--- title: "William Hazlitt | Intro To Humanities" description: "William Hazlitt was a Romantic-era English essayist and critic whose personal, sharp prose shaped how Intro to Humanities reads essays and literary criticism." canonical: "https://fiveable.me/introduction-humanities/key-terms/william-hazlitt" type: "key-term" subject: "Intro to Humanities" unit: "Unit 4" --- # William Hazlitt | Intro To Humanities ## Definition William Hazlitt was a Romantic-era English essayist and critic known for personal, energetic prose. In Intro to Humanities, he shows how Romantic writers blended feeling, judgment, and close reading. ## What It Is William Hazlitt is an English essayist, literary critic, and philosopher whose work is often used in Intro to Humanities as a clear example of Romantic writing. He did not write like a detached scholar. He wrote as someone reacting in real time, using personal taste, strong opinions, and vivid language to talk about art, literature, and human nature. That style matters because Hazlitt sits right inside Romanticism’s push away from Enlightenment coolness. Instead of treating art as something to measure only with rules, he treated it as something you experience through imagination, memory, and emotion. In a humanities class, that makes him useful for showing how a writer can argue about culture while still sounding deeply individual. Hazlitt is especially known for essays collected in works like Table Talk, where the form itself fits his voice. An essay lets him think aloud, shift from observation to judgment, and make criticism feel personal without losing its literary force. If your class is comparing genres, Hazlitt is a good example of how essays can be both reflective and argumentative at the same time. He also wrote influential criticism on Shakespeare, which is one reason he shows up in literature units. Hazlitt did not just praise Shakespeare in general terms. He tried to explain how the plays work on the reader or viewer, paying attention to character, feeling, and dramatic effect. That move helped shape modern literary interpretation, where you often discuss not only what a text means, but how it makes meaning through language and emotional impact. A common mistake is to treat Hazlitt as just a “famous essayist” and stop there. In humanities courses, his real value is that he shows a whole way of thinking: art should be met with honest response, not just abstract theory. That makes him a strong bridge between literary criticism, Romantic ideals, and the broader cultural turn toward individuality. ## Why It Matters William Hazlitt matters in Intro to Humanities because he gives you a concrete example of how Romanticism changed criticism itself. Instead of pretending the critic is invisible, Hazlitt puts the critic’s personality on the page. That makes him a useful case for seeing how humanists read texts as lived experiences, not just as objects with fixed rules. He also helps you track a major shift in literary history. If you are comparing Enlightenment and Romantic values, Hazlitt is the kind of writer who makes the Romantic side visible through style, not just through theme. His essays show emotion, individuality, and judgment working together, which is exactly the sort of cultural pattern humanities classes want you to notice. Hazlitt is also a strong example of criticism as a creative act. In a discussion or essay, you can use him to show that interpretation is not neutral. A critic chooses what to emphasize, what language to use, and how to frame a work’s meaning. Hazlitt’s Shakespeare writing is especially useful here because it shows criticism shaping the way readers approach a classic author. ## Connections ### Romanticism Hazlitt is often read as a Romantic because his prose values feeling, individuality, and imagination. His essays reject the idea that art should be judged only by fixed rules or cold logic. In a humanities class, he helps you see Romanticism as a style of thought, not just a poetry movement. ### Essays Hazlitt’s best-known work appears in essay form, which fits his habit of moving between reflection, opinion, and close observation. Essays let him sound conversational while still making a serious argument. When you study him, you can see how the essay became a flexible genre for literary criticism and personal thought. ### Criticism Hazlitt is a major example of literary criticism that feels personal instead of detached. He does not just summarize texts, he interprets their emotional force and artistic value. That makes him useful when your class talks about how critics shape the meaning of literature. ### Shakespeare Hazlitt wrote extensively