by Richard D. Blackmore
About this book
Essay upon Wit by Richard D. Blackmore offers a spirited defense of moral seriousness against the fashionable excesses of witty libertinism, blending Literature and humor with 18th-century moral philosophy. Blackmore — a physician turned poet — interrogates the value of wit, arguing that cleverness must serve virtue rather than mere amusement. His essay crystallizes a larger cultural shift after the Restoration, when writers and critics debated the roles of taste, decorum, and public morality.
Set against the Augustan era’s clash between courtly sophistication and rising bourgeois values, the work engages contemporary voices — notably drawing commentary from Joseph Addison — and illuminates how humor and criticism reflected broader social anxieties. Blackmore’s prose mixes earnest admonition with satirical observation, making this both a persuasive polemic and a window into early 18th-century literary politics.
Ideal for listeners who enjoy classic essays, literary history, or the evolution of comedic taste, this audiobook will appeal to students of Augustan literature, fans of Addison and Steele, and anyone curious how wit was contested as cultural capital. Listen to understand how debates over humor helped shape modern ideas of virtue, art, and public life.
