Editing Politeness (section)

==History==
[[Image:Spectator.jpg|thumb|''[[The Spectator (1711)|The Spectator]]'' fostered a culture of politeness among the middle-classes of early 18th century [[England]].]]

During the [[Enlightenment era]], a self-conscious process of the imposition of polite norms and behaviors became a symbol of being a genteel member of the [[upper class]]. Upwardly mobile [[middle class]] [[bourgeoisie]] increasingly tried to identify themselves with the elite through their adopted artistic preferences and their standards of behavior. They became preoccupied with precise rules of [[etiquette]], such as when to show [[emotion]], the art of elegant dress and graceful conversation and how to act courteously, especially with women. Influential in this new discourse was a series of essays on the nature of politeness in a commercial society, penned by the philosopher [[Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 3rd Earl of Shaftesbury|Lord Shaftesbury]] in the early 18th century.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H6u6QyCKE5YC|url-access=limited|title=Shaftesbury and the Culture of Politeness: Moral Discourse and Cultural Politics in Early Eighteenth-Century England|first=Lawrence E.|last= Klein|author-link=Lawrence E. Klein|year=1994|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=9780521418065}}</ref> Shaftesbury defined politeness as the art of being pleasing in company: "'Politeness' may be defined a dext'rous management of our words and actions, whereby we make other people have better opinion of us and themselves."<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Klein |first1=Lawrence |year=1984 |title=The Third Earl of Shaftesbury and the Progress of Politeness |journal=Eighteenth-Century Studies |volume=18 |issue=2 |pages=186–214 |doi=10.2307/2738536 |jstor=2738536}}</ref>

[[File:Joseph Highmore - A Club of Gentlemen - Google Art Project.jpg|right|thumb|Members of a [[Gentlemen's club]] had to conform to a socially acceptable standard of politeness. The painting, ''A Club of Gentlemen'' by [[Joseph Highmore]] {{circa}} 1730.]]
Periodicals, such as ''[[The Spectator (1711)|The Spectator]]'', founded as a daily publication by [[Joseph Addison]] and [[Richard Steele]] in 1711, gave regular advice to its readers on how to be a polite gentleman. Its stated goal was "to enliven morality with wit, and to temper wit with morality{{nbsp}}... to bring philosophy out of the closets and libraries, schools and colleges, to dwell in clubs and assemblies, at tea-tables and coffeehouses." It provided its readers with educated, topical talking points, and advice on how to carry on conversations and social interactions in a polite manner.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.information-britain.co.uk/famdates.php?id=888 |title=First Edition of The Spectator |website=Information Britain |date=2010-03-01 |access-date=2014-08-15 |archive-date=2023-03-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230317164436/https://www.information-britain.co.uk/famdates.php?id=888 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The art of polite conversation and debate was particularly cultivated in the [[English coffeehouses in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries|coffeehouses]] of the period. [[Conversation]] was supposed to conform to a particular manner, with the language of polite and civil conversation considered to be essential to the conduct of coffeehouse debate and conversation.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Klein |first1=Lawrence E. |title=Coffeehouse Civility, 1660-1714: An Aspect of Post-Courtly Culture in England |journal=Huntington Library Quarterly |date=1996 |volume=59 |issue=1 |page=34 |doi=10.2307/3817904|jstor=3817904 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|title=Politeness and the Interpretation of the British Eighteenth Century|first=Lawrence E.|last=Klein|journal=[[The Historical Journal]]|volume=45|number=4|year=2002|pages=869–898|doi=10.1017/S0018246X02002716 |jstor=3133532 |s2cid=145752613 }}</ref> The concept of "[[civility]]" referred to a desired social interaction which valued sober and reasoned debate on matters of interest.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Cowan |first1=Brian William |title=The Social Life of Coffee: The Emergence of the British Coffeehouse |date=2005 |publisher=Yale University Press |location=New Haven |isbn=0-300-10666-1 |page=101}}</ref> Established rules and procedures for proper behavior, as well as conventions, were outlined by [[gentleman's club]]s, such as Harrington's Rota Club. Periodicals, including ''[[Tatler (1709)|The Tatler]]'' and ''[[The Spectator (1711)|The Spectator]]'', intended to infuse politeness into English coffeehouse conversation, as their explicit purpose lay in the reformation of English manners and morals.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Mackie |first1=Erin Skye |editor1-last=Mackie |editor1-first=Erin Skye |title=The Commerce of Everyday Life: Selections from ''The Tatler'' and ''The Spectator'' |date=1998 |publisher=Bedford/St. Martin's |location=Boston |isbn=0-312-16371-1 |page=1 |chapter=Introduction: Cultural and Historical Background |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/commerceofeveryd0000unse/page/1/mode/1up |chapter-url-access=registration}}</ref>