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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... 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 Islands of Scotland 234 10. Touching the Shore ...
... Rambler had written , " we must discover abilities , " and letters required particular deli- cacy : " the pebble must be polished with care , which hopes to be val- ued as a diamond . " 23 It is not enough for the faithless patron to ...
... Rambler , whose essays began to be published the following year , yet interested readers soon found him out through the publish- ing grapevine as well as his style . By the time that the series ended , in 1752 , some critics thought it ...
... Rambler deliberately measured its own achievement . " And one more point may be added : Addison's merit had been rewarded with the important office of Secretary of State . In that respect , at least , Johnson never succeeded in living ...
... Rambler , " I have familiarized the terms of philosophy by apply- ing them to popular ideas . " 20 Here , more than ever before in English , the vocabulary of science turns inward , to the analysis of states of mind . " Though only a ...
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 |