Joseph Hall produced a substantial body of works that had a significant impact on seventeenth-century English prose. Perhaps best known for his claim to be the "first English satirist," Hall was also an important innovator in prose: he introduced the...

Joseph Hall is an excellent example of a major minor: a writer of importance and influence in his own day who has survived largely as a "background" figure in literary history. Hall's long and productive career as writer and divine spanned one of the...

In this essay, Kirk suggests that Hall's public battle with Henry Burton anticipated his confrontation with Milton and the writers of Smectymnuus. The critic emphasizes Hall's moderation in both conflicts, noting that while it did not serve Hall well in the short term, it may have benefited the Church of England in the end.

In this essay, Tourney surveys Hall's polemical writings in the period between the satires of his early career and his later tracts on ecclesiastical policy. Discussing Heaven Upon Earth, Characters of Vertues and Vices, Epistles and Resolutions and Decisions of Divers Practical Cases of Conscience, Tourney finds Hall to be in the mainstream of moral philosophy for his time.

In this essay, Huntley focuses on a low point in Hall's career, during which he was at odds with other Anglican bishops and he was embroiled in a malicious public print war with John Milton and other writers. Huntley emphasizes Hall's moderation and consistency of character in the dispute, in contrast to the petty, ad hominem attacks of Milton.