Spectators definition of Spectators in the Free Online Encyclopedia.

Spectator, English daily periodical published jointly by Joseph Addison Addison, Joseph, 1672–1719, English essayist, poet, and statesman. He was educated at Charterhouse, where he was a classmate of Richard Steele, and at Oxford, where he became a distinguished classical scholar.
..... Click the link for more information. and Richard Steele Steele, Sir Richard, 1672–1729, English essayist and playwright, b. Dublin. After studying at Charterhouse and Oxford, he entered the army in 1694 and rose to the rank of captain by 1700.
..... Click the link for more information. with occasional contributions from other writers. It succeeded the Tatler, a periodical begun by Steele on Apr. 12, 1709, under the pseudonym Isaac Bickerstaff. The Tatler appeared twice weekly until it ended Jan. 2, 1711. The Spectator began Mar. 1, 1711, appearing as a daily, and lasted until Dec. 6, 1712. Valuable as social history, the papers (dated from various London coffeehouses) provide an excellent commentary on the manners, morals, and literature of the day. The Spectator was supposedly written by members of a small club, representing figures of the British middle class: Sir Roger de Coverley (country gentry), Captain Sentry (military), Sir Andrew Freeport (commerce), Will Honeycomb (town), and Mr. Spectator himself. Addison joined Steele in writing the Tatler and continued his collaboration with him, writing about the same number of articles, in the Spectator. Both periodicals had a tremendous influence on public opinion and gave great impetus to the growth of journalism and periodical writing. The Spectator, which was succeeded by the Guardian, was revived for a time by Addison in 1714.

Bibliography

See edition of the Spectator by G. Smith (1945); studies by G. S. Streatfeild (1923) and R. P. Bond (1971).

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Bibliography

Spectator
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