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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... poem that did not quite succeed in making his name , sums up and predicts his fortune : " SLOW Rises Worth , By POVERTY DE- PREST . " 32 He did manage to make a decent living , in fact , as the years went on.33 Moreover , he showed ...
... poem on " the young author panting for a name , " whose first publication is hissed and damned until he flies to some retreat out of the light . This was a dismal fu- ture to expect . Yet in some ways the imaginary young author had ...
... as they have no ground in nature , are indeed of little value in any poem . ' For Johnson , the " hyperbolical joy and outrageous sorrow " of lovers " 143 are marks of second - rate poetry.44 Yet the image 25 The Letter to Chesterfield.
... poem but also a poem about beginning : the beginning of a flower , a season of life , a career . Hail ! lovely Flower , first honour of the Year , Hail ! beauteous earnest of approaching Spring ; Whose early buds unusual glories wear ...
... poem takes a sud- den turn . But while I sing , the nimble moments fly , See ! Sol's bright Chariot seeks the Western Main , And Ah ! behold the shriveling blossoms die , So late admir'd , and prais'd , alas ! in vain . With grief this ...
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 |