Samuel JohnsonHarvard University Press, 1998 - 372 pages He was a servant to the public, a writer for hire. He was a hero, an author adding to the glory of his nation. But can a writer be both hack and hero? The career of Samuel Johnson, recounted here by Lawrence Lipking, proves that the two can be one. And it further proves, in its enduring interest for readers, that academic fashions today may be a bit hasty in pronouncing the "death of the author." |
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... follows , the reader eventually learns , will turn out to be not quite true . Our first impression and judgment must be suspended . The energy of John- son's analysis is fueled by his skepticism , the restless intelligence that finds ...
... follow any tradition , it is his . " 49 Though literary histories largely ignore it , John- son's resistance to fashion ... follows no false gods , that tries to tell the truth , and that al- ways keeps in mind the vanity of human wishes ...
... follows in Addison's steps , as a laborer follows a genius , culling some leftover critical scraps . 18. Lives 2 : 83 . 19. JM 1 : 283 . 20. Rambler 208 , Works 5 : 319 . 21. W. K. Wimsatt , Philosophic Words ( New Haven 315 Notes to ...
Contents
the Western Islands of Scotland | 234 |
The Lives of the English Poets | 259 |
Johnsons Endings | 295 |
Copyright | |
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