Chapter 5 - Becoming Institutional

Summary

The Anacreontic Society was one of the most prominent convivial societies of the late eighteenth century – an era in which the associational world flourished. This essay treats the Anacreontic Society as a literary, as well as a musical, society, and focuses on the anacreontic songs that were performed there. The essay focuses on the Anacreontic Society’s relationship to the print marketplace, considering both the way the physical gatherings were publicized in newspapers, and the way songs performed at the meetings were printed. It argues that print was considered an important end in itself, but ultimately led to the collapse of the society, as the society imploded under the scrutiny of the print public sphere. The Anacreontic Society might be seen as an exemplary failed institution, one which exposes the criteria by which a successful institution might be judged.