The Rambler - Purpose

Purpose

The Rambler was written primarily for the newfound, rising middle-class of the 18th century, who sought social fluency within aristocratic social circles. It was especially targeted to the middle-class audience that were increasingly marrying into aristocratic families in order to create socio-economic alliances, but did not possess the social and intellectual tools to integrate into those higher social circles which required great understanding of subjects, as listed above in the Description. Copies of The Rambler were written in essay form and were made cheaply available to the middle-class. In his fourth section of The Rambler (31 March 1750), Johnson points out that he would like to "Join both profit and delight in one" in the prelude; that is, provide intellectual profit and literary delight to those who read his work. This desire to "join both profit and delight" streams throughout the publications, and is particularly resonant of Classical literary design. The majority of the subject matter in The Rambler focused more on moral than social issues. In this sense, Johnson's writings were didactic, although he maintains an explorative attitude rather than a strictly instructive voice.