Benjamin Franklin
To Instruct and to Delight
Benjamin Franklin was a colonial American author. His literature served the dual purpose of 18th century Age of Reason: “to delight and to Instruct.” Examples of this duality can be found in many of Franklin’s works. One of the best known is “The Speech of Miss Polly Baker.” In this text he delights his reader with humor, to both keep the reader interested and serve as a buffer for the information also contained in this text. “The Speech of Miss Polly Baker” takes place in a courtroom in Connecticut. Miss Baker is being prosecuted for having a child out of wedlock for the fifth time. Franklin seeks to delight his readers immediately in the forward as he writes: Miss Baker was able to have the
To Instruct and to Delight
Benjamin Franklin was a colonial American author. His literature served the dual purpose of 18th century Age of Reason: “to delight and to Instruct.” Examples of this duality can be found in many of Franklin’s works. One of the best known is “The Speech of Miss Polly Baker.” In this text he delights his reader with humor, to both keep the reader interested and serve as a buffer for the information also contained in this text. “The Speech of Miss Polly Baker” takes place in a courtroom in Connecticut. Miss Baker is being prosecuted for having a child out of wedlock for the fifth time. Franklin seeks to delight his readers immediately in the forward as he writes: Miss Baker was able to have the