UNI

T–3

(
i)
WILLI
AM HAZLI
TT :
ONGOI
NGAJOURNEY

I
NTRODUCTI
ONABOUTAUTHOR

Wi l
l
iam Hazl it
t,(bor nApr i
l10,1778,  
Mai dstone,Kent ,
Eng.—di edSept .18, 1830,  
Soho, London) ,Englishwr iterbestknownf or
hishumani sti
cessay s.Lackingconsci ousar ti
stryorlit
erarypr etenti
on,hiswr it
ingisnot edf ort hebr i
lli
anti nt
ell
ectitreveals.
Hazl i
tt
’schi l
dhoodwasspenti nI
relandand  NorthAmer ica, wherehisfather , aUnit
arianpr eacher ,
suppor tedtheAmer i
can
rebels.Thef ami l
yr eturnedto England whenWi lli
am wasni ne,settl
i
ngi n Shr opshir
e.Atpuber tythechi ldbecamesomewhat
sull
enandunappr oachable,tendenciest hatper si
stedthroughouthi sl i
fe.Her eadintensiv ely,howev er ,l
ayingthef oundationof
hislearning.Hav ingsomedi ffi
cult
yi nexpr essinghi mselfeitherinconv ersat i
onori nwr it
ing, het urnedt opai nti
ngandi n1802
travel
ledt oParist owor kintheLouv re,thoughwarbet weenEngl andandFr ancecompel ledhi sr et
urnt hef oll
owi ngyear.His
fri
ends, whoal readyi ncluded CharlesLamb,  
Willi
am Wor dswor th,and Samuel Tayl
orCol er i
dge, encour agedhi sambi ti
onsasa
painter;yetin1805het urnedto met aphy si
cs andt hestudyofphi l
osophyt hathadat tractedhi m earlier,publi
shinghisfirst
book, Ont hePr i
nci plesofHumanAct ion. I
n1808hemar riedSar ahStoddar t,andthecoupl ewentt ol iv
eatWi ntersl
ow
on SalisburyPlain, whichwast obecomeHazl it
t’sfavourit
er etr
eatforthinki ngandwr iti
ng.

