A Literary Comparison Between William Hazlitt's "The Spirit of the Age" and Richard Horne's "A New Spirit of the Age."

Abstract

Change is a universal thing. It is the rise and fall of the tide of existence. It is a natural thing and proof of the rhythm in nature. This element of unrest and continual search for causes in the minds of man is manifested in the words they write, for words are the symbols of thought. These thoughts, translated into the prevailing literature, are the reflection of the change in the universe. |In this study of two books, embodying the spirits of two separate ages, we shall see these truths exemplified. In Hazlitt's, The spirit of the Age the men are secure in an accepted order and move with the current. Whereas the individuals in Horne’s, A New Spirit of the Age peril the danger of a changing mode of literature. Their progress is slow. Their footing is not secure. They must watch the turn of the tide as well as the shore they have left.