LiteratureWork

The journalism of the eighteenth century seemed more of a commentary upon everyday life as opposed to the journalism of the modern times that is focused on the occurrences of everyday life. Steele and Addison set out to “…enliven morality with wit and to temper wit with morality, that my reader may, if possible, both ways find their account in the speculation of the day.” The Washington Post slogan “Democracy Dies in Darkness” is symbolic towards the dangers of silencing information. Modern journalism is focused on the delivery of said information before any competitor hence the inception of breaking a story. From the writings of Johnson, Addison and Steele one can infer that they strived to elucidate the reader. Nowadays, the focus is centered on skewing the reader’s perspective to whomever funds the newspaper or network. For example, Fox News caters to conservatives while CNN leans more for liberals. This doesn’t mean that what’s being reported is not true, but that the facts are

I every substance would resign To clasp thy aerial breast to mine; Or if, my love, that could not be, I would turn air to mix with thee. (57-60) This excerpt is from “A Letter to My Love—All Alone, Past 12, in the Dumps” from the Anonymous Lady. Unlike others of the time, she revived the amorous ardor of some metaphysical poets such as Andrew Marvell and John Donne. Though she doesn’t necessarily use a metaphysical conceit, her poems do express the passions and pangs of love but, most importantly, from a female perspective. What I really appreciate about her poetry is her unabashed approach to it. She easily could have conformed to the norms of that time and written like her male counterparts, focused more on criticisms and satire yet because she did not receive their similar education, “Who were the slaves of Busby's nod,/And learned their methods from his rod” (15-16) she developed a truer style to herself. Her ability to maintain the couplet form throughout the poem’