Table-Talk · Chapter
On Going a Journey explained
Hazlitt extols the virtues of solitary travel, arguing that true enjoyment of nature and self-reflection requires being alone, free from the need to explain or share impressions with others.
What happens
Hazlitt extols the virtues of solitary travel, arguing that true enjoyment of nature and self-reflection requires being alone, free from the need to explain or share impressions with others. He contrasts this with the distractions of company and illustrates his points with personal anecdotes, including a vivid memory of a birthday visit to Llangollen and reflections on the poetry of Coleridge.
Free preview opens on this chapter — companions, themes, and character notes appear beside the text.
Narrative arc
Story tension across the book — this chapter sits in Rising action.
- Setup
- Escalation
- Breaking point
- Aftermath
- Closing
This passage marks the dramatic climax because it reveals the central psychological reversal: the lady who sco…
Full beat labels and climax notes unlock in the reader.
Follow the arc while readingThemes in this chapter
- The Nature of Learning and Pedantry
Hazlitt contrasts spontaneous enjoyment of nature with the pedantic need to analyze and explain, favoring direct experience over intellectual dissection.
- The Psychology of Habit and Novelty
The essay explores how travel and change of place refresh the mind and revive forgotten memories, highlighting the psychological effects of novelty.
Characters to notice
- William Hazlitt
The author and narrator, who reflects on his love of solitary journeys and shares personal memories.
- Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Quoted as a poet whose lines Hazlitt recalls at Llangollen; also mentioned as a former friend whose conversational brilliance he admires.
- Charles Lamb
Referenced as someone who prefers a different approach to travel and conversation.
- William Cobbett
Quoted approvingly on the English custom of doing one thing at a time.
Key passages
“One of the pleasantest things in the world is going a journey; but I like to go by myself.”
Traveling is one of life's greatest pleasures, but Hazlitt prefers to do it alone.
Opening statement establishing the central thesis of the essay.
“I am then never less alone than when alone.”
In solitude, he feels most connected to himself and nature.
A paradoxical expression of the value of solitary reflection.
“The soul of a journey is liberty, perfect liberty, to think, feel, do, just as one pleases.”
The essence of travel is complete freedom to act and think without constraint.
Hazlitt defines the core appeal of traveling alone.
“It was on the 10th of April 1798 that I sat down to a volume of the New Eloise, at the inn at Llangollen, over a bottle of sherry and a cold chicken.”
On his birthday in 1798, Hazlitt read Rousseau's New Eloise at an inn in Llangollen while enjoying a simple meal.
A vivid personal memory illustrating the joy of solitary travel and reading.
“The beautiful is vanished, and returns not.”
The beauty of that moment is lost forever and cannot be recovered.
A melancholic reflection on the passage of time and lost youth.
