Writing in the Long Whig Opposition: The Work of John Wilkes, Edmund Burke, and Richard Brinsley Sheridan, Whig Contributors to the Expansion of the Public Sphere 17621800

In this dissertation, I identify a period in British political history as the "Long Whig Opposition," during which the Whigs served primarily in opposition to Tory governments in the House of Commons. This period begins in the early 1760s and continues until the end of the 18th century. The Long Whig Opposition succeeds the "Long Opposition" which Jrgen Habermas identifies in The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere (1962) during which the Tories formed a lasting opposition to the Whig government of Robert Walpole, Britains longest-serving Prime Minister. I examine the literature of the Long Whig Opposition as an extension of political discourse into the public sphere which subverted the democratic regressions of the 18th century which repressed parliamentary debate and journalism, and decreased the size of the electorate in the United Kingdom. I argue that literary works by Whig Members of Parliament disseminated reformist discourse into the public sphere, appealing to the support of a larger section of the public (including the unfranchised) because of the limitations of parliamentary opposition. These publications, comprising genres such as journalism, poetry, philosophy, and drama, contributed to the expansion of the public sphere in the 18th century which Habermas has observed in the increasing political awareness and public involvement of the middle class. My dissertation focuses on the writings of three Whig MPs: John Wilkes, Edmund Burke, and Richard Brinsley Sheridan. The three parts examine different forms of rhetorical intervention in the public sphere by Whig MPs. In the part on John Wilkes, I analyze Wilkes's use of obscenity as a provocative rhetorical device in anonymous political journalism. The part on Edmund Burke examines the publication of a reformist ideology which challenges the Tory establishment by evoking the values of individual civic responsibility and stewardship of the British Empire. The final part on Richard Brinsley Sheridan examines the work of a Whig politician who made a significant contribution to English drama. I analyze the expression of political opposition in Sheridan's plays, particularly during the divisive phenomena of the American Revolution and the trial of Warren Hastings.