Samuel JohnsonHe 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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... person could profit , at starting out , by being advised that he or she should not expect to get anywhere ? Only a person who wanted to think like Johnson . The alliance of ambition and dejection marks Johnson's beginning . What ...
... person . He , such as he may be , is the soul of all . ' N THE LATE 1740s a new word begins to be prominent in John- son's writing . The word is " I. " Johnson had used it often before , of I course — especially in letters . But his ...
... person for spe- cial occasions . Even when deeply , personally involved , as in the Life of Savage , he passes as " the Author of this Narrative , " not " I. " A ser- vant of the public ought to know his place , and that place is the ...
Contents
the Western Islands of Scotland | 234 |
The Lives of the English Poets | 259 |
Johnsons Endings | 295 |
Copyright | |
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