Introduction

 

Origins/History 

Wit is derived from the Old English term ‘witan’, meaning ‘to know’, but its meaning has changed many times over the centuries. Moving into the 1800s, its meaning altered quite drastically, focusing on judgement, reason and the ability to articulate commonly held truths in an original and persuasive manner. Nonetheless, it continued to be used in a variety of ways, as can be seen in the Oxford English Dictionary definitions and examples below. 

 

Wit in the eighteenth century 

Debates surrounding the meaning of wit. Why it was used so frequently. Who used it and how was it used. A comparison between then and now?  

 

Definitions

Prior to the eighteenth century:

 

Contemporary definitions: 

 

1. Good or great mental capacity; intellectual ability; genius, talent, cleverness; mental quickness or sharpness, acumen.

- “Authors are partial to their Wit, 'tis true, But are not Criticks to their Judgment too?” Pope

 

2. That quality of speech or writing which consists in the apt association of thought and expression, calculated to surprise and delight by its unexpectedness.

- “True Wit is Nature to Advantage drest, What oft was Thought, but ne'er before Exprest.” Pope

 

3. At one's wit's end; utterly perplexed; at a loss what to think or what to do

- "I am at my Wits End for fear of any sudden surprise" J Addison Spectator

 

4. The understanding or mental faculties in respect of their condition; chiefly = 'right mind', 'reason, 'senses', sanity

- "The wife was wood, and out o her wit' A. Ramsay, Tea-table

 

5. Quickness of intellect or liveliness of fancy, with capacity of apt expression; talent for saying brilliant or sparkling things, esp. in an amusing way. A person of lively fancy, who has the faculty of saying smart or brilliant things, now always so as to amuse; a witty person.

- “Now Gilpin had a pleasant wit And lov'd a timely joke.” W. Cowper John Gilpin 

 

6. A person of great mental ability; a learned, clever, or intellectual person; a man of talent or intellect; a genius.

-“Milton the scholar and wit” Johnson

 

Related phrases:

 

Wit-trap - "Nor was it cram'd with a pack of Wit-traps, like Congreve, and Wycherly, where every one knows when the Joke was coming." H. Fielding Author's Farce

 

Wit-jar - an imaginary vessel humorously feigned to contain the wits or senses (in allusion to Ariosto's Orlando Furioso)

"Dr Hale was my good Astolfo...and has brought me back my wit-jar" Richardson, Clarissa

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The Wit debate

 

Wit and the Imagination in Eighteenth-Century Aesthetics

Opinions of contemporaries  

 

Joseph Addison - The Spectator May 11, 1711

MR. Lock has an admirable Reflection upon the Difference of Wit and Judgment, whereby he endeavours to shew the Reason why they are not always the Talents of the same Person. His Words are as follow: And hence, perhaps, may be given some Reason of that common Observation, That Men who have a great deal of Wit and prompt Memories, have not always the clearest Judgment, or deepest Reason. For Wit lying most in the Assemblage of Ideas, and putting those together with Quickness and Variety, wherein can be found any Resemblance or Congruity thereby to make up pleasant Pictures and agreeable Visions in the Fancy; Judgment, on the contrary, lies quite on the other Side, In seperating carefully one from another, Ideas wherein can be found the least Difference, thereby to avoid being misled by Similitude and by Affinity to take one thing for another. This is a Way of proceeding quite contrary to Metaphor and Allusion; wherein, for the most Part, lies that Entertainment and Pleasantry of Wit which strikes so lively on the Fancy, and is therefore so acceptable to all People .

