Table-Talk · Chapter
Character of Cobbett explained
Hazlitt delivers a penetrating character sketch of William Cobbett, analyzing his self-taught intellect, his mercurial and inconsistent opinions, his powerful yet unpolished style, and his role as a formidable political writer.
What happens
Hazlitt delivers a penetrating character sketch of William Cobbett, analyzing his self-taught intellect, his mercurial and inconsistent opinions, his powerful yet unpolished style, and his role as a formidable political writer. He contrasts Cobbett with Paine and other writers, highlighting Cobbett's reliance on immediate facts and his lack of fixed principles, while also noting his cowardice in controversy and his tendency to abandon past positions.
Themes in this chapter
Fame, Reputation, and Public Opinion
Cobbett is portrayed as a 'fourth estate' whose reputation as a powerful political writer is both celebrated and critiqued; his inconsistency and bullying nature affect his public standing.
The Nature of Learning and Pedantry
Hazlitt contrasts Cobbett's self-taught, fact-driven intellect with the steadiness of learned education, exploring the strengths and weaknesses of each approach.
Criticism and Critical Practice
The chapter is a sustained critical analysis of Cobbett's character and writing style, comparing him to Paine, Burke, and others, and evaluating his methods and effectiveness.
The Psychology of Habit and Novelty
Cobbett's constant pursuit of new opinions and his fickleness are examined as psychological traits that give his writing vigor but undermine consistency.
Characters to notice
- William Cobbett
The subject of the chapter; described as a self-taught man with striking excellences and faults, a powerful political writer with an inconsistent, fickle nature, and a bullying yet cowardly disposition in controversy.
- Thomas Paine
Compared to Cobbett; noted for his sententious style and fixed principles, in contrast to Cobbett's reliance on details and lack of system. Cobbett brought Paine's relics from America but later disavowed his political and theological views.
- Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Mentioned briefly as someone who pretends to consistency, in contrast to Cobbett's frank disavowal of his own past opinions.
- Edmund Burke
Referenced as a writer of first-rate powers whose style defies description, used as a benchmark for discussing Cobbett's own style.
- William Shakespeare
Mentioned in a list of great writers (with Sterne) to illustrate that first-rate talents defy easy classification.
- Laurence Sterne
Mentioned alongside Shakespeare as a writer who was not a wit or poet in the conventional sense, used to discuss the nature of genius.
Key passages
“He is a self-taught man, and has the faults as well as excellences of that class of persons in their most striking and glaring excess.”
As an autodidact, Cobbett displays both the strengths and weaknesses typical of self-educated individuals, but in an extreme form.
Hazlitt introduces the central tension in Cobbett's character: his raw talent versus his lack of formal training.
“He does not view things on a large scale or at the horizon (dim and airy enough, perhaps)—but as they affect himself, close, palpable, tangible.”
Cobbett focuses on immediate, concrete details that affect him personally, rather than abstract or broad perspectives.
Highlights Cobbett's pragmatic, self-centered approach to issues.
“He is not wedded to his notions, not he. He has not one Mrs. Cobbett among all his opinions.”
Cobbett is not loyal to any of his ideas; he discards them as easily as he adopts new ones.
Emphasizes Cobbett's lack of intellectual fidelity, using a domestic metaphor.
“Mr. Cobbett is great in attack, not in defence; he cannot fight an uphill battle. He will not bear the least punishing.”
Cobbett excels at offensive criticism but is weak when challenged or forced to defend himself.
Describes Cobbett's combative but fragile nature in public disputes.
