The evolution of Hazlitt's prose style

Abstract

Hazlitt's performance as an essayist improved as he wrote his way through metaphysical refutations, Parliamentary reporting, and routine drama reviews toward the self-awareness and discursive style of the familiar essay. To demonstrate this general impression of Hazlitt's evolution in style, this study divides his career into three periods: (1) the apprenticeship stage (1804-14), comprising his first stiff attempts at philosophical and political criticism; (2) the transitional, journalistic period (1815-19), which included brief newspaper articles and literary lectures; and (3) the mature period (1820-30), in which he composed longer, analytical essays on human traits as embodied in his contemporaries. A series of three passages-one drawn from each period of his writing and each group written on the same topic-reveal that William Hazlitt's interests remained constant throughout his writing career. Their concrete expression in his essays, however, underwent a gradual development in style, with modifications in syntax, imagery, and stance.