I
nApr il1824Hazli
ttmar ri
edawi downamedBr idgwater
.Butt henewwi fewasresentedbyhisson, whom Hazli
ttadored,and
thecoupleseparat
edaf terthreey ears.Partofthi
ssecondmar ri
agewasspentabr oad,anexperiencerecordedin Notesofa
JourneyinFranceandI t
aly (
1826) .InFrancehebegananambi ti
ousbutnotv er
ysuccessful
 Lif
eofNapol eon, 
4v ol.(
1828–30),
andin1825hepubl ishedsomeofhi smostef fecti
vewriti
ngin TheSpiritoft
heAge.  
Hisl
astbook, Conversat
ionsofJames
Northcote 
(1830)
,recordedhisl ongf ri
endshipwiththat
 eccentri
c pai
nter.
SUMMARY
PraiseofaJour ney
Thewr i
terbegi nswi t
hpr ai
seofaj ourney.He  expressesdelightinj
ourney i
ngalonewi t
hnaturebei nghi sonl ycompanion.He
hatesbei ngint hecompanyoff ell
owt ravel
lerswhol i
ket
ochatandwor ryaboutthewor l
dwhent heyt r
av el.
 Heloveshis
soli
tudeandf reedom.  
Ajourneyshoul dbel i
ber ati
ngoneselffrom t
heev erydaywor l
dandi t
sconcer ns.Tor emov eoneselff
rom
thepr i
sonofcompanyandanxi eti
esone  mustbecomeconnect edtonat ur
e.Theonl ywaytoachi ev esuchauni onisthr
ough
compl etef r
eedom oft hought.Heenj oysthesi lentcomment aryofwi l
dflowersort hemusicofflowi ngwat er
st hanconstant
reparteewi thaf ell
owhumanov er
 worldl
ytopi cs.Suchf r
eedom doesnotdemandaconf essionoff eelingsinwor dsor
gestures. He claimst hatwhenwe  arewithot her sweshouldcompl etelydev ot
eourat t
enti
ont othem andent ert
aint
heir
thoughtsandopi ni
ons.Howev er,whenwear eal oneandtravelli
ng,
weshoul djustconcentr
ateonourownt houghts 
andr ef
lect
ont hem. Wecanei therbealoneort ogether,notbot hatt
hesamet i
me.Wecannott al
kandr efl
ectatt hesamet i
me.We
cannot  
conv erseandhav e 
internalthoughtsatt hesamet ime.
WithNat ure
Whenonei swithnature, hemustl oseallt
houghtsofcollecti
ngandanal yzi ngi nformat i
on.Onemustexper i
enceandnotj udge
orevaluatesuchexper ience.Howev er,whenwehav ethecompanyofanot herper son, weal wayshav etocommuni cateand
expressourexper i
encei ntohast ywords.Thenonehast omakesuchi nfor mat i
onr elevanttothem, expressiti
naway  theycan
understand.Thiscreatest ensionandaneedt osati
sfyotherpeople’sanx iety .Thiswayy ou cannevert r
ulyimmersey ourselfi
n
thenaturalenvi
ronmentar oundy ou.
Thewr it
eprai
se Samuel  
Tayl
orCol er
idgewhocoul dexperienceandnar rat
esuch
experi
enceatt hesamet ime, wit
houtflawsandcorrupti
on.Hecoul dinsti
nct ivelytr
ansl atehisenjoymenti nt
owords.Howev er
,
thewr i
teradmitshisincapaci t
yt odothesame.Hehast o ponderandthinkf orhour sbeforehecanputhi sthoughtson
paper.Hesay sther
eisonl yonet opi
cwher ei
tisgoodtohav ecompanyont rav elandt hatisregardi
ng foodandmeal s.
Howev er,eventhenthesheerenj oymentofawar m meal attheendofat axi ngj ourneycant rul
ybeexper i
encedalone.
JoyofSol itude
Thewr i
terbeliev
esal ltheformsof  ecstasythatajour
neyof ferscant rulybe enj oyedinsol i
tude.Onecanbegr eedyinsucha
setti
ng, al
lowingonesel ftosing,danceandbef r
eewithoutbei ngj udged.Thepur ejoyofdel iciousfoodandappet i
zingsmel l
s
comi ng fr
om ast eami ngpotoff oodshoul dnotbewast edov eracheapconv ersation.Heclaimswheny oui gnorey our
fel
low  t
ravell
ers,youar eignori
ngy ourowngr i
evancesandwor ries.Youar e 
uni dentif
iableandal mostinvisi
bl e.Youdonothav e
tobet heper sonev eryoneknowsy out obe.Youcanl osey ourv eryi dentit
yandwi thity ouri
nhi bit
ions,biasesand
preferences.Hence, oneisf r
eetoi ndulgeinnewt houghtsandcont empl atethemet aphy si
cal even. 
Her ecalls manymusi ngshe
hashadonl onel
yv i
sitstoani nn.He remember shisfavourit
espotwhi chhef indsenchant i
ngandr eturnstoal lthetime.These
feeli
ngshedoesnotwantt oshar e wit
h otherswhomay  notv aluei tthesame.Hewant sto 
enj oysuchbeaut yand delighti
n
i
solation.
TravelMakesMemor i
es
Hegoesont odiscussthe unpredict
abl
enat ur
eof  
one’s 
tr
av elandexperi
ences.Achangeofspacecanchangeour
whole per
specti
vealtogether.Wemakenewmemor iesinplaceofoldones, newmoment sinplaceoft hepastones.Thereisa
constantshi
fti
ngofv i
ewpoi ntsandperspectives.Whenwear einaplace,itmayseem li
kethewhol ewor l
dandwhenwemov e
toadiffer
entone, wefindanewwor ldenti
rely
.Thus, wecreateandr egi
steranunendi
ngl i
stofplacesandt hi
ngs.Andwhenwe
ret
urnt ool
dplaces,wer ememberandr evi
sitthoseoldmemor iesofthesameplace.Whenonei stravell
i
ngalone,t
hej ourney
becomesmor eimportantthant hedest
inat
ioni t
self
.Iti
smor eabouthowt hanwhereto.
Ad

