17th Century:

17^th Century:

While the 17^th century offers little to no traces of early bohemian art, with well-established cafés for intellectuals, delicately dissident journalism, and eminently clear community ties within the literary community, the role of bohemia in London is clear.

Wycherly

Restoration Comedy Dramatists Vs. John Dryden and Will’s Coffee House:

The rather “undefined” bunch of proto-bohemian wits of 17^th century London congregated mainly in a popular establishment called Will’s Coffee House. Will’s was located in Covent Garden on the corner of Bow and Russell, an area of town whose combination of both “crude” and “cool” might compel comparisons with New York’s lower east side, another past and (less-so) present bohemian center.

One of the Will’s Coffee House crowd, William Wycherly (1640? – 1716) was one of the first Bohemian figures in London and one of the best known comic dramatists of the Restoration. Characteristic of Wycherly’s somewhat depraved bohemian edge is this line, delivered by the cleverly proto-Dickensian-named Dapperwit, from “Love in a Wood”: "I think women take inconstancy from me worse than from any man breathing."[1] In his most basic subversive tone one might witness a line such as this one, from “The Plain Dealer”: "I weigh the man, not his title, 'tis not the king's stamp can make the metal better or heavier."[2] However, the literary community did not hold theatre in such high esteem in the 17^th century, thus Wycherly, along with George Etherege and William Congreve, two other prominent comic dramatists of the time, struggled in true bohemian fashion to make a living while receiving blow after blow from staunch critics. Tom Brown, of that very community, commented, “A playhouse wit is distinguished by wanting understanding; and a judge of wit, by nodding and sleeping till the fall of the curtain and the crowding to get out again, awake him.”[3]

Congreve

Despite this frequent criticism (and perhaps partly because of it) their pseudo-amateur mindset, witty attitude, and rather light material distinguished these early bohemians from traditional, “professional writers” like Dryden and Milton. Although “Paradise Lost” is oft considered the “the greatest literary work of the Restoration” and Milton is certainly an indispensable figure in literary history, he and the majority of his followers are certainly found highlighted only under the “serious” side of the spectrum. However, Dryden is a less concrete figure. There would have been no Will’s Coffee House without his omni-present, celebrity appeal. He truly was a god-like figure in the literary world, seeming to be on all sides of the fence (surely more than two). Paid regularly as a professional writer (far from struggling on Grub street), he found time to appreciate Anne Killigrew (a female writer for the royal court) in an ode and while away his hours whole day at Will’s with the strugglers and “light writers” making such poignant observations as, “And plenty makes us poor.”[4] Furthermore, Dryden’s alliegance to the free-spirited society of bohemia is further evidenced by such statements as: “Tomorrow do thy worst, I have lived today” and “Honor is but an empty bubble” (which wouldn’t be out of place in the subversive verse of Henry IV) Based on this philosphy it seems easier to picture what might draw a powerful figure like Dryden to congregate with writers who denied having a “profession.” (William Congreve felt so strongly about this notion that he stopped writing at the height of his power. Also, one of his first, and most telling, moves was to defect from the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, to the New Theatre at Lincoln’s Inn Fields.) Clearly we see is an early indication (towards Bohemian tendencies) of welcoming diversity into the community with open arms.

DrydenMilton

After Dryden’s death in 1700, Will’s business went downhill and the 17^th century cornerstone was replaced by another coffee shop called Button’s. Of course, during its time Will’s was one of many coffee houses, each frequented by a different walk of London life. Will’s happened to house the “men of wits and letters.” It must have been quite an intimidating atmosphere what with the abundance of caffeine and egos. Speaking of egos, it would be a shame to neglect to mention at least a few more of Dryden’s literary company, namely Joseph Addison and Alexander Pope.

Addison and Steele

Joseph Addison’s role in the progression of bohemia in London is unquestionable. For example, Addison continued to demonstrate the interconnectedness of the evolving Bohemian society by releasing a “powerful set of appreciative essays (that)…launched Milton’s reputation.” Addison also provides us with some evidence for the prevalent role of aristocracy in the incipient stages of Bohemia: Addison’s “triumphal poem” ‘The Campaign,’ written at the conclusion of Marlborough’s victory over the Austrians, summoned a rather extravagant gift from Parliament, namely the estate of Woodstock. Finally, Addison’s connection to the Restoration Comedy Dramatists, however indirect, is evidenced by statements like “Jesters do often prove prophets.”[5]

However, after the Restoration (turn of the century), Joseph Addison and Richard Steele, a childhood friend and adult collaborator, hosted a new breed of readers, and taking on the opposite strategy as Pope and Swift, encouraged morality without emphasis on staunch adherence to literary precedents. It was, in fact, Richard Blackmore, a physician who simply wrote for fun, who opened the door for Addison and Steele’s journalism. After the release of his “Satire Against Wit,” he was ridiculed for his utter lack of training and, basically, bad writing. However, his statement was honest. Following a similar sentiment, Steele began his own newspaper – “The Tatler,” which included widely appreciated moral lectures. Addison soon hopped on board, after which the he began his own paper, “The Spectator. Finally, he collaborated once again with Steele on the “Guardian.”

It is important to note that Addison and Steele’s efforts were significantly aided by the expansion of Grub Street * (I still need information specifically regarding Grub Street’s history) following the suspension of the Licensing Act in 1695. Also: the other new papers, mainly distributed at the coffee houses, included the London Gazette, the Post Man, the Post Boy, the Flying Post.

Swift

Alexander Pope and Jonathan Swift, renowned for quite opposite sentiments represented the other side of the literary spectrum: they “valued correctness in verse” above all. However, whether they assisted or counteracted the independent, satiric force of evolving bohemia is questionable. Since Pope’s contributions offer a lesser-known and perhaps more “bohemian” ideas, let’s meet him. Firstly, his philosphical relationship with John Dryden, as well as the rest of the community, is evidenced by this similarly minded statement, attempting to debase the predominant, mindless, aristocratic view of honor: “Honor and shame from no condition rise. Act well your part: there all the honor lies.”[6] In “Rape of the Lock,” Pope defines the “image of that festive, intimate, aristocratic society, which, for a happy few, represented the age of Anne at its best…” However, he takes a more reform-minded stance with his “Essay on Man” (1733), which addresses the issue of explaining the world’s horrible state without the concept of original sin (encouraged by the advent of deism). Furthermore, perhaps “Rape of the Lock” begins to look more and more like a satire as we consider Pope’s later poetry which includes a frank denouncement of George II: “Still Dunce the Second reigns like Dunce the First.” (from “the Dunciad”)[7].

It is interesting to note that the Pope/Swift school of precedent-snobbery – the Augustan movement (based on Tory pretension) – can be traced all the way back to an appreciation for the Greek figure ‘Horace.’ “Horation unpretentiousness and good sense, gave, as it were, the seal of ancient authenticity to a code of gentlemanly good humor which Pope’s age took as an ideal.”[8] In conclusion, in the context of incipient Bohemia, Richard Pope strikingly represents the predominance of conservative notions.

[3] Robert M. Adams, “The Land and Literature of England.” pg. 224