 

William Hazlitt - The Definition of Wit 

 

Wit is the putting together in jest, ie . in fancy, or in bare supposition, ideas between which there is a serious, ie . a customary incompatibility, and by this pretended union, or juxtaposition, to point out more strongly some lurking incongruity. Or, wit is the dividing a sentence or an object into a number of constituent parts, as suddenly and with the same vivacity of apprehension to compound them again with other objects, 'wherein the most distant resemblance or the most partial coincidence may be found'. 1 It is the polypus2 power of the mind, by which a distinct life and meaning is imparted to the different parts of a sentence or object after they are severed from each other; or it is the prism dividing the simplicity and candour of our ideas into a parcel of motley and variegated hues; or it is the mirror broken into pieces, each fragment of which reflects a new light from surrounding objects; or it is the untwisting the chain of our ideas, whereby each link is made to hook on more readily to others than when they were all bound up together by habit, and with a view to a set purpose. Ideas exist as a sort of fixtures in the understanding; they are like moveables (that will also unscrew and take to pieces) in the wit or fancy. If our grave notions were always well founded; if there were no aggregates of power, of prejudice, and absurdity; if the value and importance of an object went on increasing with the opinion entertained of it, and with the surrender of our faith, freedom, and every thing else to aggrandize it, then 'the squandering glances' of the wit, 'whereby the wise man's folly is anatomized', 3 would be as impertinent as they would be useless.  

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 Masculine and Feminine Wit

 

Differences between male and female wit

 

Feminine 

The Lady's advocate, or Wit and beauty, a match for treachery and inconstancy - Defining Gender

 

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Intellect

 

Individuals who were considered to have 'wit' in the eighteenth century - intelligence and genius. 

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Wit and Morality

 

Using wit to impart wisdom and educate - Wit and Morality in Restoration and 18th Century Comedy

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Entertainment 

 

Theatre:

On Saturday 13 May 1797, Llwellyn L Wall, Mrs Douglas and family put on a show at the Newbern Theatre, aimed at "all lovers of wit, satire, character and sentiment" and advertised as "an antidote for the spleen". It was due to involve "elegant scenes from the dramatic poets" and it was "calculated to dissipate care, raise spirits and improve the morals". Encompassing some of the other points in this study, it is clear that wit was used within entertainment for other purposes as well as to bring enjoyment. It was intended to life spirits, and also to help the form of entertainment in an pedagogic aims it may have. 

 

Comedy: 

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Psychology/Melancholy 

 

The idea of melancholy being prevalent in the eighteenth century, there existed many ways to remedy it. Wit was one of them. One way wit was used to invoke happiness, was through writing about it. This can be exemplified in Laugh and be fat. Or an antidote against melancholy, which was a book containing “a great variety of comical intrigues and fine stories; witty epigrams and comical whims, epitaphs, humorous jests”. 

 

Wit and Mirth; Or Pills to Purge Melancholy 

Collection of songs by Thomas D'Urfey published between 1698 and 1720. The final six-volume edition held over 1000 songs and poems.

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Literature 

 

Satire: 

 

The Age of Satire, spanning 1700-1745, was dominated by Swift and Pope, and focused on a literature of wit. Satire was used to critique civilisation and social relationships. Wit and reason came to the forefront of literature in the form of both Horatian and Juvenalian satires which exposed superficial follies and moral corruption of society. 

 

Jonathan Swift - Gullivers' Travels and A Modest Proposal

Swift uses wit in the tone and content of Gulliver's Travels to criticise England; its politics, its science, its philosophy and its people. *Discuss examples of witty scenes*. Arguments to suggest Swift pushes boundaries, and it no longer becomes witty, but offensive. A Modest Proposal, for example, uses hard economic reasoning to propose a solution to the problems of poverty and hunger in Ireland. It suggests fattening up the children of the poor who cannot be provided for, and feeding them to the rich land-owners. Of course, Swift uses satire to reveal the ineptitude of Ireland's politicians, the hypocrisy of the wealthy, the tyranny of England and the squalor many people are forced to live in. However, it is up to the reader to decide if his methods are witty, or simply disgusting. 

 

Alexander Pope - The Rape of the Lock

In a witty manner, Pope exposes the absurdities of high society at the time. 

Examples...

 

A Letter from Dr Swift to Mr Pope...

 

"It is true, I have been much concerned for several years past, upon account of the publick as well as of myself, to see how ill a taste for wit sense prevails in the world, which politicks and South-sea, and Party, and Opera's and Masquerades have introduced."