Famil
iarCompany
Heconfessesthatwhenhet r
avel
stof oreignlandswi t
hadifferentlanguage, hedoesl
ikeaf amili
arcompany .Howev er,he
cl
aimshel ovedbei
nginFr ancewherehar dl
yany onespokeEngl i
sh.Hef oundt obeli
berati
ngandenr ichi
ngtobei nalandofa
di
ff
erenttongue.
Theref
ore, f
orei
gnt r
avel canchal l
engeourli
mi t
ationsandlear nmoreabouty ourself
.Itt
akesy ououtofy our
comfortzoneandhelpsyout ogrowasahumanbei ng.Howev er,heclai
mst hatnomatterhowl ongandenjoy ablethejourney
,
i
talwaysendsathome. Everyperson,nomat t
erhowmuchheenj oy str
avell
ing,year
nsforar et
urnt othehomest ead.Intheend,
i
fhecouldt r
avelf
orli
fehewoul dstil
lfindanot herli
fetofi
ndhiswaybackhome.
(
ii
)CHARLESLAMB:
DREAM CHI
LDREN:
AREVERI
E
I
NTRODUCTI
ONABOUTAUTHOR
CharlesLambwasanEngl ishessay ist, poet, fi
cti
onwr it
erandcr it
icf rom theRomant icperiodwhocont inuest obeoneoft he
mostl ov ableandreadEngl ishessay istsofal lti
mes.Hewasoneoft hesi gnifi
cantmember soft heLakePoet samongwhom
Will
iam Wor dsworthandSamuel Tay lorCol eridgewer ehisclosef ri
ends.Al thoughhecoul dnotat tainendur i
ngpopul ar
it
yfor
hispoet ryashi sfr
iendsWor dsworthandCol eri
dgedid,hel aterchannel i
zedhi sener gi
esint owriti
ngpr oseandi nthispursui
t
emer gedasoneoft hebestessay i
stsofhi st imes.Twoofhi scollections,‘EssaysofEl i
a’and‘ Talesf r
om Shakespear e’ar
e
consider edhisbestwor ksasanessay ist
.‘Essay sofEl i
a’,
whi chcont ainedast r
ingofaut obiographicalrecordofexper i
ences
andessay sofEl i
a,afict
it
iouschar act eroft hewr i
ter,
iscount edamongt hemostexcel l
enti l
lust
rationsoft heEnglishstyl
eof
essay sandcomposi ti
ons.Hi sotherpr omi nentwor k‘Talesf r
om Shakespear e’
,whichhepr oducedal ongwi thhissist
erMar y
Lamb, consistsofplaysofShakespear ef orchi l
dren.Someofhi sot hernot ablewor ksare‘JohnWoodv il
’
,‘TheAdv entur
esof
Ulysses’, ‘
OntheTr agedi
esofShakespear e’ and‘Wi t
chesandOt herNi ghtFear s’.

Lamb’sworkalongwi t
hhissist
erMar y
,‘Tal
esfr
om Shakespeare’
,emer
gedasabestsell
eri
nthe‘
Chil
dren’
sLibr
ary
’ofWil
li
am
Godwin.Hi
scollect
ionofessaysin‘EssaysofEl
ia’i
sconsider
edoneofthemostremarkabl
eworksonEngli
shstyl
eofessays
andcomposit
ions.
OnDecember27, 1834,hediedaft
ersuf f
eri
ngfr
om erysi
pelasfol
l
owingafal
li
nthestr
eet.Hewasint
erredi
nEdmontonatthe
‘
AllSai
nts'
Churchyard’
.Marywasl ai
dbesidehim af
terherdeat
hin1847.

