Okay, so Addison isn't as famous as his contemporaries Pope, Swift, Defoe, and Richardson. But along with his friend Richard Steele, he's still an important man in the period. Like these other dudes, he wrote himself some poetry and plays, but he's most famous for his journalistic contributions and his essays.

Addison, along with Steele, founded a journal called The Spectator, which became a runaway hit when it was first distributed in 1711. It ran essays written by Addison and Steele, in which this dudely duo commented on English society and politics.

"Uses of The Spectator"

In this famous essay, Addison lays out the rationale for the journal The Spectator. He says that it's all about giving people doses of wit and morality all at once. Who says talking about morality has to be dull, right?

Addison's skills as an essayist are on full display in this piece. It's clever and funny and clear all at once.

Cato

So, about those plays Addison wrote: a pretty famous one is called Cato, and it dramatizes the story of the Roman senator and Stoic philosopher Cato, who stood up to Julius Caesar. And paid with his life.

The play became super popular after it was first performed in 1713. It was a big hit not only in England but also in America, which at that time was still a British colony.

Shmoops:

Why is it so important to have a daily periodical read by the masses? Here is Addison explaining the uses of the The Spectator to his audience.

Addison, like his other Augustan contemporaries, was pretty obsessed with ancient Rome, and his play Cato is all about the Roman Stoic philosopher.