Write a short note on Addison’s humor.
As the most graceful satirist, Addison aimed to reform society out of its follies and foibles. He declared his method to be the combination of wit with morality. That is why humor and irony form a basic and striking foundation for most of his essays. But it is transparent that we do not always get the humor in his essays since some of his essays are starkly didactic. The essay “Sir Roger at Church” is a representative essay, full of humor and irony.
Read more: Comment on Dr. Samuel Johnson as a critic and biographer.
Addison’s humor seriously contemplates this reality which is strange in depicting the contrast between what is and what should be in a real situation. It is mainly ironic and satirical. Irony and sarcasm are intended to correct stupidity and absurdity. He is more concerned with correction than with pure entertainment. For example, Sir Roger makes loud noises to make others calm, which is humorous in the essay, “Sir Roger at Church.” Also, when he says that no one will be excused for sleeping in the church, he is found sleeping. There is also an indirect attack on the superstition with his mother’s dream about his dignity in “The Spectator’s Account of Himself.”
