Biography
(1778-1830)
Along with Francis Bacon and Charles Lamb, William Hazlitt stands at the head of the modern English tradition of the personal essay. Working as a periodical contributor in London, he wrote about a wide variety of subjects, including painting, politics, society, travel, relationships, and literature. He was as clever and insightful a critic as he was a philosopher, and he grew in status and fame exponentially. Among his acquaintances in the English literary scene were the previously mentioned Charles Lamb, as well as Samuel Taylor Coleridge, William Wordsworth, John Stoddart, and others. In addition to writing for the Times, The Morning Chronicle, and The Edinburgh Review, Hazlitt produced several extremely popular collections of essays. Round Table, and Characters of Shakespeare’s Plays came out in 1817, and The Spirit of the Age was published in 1825. On the Pleasure of Hating appeared in 1826. Because he depended on his pen for a living, his opinion and personal life ended up causing him a tremendous amount of trouble. Political enemies seized upon some unfortunate decisions Hazlitt made regarding his personal life (He committed adultery), and orchestrated Hazlitt’s fall from prosperity and popularity. In 1830, he past away, largely absent from the literary scene that had favored him earlier in life. However, many of his essays are still in print today–a fact that attests to the timeless popularity of his writing.