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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... turn out to be not quite true . Our first impression and judgment must be suspended . The energy of John- son's ... turns the adages by which people live . A blessed state of doubt , if not a deeper wisdom , charges each commonplace with ...
... turn from clever , superior wit toward a compassionate moral- izing , a turn that involves the author himself in the frailties he sati- rizes , might have pointed out a new direction to Johnson . Eventually he took it , in The Vanity of ...
... turns viciously literal and destructive , recurs throughout the poem . Wolsey's “ restless Wishes tow'r " to new heights ... turn at the end of the poem , when pious petitions and prayers relieve the dissipation of wishes , takes care to ...
Contents
the Western Islands of Scotland | 234 |
The Lives of the English Poets | 259 |
Johnsons Endings | 295 |
Copyright | |
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