The Emblem of Print: Manifestations of An Aesthetic of Print in the The Spectator

Marshall McLuhan has disclosed several characteristics of the medium of print pertaining to the ability of print to render reality, among these being linearity, uniformity and infinite repeatability, all indicative of the visual senses. In the Spectator by Addison and Steele this aesthetic of print is particularly visible, in content, form, persona and style. Indeed, the aesthetic of print so pervades the work that it might be said to compose an emblem of print. As such to work is particularly valuable to the twentieth century, when the particular values of a world rendered in terms of print are in danger of becoming obscured or lost with the emergence of other non- verbal media.