 

The Beggar's Opera

 

Satirical prints - paintings - A Harlot's Progress? 

 

The novel:

 

Pamela - Mr B chooses Pamela for her wit as well as her beauty in the end

 

Tristram Shandy

 

Essays:

 

Sir Richard Blackmore An Essay Upon Wit

 

Poetry:

 

 

Image credit:

 

William Lane compiled the poem 'A Penny-worth of Wit' from an old idea in the mid-eighteenth century. It details a husband who changes his mind. He is given £10 by his mistress and a penny by his wife to "venture", which here means invest, on his trip abroad. He prospers, and is nearly ready to return home when an old man advises him to test his women for loyalty. The husband gives the old man the penny and returns home to follow his advice. His wife has proved the faithful one, and he leaves the "harlot". An extract of the poem is below. 

 

A PENNY-WORTH OF WIT.

HERE is a penny-worth of wit,
For thoſe that ever went aſtray;
If warning they will take by it,
'twill do them good another day.
It is a touchſtone of true love,
betwixt a harlot and a wife,
The former doth deſtructive prove,
the latter yields the joys of life.
As in this book you may behold
ſet forth by William Lane;
A wealthy merchant brave and bold,
who did a harlot long maintain.
Although a virtuous wife he had,
likewiſe a youthful daughter dear,
Who might have made his heart full glad,
yet ſeldom would he them come near.
The treaſure which he traded for,
on the tempeſtuous ocean wide,
His harlot had, he brought it her,
But nothing to his virtuous bride.
The fineſt ſilks that could be bought,
nay, jewels, rubies, diamonds, rings,
He to his wanton harlot brought,
with many other coſtly things.
She ſtill receiv'd him with a ſmile,
when he came from the raging ſeas,
And ſaid with words as ſmooth as oil,
my deareſt come and take by eaſe
To thy ſoft bed of linen fine,
thou art welcome, love, ſaid ſhe,
Both I, and all that e'er was mine,
ſhall ſtill at thy devotion be.
He brought her two hundred pounds of gold,
and after that two hundred more,
With chains and jewels manifold,
and bid her lay them up in ſtore.
Ay, that i will, thou needſt not fear,
and ſo embrac'd him with a kiſs,
Then took the wealth, and ſaid, my dear,
I'll have a ſpecial care of this.
Then did they banquet many days,
feaſting on rich delicious fare;
Thus by her falſe deluding ways;
ſhe drew him in a fatal ſnare.
When he had liv'd ſome time on ſhore,
he muſt go to the ſea again,
And traffic to increaſe his ſtore,
the wanton harlot to maintain.
To whom he ſaid, my joy, my dear,
with me what venture wilt thou ſend?
A good return thou needſt not fear,
be thy factor and thy friend.
goods, my dear, I'll ſend above
ten pounds, which thou ſhalt take on board,
I know that thou unto me, love,
a triple gain thou wilt afford.
This ſaid, next to his wife he goes,
and aſk'd her in a ſcornful way,
What venture ſhe would now propoſe,
to ſend with him for merchandize?
I'll ſend a penny, love, by thee,
be ſure you take good care of it,
When you are in a foreign land,
pray buy a penny worth of wit.

 

Samuel Bishop - WIT 

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Politics/Journalism

 

How is wit - both the concept and the actual word - used in politcis/propaganda/journalism? 

Political cartoons - Punch? 

*Link to newspapers 

 

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Things to include/ideas:

Multimedia - video?

Literary analysis

 

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Bibliography

 

Oxford English Dictionary

 

Johnson's Dictionary

 

https://www.wwnorton.com/college/english/nael/noa/pdf/27636_17th_U47_Varietie-1-7.pdf

 

http://www.eng.fju.edu.tw/English_Literature/englit_1/18cenintro.htm

 

 Laugh and be fat. Or an antidote against melancholy. 

 

A Penny-worth of Wit

 

The Sin of Wit: Jonathan Swift as poet

 

Poems of wit and humour 1799-1845

 

Studying Satirical Prints