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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... never die . The image even has its own name , Dr. Johnson ( a title he sel- dom if ever used ) . Nor has the fascination faded . One good anthol- ogy of Johnson's prose and poetry begins by cautioning that 1 Introduction.
The Life of an Author Lawrence Lipking. ogy of Johnson's prose and poetry begins by cautioning that " no one should read even a selection from his writings who is not al- ready familiar with the man . Boswell should come first " —since ...
... 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.
The Life of an Author Lawrence Lipking. are marks of second - rate poetry.44 Yet the image of Love as " a Native of the Rocks " might be twisted into a far more sensible line of thought : love proves itself best in adversity , not in ...
... Poet and his Theme . The sentiment is of course conventional . Yet it is also rather shocking in its hasty refusal of promise . Young Johnson will not even pause for the usual carpe diem . Committing violence against nature , he does ...
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 |