Table Talk, Or, Original Essays

by William Hazlitt, Harold Bloom (Editor)

William Hazlitt was an English writer known for his humorous essays and literary criticisms. He best known for his writings on Shakespeare's plays and characters. This collection contains some of Hazlitt's best essays including; On Milton's Sonnets, On Coffee-House Politicians, On Criticism, On Great and Little Things, Why Distant Objects Please, On Corporate Bodies, Whether Actors Should Sit in the Boxes, and many more.

Genres: Essays, Nonfiction, Philosophy, Classics

Paperback

First published January 1, 1822

About the author

William Hazlitt (1778-1830) was an English writer, remembered for his humanistic essays and literary criticism, and as a grammarian and philosopher. He is now considered one of the great critics and essayists of the English language, placed in the company of Samuel Johnson and George Orwell, but his work is currently little-read and mostly out of print. During his lifetime, he befriended many people who are now part of the 19th-century literary canon, including Charles and Mary Lamb, Stendhal, Samuel Taylor Coleridge and William Wordsworth.

Hazlitt was the son of the Unitarian minister and writer, William Hazlitt, who greatly influenced his work. Hazlitt's son, also called William Hazlitt, and grandson, William Carew Hazlitt, were also writers.

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name on Goodreads.

Reviews

[Naomi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hazlitt was, in his age, known not only for his painting but for his wit. Page through common books (collections of favorite quotations from books read and shared) of the mid to late Nineteenth century and Hazlitt's observations and quips will be scattered through them. Though he is little read now, he is worth a read for the contemporary reader who wishes to know one of the sharpest wits of the early-mid Nineteenth Century (Table Talk was published in 1823).
Biases abound, but I found myself thinking about Hazlitt's observations from many of the essays, and will continue to do so, long after closing this book.

[Daniel Andrews · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have never seen a writer or a man like William Hazlitt, and I deathly fear I never will again

[Curmudgeon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I first became aware of William Hazlitt through Michael Foot's vociferous support of his talents, and as I had read and enjoyed Heine and Byron on the basis of Foot's praise, I decided to give Hazlitt a go. Hazlitt isn't much read today, and frankly, after slogging through this collection of essays, I can see why. Some contemporary critics have compared his essays to a sort of precursor to blogging. Unfortunately, just as most blogging is rather time-sensitive and not built to last, most of these essays from the early 19th century very clearly belong to their era. Hazlitt is obsessed with painters and painting, and a lot of the essays feature him going on at length about painters, which I must admit is outside the scope of my knowledge. He also spends a lot of time essentially involved in the idle chatter about major figures of the early 1820s, which might be useful for a biographer of Coleridge or the like, but which isn't that interesting on its own, especially as names are usually censored in that 19th century fashion (i.e. 'Miss C---" or "Mr. M---"); owing to Hazlitt's current unpopularity, it seems unlikely an annotated edition will come out, but it would certainly be helpful with some of the obscurer people or with some of the obscurer quotes. Oh, yes, I haven't even mentioned the quotes yet. Part of why I have a hard time finding Hazlitt a good writer is that half of his writing consists of regurgitated, unsourced quotes from other pieces of writing (usually Shakespeare). Ostensibly the quotes are to illustrate a point, but they usually fulfill no purpose other than for Mr. Hazlitt to show off how well-read he thinks he is.

Out of the essays on topics that are still relevant, there usually are a few sentences that are very striking and apt, and actually do make some incisive point on the matter at hand. Unfortunately, they are usually not supported by the rest of the essay, which is generally meandering, stuffed with fluff, and a mere opportunity for Hazlitt to vent his personal prejudices against a variety of figures. On second thought, I suppose this does make him a 19th century blogger after all.

[Elevergois · Rating 5 out of 5]

So brilliant, profound, quick-witted, and one of the greatest critics of W.S. works.

[Rowan Kearney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hazlitt writes an essay “of Persons One Would Wish to Have Seen”, and to the large list including the likes of Pope, Dr Johnson, Shakespeare, and Cromwell, one finishes the essay and wishes to add Hazlitt himself.

[Avis Black]

Hazlitt has some interesting things to say, but he always says it twice and wears out your patience.

[Paul Narvaez · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this man. I love how he thinks.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Andrew Doyle praised William Hazlitt (1778-1830) in his excellent book The New Puritans and, having appreciated an essay of Hazlitt’s earlier, I took on Table Talk, a collection of essays varying in value, I think, for modern minds. I skipped some essays (about 30% of the book) which seemed focused on now-arcane topics of Hazlitt’s day. Above the rest, five essays stood out powerfully and I’m happy to highly recommend these (you can find Table Talk free online); If these five (and perhaps a few others) had been published together as a shorter volume I expect it might today be a well-known classic:

Vol 1
ESSAY VIII. ON THE IGNORANCE OF THE LEARNED [*****]
ESSAY X. ON LIVING TO ONE'S-SELF [*****]

Vol 2
ESSAY XI. ON CORPORATE BODIES [*****]
ESSAY XV. ON THE KNOWLEDGE OF CHARACTER [*****]
ESSAY XVII. ON THE FEAR OF DEATH [*****]

At his best, Hazlitt is extraordinarily profound and prescient, exploring sublime existential peaks of meaning amidst the social tides that compel the individual – at times he’s a sort of existentialist philosopher and at others an early social psychologist. He, like the best of the liberal Enlightenment thinkers, is continually striving against, in every corner of mind, social-conventional influences, tugging us, against these grains, ever toward clearer, sharper lights.

[Chrystal · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this because of the shared love for painting. His take on painters of the day as well as his insightful essays gave me food for thought. A couple of the essays were a bit banter based for me. I am not as well read in this time era as I would like to be. Perhaps a better knowledge of some of the discussed writers would give me better insight. I overall found it delightful to read.