William HazlittBirth Chart

William Hazlitt was an English essayist, dramatic and literary critic, social commentator, and philosopher whose work shaped literary and artistic criticism at the turn of the nineteenth century. Regarded as one of the greatest essayists in the English language, he was known for the clarity and liveliness of his commentary on authors, the theatre, and painting, and is considered the leading art critic of his time. A friend and contemporary of figures such as Coleridge, Wordsworth, the Lamb brothers, and Keats, Hazlitt built his reputation through reviews and essays published in major periodicals as well as books such as Characters of Shakespear's Plays, Lectures on the English Poets, and Table-Talk. His writing combines learning, Romantic sensibility, and an engagement with the intellectual and public life of his era. His turbulent personal life—including separation and divorce, a public scandal connected to Liber Amoris, and financial hardship—affected his journalistic career and his reception by contemporaries. Although some of his work went out of print after his death, his literary legacy remains cited by scholars as an essential reference for criticism and the essay in English.