Addison of use of humor in his essay Sir Roger at Church

 

 

 

 Make a comment on Addison's use of humor in his essay Sir Roger at Church.

 

Addison, a successful satirist of the neoclassical period uses humor as a weapon to reform the existing follies and foibles of the then society. In his essay, Sir Roger at Church Addison gives a humorous account of Sir Roger and the members of his parish. The essayist laughs at the absurd behaviors of the old knight and affords us a humorous look at attitudes, actions of common people, and the conflicting relationship between the church and the landed class - the two pillars of the authority of the then society. The irony, based on the contradiction between what is said and what is meant primarily creates humor.

 

Sir Roger at Church embodies the humorous treatment of Sir Roger and the parishioners' activities at church. From genuine enthusiasm and religious fervor, Sir Roger offers service to the church. It is amusing to note that Sir Roger has presented a Common Book of Prayer to every parishioner who is poorly read. At the end of the essay, the essayist terms the parishioners as ordinary people who lack refinement and wisdom. Sir Roger's peculiar fashion to exercise his strict authority over his parishioners to maintain order at church appears very odd and extremely humorous. He is vigilant against anyone's falling asleep at sermon but amusingly he himself enjoys a short nap sometimes. He employed a traveling musician to teach the parishioners to sing Psalms in the right tune but we see that it is ironically humorous when he lengthens out a verse in the Singing-Psalms half a minute after the rest of the congregation have done with it. In the same manner, if the content of the prayer is after his mind, he pronounces 'Amen' three or four times. It is slapstick to see that in counting the heads of his tenants, the knight suddenly stands up in the midst of the service. We cannot but laugh at Sir Roger when he stands and warns one John Matthews to mind what he is about and to stop tapping his heels lest he disturbs the congregation. It is satiric that Sir Roger has caused an even greater disturbance by standing and calling attention to that poor man. Thus his peculiar attempts to maintain order often ironically work against it but has a very good effect upon the parishioners who are not refined enough to see anything ridiculous in his behavior. His peculiarities are regarded as foils to his general good sense and worthiness.

 

At the end of the sermon, nobody dares to go out of the church until Sir Roger walks down the aisle to inspect if any of his tenants is absent from the congregation. The way he reprimands the absentees is wryly humorous. He covertly reprimands the absent tenants by inquiring how he or she was then. Similarly, to encourage the young fellows towards the perfect service of the church, he wittily promises the post of the church clerk upon the death of the present incumbent.

 

There is also a touch of humor in the treatment of the existing dispute between the parson and the squire. They live in a perpetual state of war. The parson is always preaching against the squire and in revenge, the squire never comes to church. It is humorous to note that he has made all his tenants' atheists tithe-stealers. The parson's attempt to highlight his position every Sunday instead of religious preaching amuses us a lot. The enmity has come to such an extremity that the squire has completely stopped the religious practice in private or in public for the last six months and the person threatens the squire to pray for him in the face of the whole congregation if he does not mend his manners. The essayist throws a comic touch over the treatment of their relationship and tells us that feuds of this nature, though too frequent in the country, are very fatal to the ordinary people who are easily influenced by the wealthy landed class.

 

Thus, Addison uses humor to laugh at the follies and absurdities of the knight and his tenants. By doing so, readers find their own faults in a more humorous medium, rather than being affronted by a serious attack. The essayist successfully reforms through the use of humor.