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Southern Fried Fiction
"ON GOING ON A JOURNEY"-BLOG
1/17/2013 17 Comments

Create a Critical Log response using the format in the Romantics and the
Victorians Web section. Make sure you provide direct quotes which support the
key elements of analysis. Due Monday, Jan. 28
17 Comments
Ashley1/28/2013 06:45:54
In this piece William Hazlitt discusses going on a journey and how it is best to
travel alone as well as discussing all the things that can be gained and observed
in doing so. To discuss these topics Hazlitt utilizes many literary devices,
including irony when he states puns alliterations, antitheses, agreement, and
analysis I sometimes had rather be without them (110). Hazlitt makes use of
paradox in his first paragraph when explaining why he prefers to travel alone; I
am never lass alone than when alone (109). He then uses metaphor to describe
what is gained by journeying alone; Contemplation may plume her feathers and
let grow her wings, that in various bustle of resort were all too ruffled, and
sometimes imparid (109). He then continues to describe the daily antithesis
one feels in societal life; to talk or be silent, to walk or sit still, to be sociable or
solitary (110). All of Hazlitts metaphors, antithesis, paradox, and other literary
devices combine to portray his attitude on society, nature, contemplation, and
perspective. Hazlitt, like many Romantics of the day, sees peace in nature,
travelling, and solitude. He also, however, recognizes mans need for kinship; I
should like well enough to spend the whole of my life in travelling abroad, if I
could anywhere borrow another life to spend afterwards at home (117).

Reply
Ms. M1/28/2013 11:28:31
Nice Use of the Text, Ashley.
Reply
Hayle S.1/28/2013 13:53:32
In William Hazlitts on Going on a Journey he talks about the important aspects
of the journey itself. One of his main points is that it is always better to journey
alone. He claims out of doors, nature is company for me. He goes on to talk of
how he loves the solitude he finds when he goes out alone just to enjoy the
country. Hazlitt also says that the soul of a journey is liberty and that while on
a journey the goal should be to just do whatever you please, leave everything
else behind and just go. This is another reason why he believes you should not
bring a companion along, because then you must try to keep a conversation
going and the feelings of contemplation you have while on a journey are not
always meant to be or able to be communicated. Hazlitt doesnt want his
thoughts with awkward silences or attempts at wit; he cherishes that
undisturbed silence of the heart. Hazlitt uses devices such as rhetorical
questions when he says, Is not this wild rose sweet without a comment? Does
not this daisy leap to my heart set in its coat of emerald?. He also alludes to
quotes from other men such as Mr. Cobbett and Coleridge. Hazlitt also uses a
variety of metaphors and analogies in his piece to help develop his ideas of
society and the peace that he finds in nature, like most romantic writers of the
time. His main point is that when he goes on a journey, he leaves himself behind
and goes out alone without any expectations of what might happen along the
way, and that is a true journey.
Reply
Christian Gray1/28/2013 16:51:49
William Hazlitt is, simply put, tired of life with others around him. He finds bliss in
being alone on a journey. I can enjoy society in a room; but out of doors, nature
is company for me. He also states I cannot see the wit of walking and talking at
the same time. Bliss in walking alone through the forests or woods, journeying
by yourself is better because of the nonsense talk that a pair or group would
have while doing the former. Being alone William Hazlitt says, helps one on a
journey to view the landscape better, to be alone with your thoughts, to basically
take in life on your move.
Reply
Grace1/28/2013 20:16:29
William Hazlitt is the author of "On Going on A Journey", a piece in which the
main point of discussion is the "soul of a journey" (109). Hazlitt is a firm believer
in the beauty of "solitude" and freedom of "all inconveniences" (109). In order to