SUMMARY

Chi l
drenl ov etolistent ost oriesoft heirel dersaschi ldren, t
heessaybegi ns, becauset heygett oi maginet hoseel dersthatthey
themsel vescannotmeet .
 Elia'schildrengat herar oundhi mt ohearst oriesaboutt heirgr eat-grandmot her Fiel
d,whol ivedi na
mansi ont hatshecar edf oronbehal fofar i
chf ami l
ywhol ivedi nadifferentmansi on.Young  Alice scoffsatElia'srecollecti
on
oft hatr i
chper sonr emov ingadet ailedwoodcar v i
ngdepi ct i
ngt hestoryoft heChi ldreni ntheWoodt oputupanugl ymar bl
e
thingi nstead.AtFi eld'sf uner al,Eli
ar ecount s,everyonepr aisedhergoodnessandr eligi
ousf ai
th: shecoul drecit
ePsal msand
someoft heNewTest amentf r
om memor y.Shewasagr eatdancerunt i
lshewasst r
ickenbycancer ,butev enint hegripoft hat
disease, shedi dn'tloseanyofhergoodspi ri
ts.Shewasconv i
ncedt hatt woghost sofi nfantsl i
vedi nherhouse, butshedi dn't
consi dert hem har mf ul ,
soi tdidn'tbot herhermuch.Butt hey oungEl i
awast err
if
iedoft hem, andal way sneededhel pget ti
ngto
sleep, event houghhenev ersawt hem. They oungEl i
ausedt owandert hegr oundsoft hatmansi onadmi ri
ngall ofthemar bl
e
bust sandwonder i
ngwhenhemayhi msel fturnintoone.Hespenthi sday spicki
ngt hev ari
ousf ruitfr
om ar oundt hegr oundsof
theest at
e.El i
abr eaksf rom hi srecollectiont onot i
cehischi l
drenJohnandAl i
cespl i
tti
ngapl ateofgr apes.
Eliacont inuest hatFi eldl ov edal lofhergr andchildren,butespeci al
lyElia'
selderbr otherJohnL. ,ahandsomeandgr eat-spir
it
ed
youngmanwhor odehor sesf rom ay oungage.Johnusedt ocar r
yEli
aar oundonhi sbackwhent heyoungerbr otherbecame
l
ame- footed.WhenJohnf ellill
,Eli
af elthewasn' tabletocar ef orhisbrotheraswel laswhenJohnhadcar edforhi m,andwhen
Johndi ed, Eli
awasr eser vedi nemot ionbutconsumedbyagr eatsorrow.Att hi
spoi ntint hetelli
ng, El
ia'
schi l
drenst arttocr y,
aski ngnott ohearaboutt heiruncl e,butt ohearaboutt hei rdeadmot heri nstead.

SoEli
abeginsbytell
i
ngt hem ofthesevenyearshespentcourti
ngt hei
rmotherAl
ice,
withallofi
tsdi
ffi
cult
iesandrej
ecti
on.
Butwhenhegoest olookathisdaughterAlice,
shehasdisappeared.Adisembodiedvoi
cetell
sEli
athattheyarenotAli
ce'
s
chi
ldr
en,
thattherealfat
herofAlice'
schil
drenisamannamedBar t
rum,andtheyarej
ustdreams.Withthat,El
i
awakesupi n
hi
sarm–chair,wi
thBridgetbyhisside,
andJohnL.gonef orever
.

"Dream Chil
dren"i
saformal l
yuniqueessay ,channel
ingthel
ogicandflowofadream inaser i
esoflongsent encesofstrung
togetherphrasesandnopar agr
aphbr eakstobef ound.Lambdeftl
yusesthesestyl
isti
cconceitstopullthereaderint
oar ever
ie,
creatingasenseoftumbli
ngt hroughthisdream worldwithi
tsseri
esofdovetai
l
ingtangents.I
nf act
,theessaycoul dprove
confusingandhardtonavigateuntil
ther eadergetstotheendwhen,withasavvytwist,
Lambexpl ai
nst heformal oddnessof
they arnhehasbeenspinningallal
ong.We' reri
ppedoutofthisodddream st
ateint
ot hemostf amil
iarstateLambcanbe
foundi n—si
tti
ngnextt
ohissi st
er.