Publisher:
University of California Press, Berkeley
This is a major new selection of Samuel Johnson's best work, delightfully introduced by W. K. Wimsatt and scrupulously annotated by Frank Brady and Mr. Wimsatt.Samuel Johnson, the only writer in English since the Renaissance to give his name to a...
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This is a major new selection of Samuel Johnson's best work, delightfully introduced by W. K. Wimsatt and scrupulously annotated by Frank Brady and Mr. Wimsatt.Samuel Johnson, the only writer in English since the Renaissance to give his name to a literary period, was the center of English letters in his time. He was Dictionary Johnson, the lexicographer who had single-handedly settled the English language (it was hoped) on a firm basis; he was the author of a handful of fine poems, including two of the most remarkable satires of the century; he was a moralist whose Rambler and Idler essays, an
CONTENTS; PREFACE; INTRODUCTION: SAMUEL JOHNSON (1709-1784): A CALENDAR OF HIS CAREER; BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE; LETTERS; To Elizabeth Johnson, 31 January 1740; To Philip Dormer Stanhope, fourth Earl of Chesterfield, 7 February 1755; To Sarah Johnson, 13 January 1759; To Giuseppe Baretti, 21 December 1762; To James Boswell, 8 December 1763; To Hester Lynch Thrale, 6 September 1773; To James Macpherson, 20 January 1775; To Hester Lynch Thrale, 27 October 1777; To Hester Lynch Thrale, 19 June 1783; To Hester Lynch Thrale, 2 July 1784; To Hester Lynch Thrale, 8 July 1784; POEMS; London
Prologue to Garrick's LethePrologue Spoken at the Opening of the Theater in Drury Lane, 1747; The Vanity of Human Wishes; A New Prologue Spoken at the Representation of Comus; Prologue to The Good-Natured Man; A Short Song of Congratulation; On the Death of Dr. Robert Levett; THE HISTORY OF RASSELAS, PRINCE OF ABYSSINIA; SELECTIONS FROM THE RAMBLER; No. 4 The modern form of romances preferable to the ancient. The necessity of characters morally good; No. 8 The thoughts to be brought under regulation, as they respect the past, present, and future
No. 14 The difference between an author's writings and his conversationNo. 36 The reason why pastorals delight; No. 37 The true principles of pastoral poetry; No. 45 The causes of disagreement in marriage; No. 54 A deathbed the true school of wisdom. The effects of death upon the survivors; No. 60 The dignity and usefulness of biography; No. 74 Peevishness equally wretched and offensive. The character of Tetrica; No. 94 An inquiry how far Milton has accommodated the sound to the sense; No. 113 The history of Hymenaeus's courtship
No. 121 The dangers of imitation. The impropriety of imitating SpenserNo. 125 The difficulty of defining comedy. Tragic and comic sentiments confounded; No. 156 The laws of writing not always indisputable. A vindication of tragicomedy; No. 158 Rules of writing drawn from examples. Those examples often mistaken; No. 168 Poetry debased by mean expressions. An example from Shakespeare; No. 179 The awkward merriment of a student; No. 188 Favor often gained with little assistance from the understanding; No. 191 The busy life of a young lady
No. 196 Human opinion mutable. The hopes of youth fallaciousNo. 200 Asper's complaint of the insolence of Prospero. Unpoliteness not always the effect of pride; SELECTIONS FROM THE IDLER; No. 3 The Idler's reason for writing; No. 14 Robbery of time; No. [22] [The vultures.] [Essay of 9 September 1758 in the Universal Chronicle, suppressed in the collected edition of 1761]; No. 23 Uncertainty of friendship; No. 24 Thinking; No. 31 Disguises of idleness. Sober's character; No. 34 Punch and conversation; No. 36 The terrific diction; No. 51 Domestic greatness unattainable; No. 60 Minim the critic