about Shakespeare, helping later readers think about the plays in terms of character, emotion, and dramatic effect. If your class looks at Shakespeare through a Romantic lens, Hazlitt shows how a later critic can reshape interpretation without changing the original text. ## On the AP Exam A quiz or essay prompt might give you a passage from Hazlitt and ask what makes it Romantic. Look for personal voice, emotional intensity, and the sense that the writer is responding as an individual rather than laying out a neutral theory. If the question is about literary criticism, explain how Hazlitt judges art through lived response, especially in his Shakespeare writing. On short-answer items, you may be asked to identify him as an English essayist and critic from the early 19th century. In essay responses, use Hazlitt to compare Romantic writing with Enlightenment ideas, or to show how essays can mix personal reflection with argument. If your instructor uses passage analysis, point to the tone, word choice, and directness of the speaker. ## Key Takeaways - William Hazlitt was a Romantic-era English essayist and critic whose prose is personal, direct, and opinionated. - He is a strong example of how Romanticism valued emotion, individuality, and the writer’s own perspective. - His essays show that literary criticism can be expressive, not just objective or rule-based. - Hazlitt’s Shakespeare criticism matters because it influenced how readers think about character, feeling, and dramatic effect. - In Intro to Humanities, he helps connect literature, philosophy, and cultural history in one writer. ## FAQs ### What is William Hazlitt in Intro to Humanities? William Hazlitt is an English Romantic-era essayist and critic known for personal, sharp, and reflective prose. In Intro to Humanities, he often comes up as an example of how Romantic writers valued individuality, emotion, and close engagement with literature. ### Why is William Hazlitt considered Romantic? Hazlitt is considered Romantic because his writing centers personal experience, strong feeling, and individual judgment. He treats criticism as a human response to art, not just a system of rules. That makes his work a good contrast with Enlightenment-style detachment. ### What did William Hazlitt write about? Hazlitt wrote essays, literary criticism, and philosophical reflections on human nature, art, and literature. He is especially known for essays in collections like Table Talk and for his writing on Shakespeare. His work often mixes observation, argument, and personal reaction. ### How do I recognize Hazlitt’s style in a passage? Look for a confident personal voice, vivid phrasing, and direct judgment. Hazlitt often sounds like he is thinking on the page, moving from example to opinion without losing momentum. That makes his prose feel lively compared with more formal critical writing. ## Related Study Guides - [4.6 Romantic literature](/introduction-humanities/unit-4/romantic-literature/study-guide/ha6lmavKpVUFVYYc) ## About This Document Canonical Fiveable pages are available as Markdown at the same path plus `.md`. - [llms.txt](https://fiveable.me/llms.txt): index of Fiveable's sections and URL patterns - [llms-full.txt](https://fiveable.me/llms-full.txt): complete subject and unit listing - [MCP server](https://fiveable.me/mcp): call Fiveable as tools instead of fetching pages (`https://fiveable.me/api/mcp`) - [MCP server for AP teachers](https://fiveable.me/mcp/teachers): a teacher's classes, assignments and AP-rubric grading (`https://fiveable.me/api/mcp/teacher`) ## Structured Data ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"LearningResource","@id":"https://fiveable.me/introduction-humanities/key-terms/william-hazlitt#resource","name":"William Hazlitt | Intro To Humanities","url":"https://fiveable.me/introduction-humanities/key-terms/william-hazlitt","learningResourceType":"Concept explainer","educationalLevel":"AP® / High School","about":{"@id":"https://fiveable.me/introduction-humanities/key-terms/william-hazlitt#term"},"audience":{"@type":"EducationalAudience","educationalRole":"student"},"dateModified":"2026-07-03T02:23:17.973Z","isPartOf":{"@type":"Collection","name":"Intro to Humanities Key Terms","url":"https://fiveable.me/introduction-humanities/key-terms"},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Fiveable","url":"https://fiveable.me"}},{"@type":"DefinedTerm","@id":"https://fiveable.me/introduction-humanities/key-terms/william-hazlitt#term","name":"William Hazlitt","description":"William Hazlitt was a Romantic-era English essayist and critic known for personal, energetic prose. 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