'Sir Roger at the Assizes' [Essay] by Richard Steele

'Sir Roger at the Assizes' written by Richard Steele is about the way to get happiness by respecting own self avoiding personal and public criticism. The essay states that we should be satisfied and should not not care about satisfying others in order to stay happy.

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About the writer Richard Steele

Richard Steele (16 2-1729) was born in Dublin, Ireland . He is best known for his collaboration with Addison on a series of essays for the Tattler and the Spectator. He is the British essayist, dramatist, and politician. He was a warm hearted man, friendly and careless with money. His essays helped form middle-class tastes in manners, morals, and literature. He described and criticized the social customs and attitudes of his days. He was the founder of periodical essays. He used humorous characters. He wrote didactic essays. His writing is objective and realistic.

Short summary of 'Sir Roger at the Assizes'

'Sir Roger at the Assize' presents the way to get satisfaction by respecting own self avoiding personal and public criticism. The writer presents Sir Roger as a generous and kind, mild and gentle man for other. The author appreciates Sir Roger's personality and courage by presenting some events and situations in which Sir Roger behaves uniquely. He is a man of humanity and has a large heart. This narrative essay depicts his brave personality to appeal readers to be same. Sir Roger was initially conceived of as an aging Restoration rake. He was a rich; fashionable fine gentleman. He remains the exclusive property of Steele. Steele's interest in the affairs of Sir Roger's heart was in keeping with his general interests as a periodical writer.

Background of the essay 'Sir Roger at the Assizes'

 The essay is about sir roger. Sir Roger was a kind and humble man. He was known for giving ideas and opinions to others. He was well respected by everyone.

Characters in the essay 'Sir Roger at the Assizes'

Narrator: He is the one who is narrating the essay. He is friends with sir roger. He goes to the court with his friends  Will Wimble.

Sir Roger: He is the center of attention in this essay. He is very kind. He is an old knight. He is very respected in his neighborhood.

Will Wimble: he is the friend of sir roger. He also comes to the court with them.

Farmer (yoeman): He is an honest farmer who can hunt rabbits and pigeons.

Tom Touchy: He is known by his neighbor for suing everyone for the smallest reasons.

A former servant of Sir Roser: He owns an inn. He has a painting dedicated to Sir Roser.

Detailed summary of the essay 'Sir Roger at the Assizes'

The text began with the narrator saying that we can get peace of mind when we are free from our personal and public criticism and we have peace of our heart.

 The Narrator and his two friends were heading towards a court. He was heading over there with Will Wimble and Sir Roger. The narrator started describing sir roger as a kind, humble, gentleman who was at peace with himself.   Sir Roger was regarded as a kind and helpful person in his neighborhood. Sir Roger needed some friends to accompany him to the court. So he asked the narrator and Will Wimble to join him.  They meet two men on the way. One of them was a kind farmer and the other one was Tom Touchy.

 Sir Roger described their personality.  One was an innocent farmer and the other was known for taking the smallest matter to the court. The name of the second man was Tom Touchy. Sir Roger said that once Tom Touchy took legal action against two innocent men for trespassing and breaking a fence. Tom had to sell his land to pay up the money for the lengthy court process.  Tom and Will wanted to have an opinion about their dispute. Their dispute was about a fishing place. They wanted Roger to give them some ideas regarding the dispute. Roger replied with much might be said due to which the dispute was solved. Because of the statement both of them were satisfied.

 The hearing began at the time of their arrival. After a while, when the hearing was about to end, a night stood up and gave a short speech to impress the audience. After the hearing was over they headed towards their home. On the way, they stopped at an inn. The inn was owned by a former servant of Sir Roger. The inn had a painting of Sir Roger on the inn’s signpost. Sir Roger didn’t like it so he altered the painting to resemble a frowning Saracen. He wanted a third-party opinion so, he asked the narrator about the picture, the narrator just replied much might be said on both sides.

Main Points to remember of 'Sir Roger at the Assizes'

1) The essay tells us that we should be self-satisfactory and not care about satisfying others

2) The essay also tells us that sometimes two different opposing sides can be right and it all matters from your point of view.

3) The essay also tells us being kind and caring will benefit you.

4) It also tells us that if we show the love we get love from everyone.

5) Much might be said: it is a sentence that has been used in the essay two times. The sentence was first said by Sir Roger to Will and Tom so they both wouldn't escalate their fight. This sentence wants to tell us that both sides can be true. Everything depends upon the point of view of someone.