Samuel Johnson: The Life of an AuthorHarvard University Press, 2009 M07 1 - 384 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." |
From inside the book
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... English Language 103 6. The Living World : The Rambler 145 7. Reclaiming Imagination : Rasselas 173 8. The Theater of Mind : The Plays of William Shakespeare 198 9. Journeying Westward : Political Writings ; A Journey to the Western ...
... English language has fallen into a state of anar- chy that only a dictator can bring to order , " and I hereby declare that I make a total surrender of all my rights and privileges in the English language , as a free - born British ...
... English dictionary , who had received an ad- vance of £ 1,575 , who had rented a three - story house as a workplace and had filled it with six amanuenses and a collection of boarders , whose work consisted largely of arranging and ...
... English but England , or Great Britain , itself.52 Almost everyone wanted something from Johnson . The first great English dictionary ought to preserve a pure native language , free from foreign encroachments ; it ought to dictate ...
... English pride , or perhaps prejudice , " gives him " a sensible pleasure in reflecting upon the rapid progress which our language has lately made , and still continues to make , all over Europe . " The spheres of influence that other ...
Contents
11 | |
34 | |
48 | |
Preferments Gate The Vanity of Human Wishes | 86 |
Man of Letters A Dictionary of the English Language | 103 |
The Living World The Rambler | 145 |
Reclaiming Imagination Rasselas | 173 |
The Theater of Mind The Plays of William Shakespeare | 198 |
Journeying Westward Political Writings A Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland | 234 |
Touching the Shore The Lives of the English Poets | 259 |
The Life to Come Johnsons Endings | 295 |
Abbreviation | 307 |
Notes | 309 |
Index | 363 |