Deformity: An Essay (English Literary Studies Monographs

by William Hay

Combining the genres of memoir, literary and cultural critique, and medical testimony, Deformity offers a unique glimpse into the lived experience of a person with a disability in enlightenment London.

Genres: Nonfiction, Classics

64 pages, Paperback

First published June 10, 1754

About the author

William Hay (1695–1755), of Glyndebourne, Sussex was an English writer and Whig politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1734 to 1755.

Reviews

[mack]

i was supposed to just read an extract of this for my essay on the mill on the floss but i got carried away with reading

very interesting. it seems he had a similar mindset to alexander pope, who he mentions in this essay. of course, both of their constant needs to conform, meaning they sometimes turn against their own people, is troubling in the modern day, but it remains an important piece of literature and disability history, as well as a good insight into the life of a (privileged) disabled man during this era.

[Vanessa Braganza]

Interesting that Hay uses his deformity to situate himself even more firmly within Enlightenment society values, e.g. temperance, education, love of virtue. Couldn’t help smiling at the image of him emerging to a friend across the dinner table "from an Eclipse of a Sirloin of Roast Beef."

[Valerie]

An interesting look at how Hay views himself as a disabled person, while also commenting on Francis Bacon's essay "Of Deformity."