convey his points, Hazlitt utilizes literary devices such as personification,

allusion, alliteration, and rhetorical questions. He personifies flowers by asking
rhetorical questions about their actions, such as the comment of the "wild sweet
rose" (110). This allows for him to portray nature as the only companion
necessary for journeys, as he had earlier stated. He also alludes to numerous
locations such as China, France, Athens and even Old Rome to discuss some
locations that require companionship, and others that are for solitude.
Reply
Sarah S.1/28/2013 20:44:22
In "On Going on a Journey, by William Hazlitt, the author explains how "One of
the pleasantest things in the world is going on a journey; but I like to go by
myself" (109) His main point is that being on a journey should be something one
does by himself so that he can focus and enjoy nature without feeling like he has
to say something to the other traveller. Then he can enjoy forgetting himself
while he is abroad. He is very passionate about what he writes, and structures
the piece as if it were a conversation. It is full of his opinions and thoughts. "Yet
these I love to cherish, and sometimes still fondly clutch them, when I can
escape from the throng to do so" . (111) Hazlitt writes about his own experiences
and friends. "My old friend Coleridge, however, could do both. He could go on in
the most delightful explanatory way over hill and dale a summer's day, and
convert a landscape into a didactic poem or a Pindaric ode," which shows how he
had a positive attitude towards the subject (111). His purpose was to explain why
he likes being alone with nature and to give insight as to how the reader can
enrich his life by escaping it during travels abroad. He uses quotes from different
poets as evidence to explain his love of nature. He also talks about how his "old
friend Coleridge" "talked far above singing" before he gives an example of such a
work (111). He uses a lot of Pathos, by saying heartfelt things like this: "yet these
I love to cherish, and sometimes sill fondly clutch them, when I can escape from
the throng to do so" (111). Hazlitt also uses logos when he says, "if you only hint
what you feel in a kind of dumb show, it is insipid: if you have to explain it, it is
making a toil of a pleasure. You cannot read the book of nature without being
perpetually put to the trouble of translation it for the benefit of others. " (110) He
makes a statement and then explains it in order to more thoroughly explain his
thesis. Hazlitt uses antithesis when he says "I like to be either entirely to myself,
or entirely at the disposal of others; to talk of be silent, to walk or sit still, to be
sociable or solitary" (110). He gives the main idea in the first sentence, then
proceeds to go into an extended discussion with lots of detail as to how and why.
"One of the pleasantest things in the world is going on a journey; but I like to go
by myself" (109)
Reply
Christian, Patrick, De'Jean1/29/2013 06:08:33
"I can enjoy society in a room; but out of doors, Nature is company enough for
me."(109)

"I cannot see the wit of walking and talking at the same time."(109)

"I like solitude, when I give myself up to it for the sake of solitude" (109)

"We go a journey chiefly to be free of all impediments and of all inconveniences;

to leave ourselves behind much more than to get rid of others.'' (109)

"Instead of an awkward silence, broken by attempts at wit or dull commonplaces, mine is that undisturbed silence of the heart which alone is perfect
eloquence."(110)

"I should be but bad company all that way, and therefore prefer being
alone."(110)

"I was pleased with an observation of Mr. Cobbett's, that "he thought it a bad
French custom to drink our wine with our meals, and that an Englishman ought to
do only one thing at a time." So I cannot talk and think, or indulge in melancholy
musing and lively conversation by fits and starts."(110)

"Continual comparing of notes interferes with the involuntary impression of

things upon the mind, and hurts the sentiment. If you only hint what you feel in a
kind of dumb show, it is insipid"(110)

"Not to have them entangled in the briars and thorns of controversy. For once, I
like to have it all my own way"(110-111)

"We must "give it an understanding, but no tongue." "(111)

Reply
Monica B 1/29/2013 14:34:55
On Going on a Journey basically consists on William Hazlitts experiences from
one of his journeys. He describes the beautifulness of the country he is it. Hazlitt
goes out of his town to forget it his everyday-self and the people surrounding his
daily lifestyle. He claims that travelling is much better if you are alone since if

you have a companion it could interrupt it. He thinks that the purpose of a
journey is to be free, free to think, feel, and act without having the pressure to
conform the normal self and manners. He has the constant feeling to translate
his feelings into words, he thinks that this interrupts and does not let the people
observe a beautiful scene. He also claims that certain feelings and thoughts
cannot be communicated or shared with the outside world. Basically throughout
the whole essay he exposes the idea that a person cannot concentrate into the
beautifulness of life if there is a companion within the journey.

Reply
Taylor and Hayle1/30/2013 06:04:57
Group 1 Reasons to walk alone

1. "I can enjoy society in a room; but out of doors, nature is company enough for
me".

2. "When I am in the country, I wish to vegetate like the country"

3. "I go out of town in order to forget the town and all that is in it".

4. "The soul of a journey is liberty, perfect liberty, to think, feel, do, just as one
pleases."

5. "We go a journey chiefly to be free of all the impediments and of all the
inconveniences; to leave ourselves behind much more to get rid of others".

6."I cannot see the wit of walking and talking at the same time".

7. "I like more elbow room and fewer incumbrances".

8. "I laugh, I run, I leap, I sing for joy".

9. "I plunge into my past being and revel there, as the sun-burnt indian plunges
headlong into the wave that wafts him to his native shore".

10. "Long forgotten things like sunken wrack and sunless treasuries, burst upon
my eager sight and I begin to feel, think, and be myself again".
Reply
Monica B and Josh Y1/30/2013 06:06:29
On Going on a Journey
Journey Alone vs. Journey Abroda
1. What other self can I find to share that influx of thought, of regret, and delight,
the fragments of which I could hardly conjure up myself, so much have they been
broken and defaced.
2. We cannot enlarge our conceptions we can only shift our point of view.
3. It is not one prospect expanded into another, country joined to country,
kingdom to kingdom, land to seas, making an image voluminous and vast; the
mind can form no larger idea of space than the eye can takein at a single glance.
Reply
MarcusR, MichelleH, DenizO1/30/2013 06:07:24
Group 2:
I have just now other business in hand, which would seem idle to you, but is
with me very stuff o the conscience.
Yet if I were to explain to you the circumstance that has so endeared it to me,
you would only smile
You cannot read the book of nature without being perpetually put to the trouble
of translating it for the benefit of others
So I cannot talk and think, or indulge in melancholy musing and lively
conversation by fits and starts
I want to see my vague notions float like the down of the thistle before the
breeze, and not have them entangled in the briars and thorns of controversy
There is then no sympathy, but an uneasy craving after it, and a dissatisfaction
which pursues you on the way, and in the end probably produces ill humors
For once, I like to have it all my own way; and this is impossible unless you are
alone, or in such company as I do not covet.

