London) was an English essayist, poet, and dramatist, who, with Richard Steele, was a leading contributor to and guiding spirit of the periodicals The Tatler and The Spectator. His writing skill led to his holding important posts in government while the Whigs were in power. Addison was the eldest son of the Reverend Lancelot Addison, later archdeacon of Coventry and dean of Lichfield....

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