About William Hazlitt
William Hazlitt (1778–1830) was an English essayist, drama and art critic and painter. He wrote for the leading London periodicals of his day, and his essays were collected in books such as Table-Talk (1821–22), The Plain Speaker (1826) and The Spirit of the Age (1825), a series of portraits of his contemporaries.
William Hazlitt’s writing style
Hazlitt argued for a conversational prose style in his essay "On Familiar Style," and his own essays read like forceful talk. He states an opinion early and develops it through personal experience, quotation and sharp antithesis. His sentences are energetic and concrete, and he is willing to be partisan.
Practice William Hazlitt’s essays
1 essay
How to write like William Hazlitt
Pick one of William Hazlitt’s essays and retype it word for word. Copying slows you down enough to notice how each sentence is built: where it starts, how long it runs and which words carry the weight. Keep the style notes above in mind as you type, then write a paragraph of your own in the same voice. New to this? Read what copywork is and how to do it.