If I could so clothe my ideas in sounding and flowing words, I might perhaps

wish to have someone with me to admire the swelling theme; or I could be more
content, where it possible for me still to hear his echoing voice in the woods of
All-Foxden.
I can make nothing out on the spot:-I must have time to collect myself.
I would have them all to myself, and drain them to the last drop; they will do to
talk of and to write of afterwards.
Reply
Ryan P.1/31/2013 10:54:11
William Hazlitts is writing about how hed like to leave town and experience
nature on his own. "The soul of a journey is liberty, perfect liberty, to think, feel,
and do just as one pleases. We go a journey chiefly to be free of all impediments
and of all inconveniences; to leave ourselves behind, much more to get rid of
others. It is because I want a little breathing-space to muse on indifferent
matters". But a companion, while talking, drops a hint or so reminding him of his
everyday existence that he wants to leave behind. The soul of a journey is
liberty, to be free and explore at ones one accord. Talking to his companion
though doesnt allow him to explore though, because he is constantly reminded
of his past, and what hes leaving.
Reply
DeJean Clement2/1/2013 14:36:38
"On Going On A Journey" is written by William Hazlitts. In a jist, he covers his love
for being alone with nature and having no one with him to sour its beauty.
"Instead of an awkward silence, broken by attempts at wit or dull commonplaces,
mine is that undisturbed silence of the heart which alone is perfect eloquence"
which sums up that people are nothing more than a distraction of one's peace
and focus; his fustration with telling the beauty of nature and what he sees is
clearly stated that "You cannot read the book of Nature without being perpetually
put to the trouble of translating it for the benefit of others." Only one person on
the planet does William wish to go on a forest stroll together with to "so clothe
my ideas in sounding and flowing words", and that person was his friend
Coleridge. The poem remains in a repetitive message after that.
Reply
Victoria B2/3/2013 16:49:05
On Going a Journey, Written by William Hazlitt, is an essay about the beauty of
nature in solitude. In his piece he stresses the fact that "One of the pleasantest
things ... is going on a journey; but I like to go by myself." (109) Another way that
he gives light to his opinion on getting away and enjoying nature is "I want a
little breathing-space... that I absent myself from the town..." (109) Throughout
his essay he stress his thoughts on observing nature and "going on a journey" in

solitude to get away from the beastly needs of society. "Is not this wild rose
sweet without a comment?... if I were to the circumstance... you would only
smile." (110) In this part of the essay he is iterating what it is like to leave
society and its calling for just a few mere hours and what it is to appreciate your
surroundings; but within the same quote expresses his thoughts on having to
enjoy it with someone else. He later goes to describe more troublesome aspects
of traveling with other people, when you have to observe for your own pleasure,
and better understanding.
Reply
MichelleH2/10/2013 10:13:37
Hazlitt's "On Going On a Journey" is an essay about the reasons that a journey
alone is better than with others. He states why journeys through the countryside
are great and mainly focusses on why company on such journeys contradicts
such journeys. He tells of how being with others means that you cannot relax. In
Hazlitt's mind, a journey taken with company means that you will have to
converse with them, and you cannot focus on the scenery and enjoy your
surroundings. Simply put, if you take a journey, you should do it alone lest you be
remembered of the place you wish to forget.
Reply
Nick2/22/2013 11:04:20
Wiliam Hazlitt's "On Going on Journey" can be greatly described as a work based
on the individual instead of the the race as a whole. He starts of by explaining
how it would be to go on a journey, "but I like to go by myself," he announces. He
believes that a partner or companion on the trip would be a waste of a perfectly
time, "Instead of an awkward silence, broken by attempts at wit or dull
commonplaces, mine is that undisturbed silence of the heart which alone is
perfect eloquence." He believes his time on a journey would best be completed
as a single mind rather than two people, with the only exception being of the
company of Coleridge himself!
Reply
Luke Narug3/2/2013 07:17:39
William Hazlitts "going on a journey" is an essay that explains his view on a
journey. He explains that going on a journey is better to go alone because he
wants to experience nature on his own. he states, "I can enjoy society in a room;
but out of doors, nature is company enough for me". He love to be outdoors and
take in the whole feelings of nature. When going on this journey, hazlitt feels he
finally has time to think, and getting away from his normal everyday life. He later
goes on to describe how if traveling to other countries it is better to have a
companion to shre the experience with.
Reply

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