Samuel Johnson in Perspective
Poetry, Criticism and Cultural Relations
1st Edition
Will be published approx. on 30. September 2026
Book
Hardback
246 pages
978-1-041-04335-5 (ISBN)
Description
This expert resource offers original and fascinating insight into the life and work of Samuel Johnson (1709-1784). It examines the many ways in which Johnson may be enjoyed, and explores the reasons why his writings retain their appeal to the 'common reader'.
Samuel Johnson worked across a variety of genres-essays, poetry, fiction, criticism, biography, scholarly editing, lexicography, translation, sermons, and journalism. Featuring contributions from leading scholars, the volume offers expert insight into Johnson's literary genres and the issues arising from his criticism. Part One addresses the range of Johnson's poetry and its everyday consolations, and the background and affiliations of a selected range of poets examined by Johnson, their value today, and Johnson's value as a poetical critic. In Part Two, contributors consider Johnson's philosophical, theological and moral thought, aspects of travel writing and the life of the senses, definitions in the Dictionary, male and female friendship, biography and bibliography, domestic life, and cultural legacy.
Samuel Johnson in Perspective is an authoritative and ambitious collection, which will appeal to the extensive hinterland of general readers, students, scholars of Johnson and of eighteenth-century literature.
Samuel Johnson worked across a variety of genres-essays, poetry, fiction, criticism, biography, scholarly editing, lexicography, translation, sermons, and journalism. Featuring contributions from leading scholars, the volume offers expert insight into Johnson's literary genres and the issues arising from his criticism. Part One addresses the range of Johnson's poetry and its everyday consolations, and the background and affiliations of a selected range of poets examined by Johnson, their value today, and Johnson's value as a poetical critic. In Part Two, contributors consider Johnson's philosophical, theological and moral thought, aspects of travel writing and the life of the senses, definitions in the Dictionary, male and female friendship, biography and bibliography, domestic life, and cultural legacy.
Samuel Johnson in Perspective is an authoritative and ambitious collection, which will appeal to the extensive hinterland of general readers, students, scholars of Johnson and of eighteenth-century literature.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Academic, Postgraduate, and Undergraduate Advanced
Illustrations
4 s/w Abbildungen, 4 s/w Photographien bzw. Rasterbilder
4 Halftones, black and white; 4 Illustrations, black and white
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 156 mm
ISBN-13
978-1-041-04335-5 (9781041043355)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
approx. 09/2026
Routledge
€49.99
Not yet available
E-Book
approx. 09/2026
Routledge
€49.99
Not yet available
Person
Philip Smallwood is Emeritus Professor of English at Birmingham City University and Honorary Senior Research Fellow at the University of Bristol, UK. His latest prize-winning monograph, The Literary Criticism of Samuel Johnson, was published in 2023.
Content
List of Contributors
Preface and Acknowledgements; A Note on Major Editions Cited and Short Titles; Introduction: 'Johnson Studies' and the Common Reader - PHILIP SMALLWOOD; Part I: Poetry and the Criticism of Poetry; 1.'Perpetually a Poet': Johnson's Poetry in Verse and Prose - PHILIP SMALLWOOD; 2. 'Pointed axioms and acute replies': the Fascination of Johnson's Overlooked 'Lives' - ADAM ROUNCE; 3. Richard Hurd's Select Works of Cowley (1772) and Johnson's Art of Selection - MICHAEL EDSON; 4. Johnson's Dryden - DAVID HOPKINS; 5. 'Prior is never low, nor very often sublime': Matthew Prior, Johnson, and Hard Work versus Inspiration - CONRAD BRUNSTROEM; 6. 'Splendid Amplifications': Johnson's Life of Pope - IAN CALVERT; Part II: Cultural Relations; 7. Athwart the Enlightenment: Samuel Johnson's Philosophical and Intellectual Engagements - FRANS DE BRUYN; 8. 'Poor Bear': Lady Anne Lindsay Barnard's Dr. Johnson - GREG CLINGHAM; 9. 'I smell you in the dark': Johnson, Orange Peel and the Art of Biography - KATE CHISHOLM; 10. Johnson and the Definition of Silence - ANTHONY HOWE; 11. Boswell's Authority as Reader and Critic of Johnson's Works - PAUL TANKARD; 12. Johnson and the Victorians - PHIL JONES; 13. Old House, New Views: A Curator's Perspective - CELINE LUPPO MCDAID; Bibliography; Index
Preface and Acknowledgements; A Note on Major Editions Cited and Short Titles; Introduction: 'Johnson Studies' and the Common Reader - PHILIP SMALLWOOD; Part I: Poetry and the Criticism of Poetry; 1.'Perpetually a Poet': Johnson's Poetry in Verse and Prose - PHILIP SMALLWOOD; 2. 'Pointed axioms and acute replies': the Fascination of Johnson's Overlooked 'Lives' - ADAM ROUNCE; 3. Richard Hurd's Select Works of Cowley (1772) and Johnson's Art of Selection - MICHAEL EDSON; 4. Johnson's Dryden - DAVID HOPKINS; 5. 'Prior is never low, nor very often sublime': Matthew Prior, Johnson, and Hard Work versus Inspiration - CONRAD BRUNSTROEM; 6. 'Splendid Amplifications': Johnson's Life of Pope - IAN CALVERT; Part II: Cultural Relations; 7. Athwart the Enlightenment: Samuel Johnson's Philosophical and Intellectual Engagements - FRANS DE BRUYN; 8. 'Poor Bear': Lady Anne Lindsay Barnard's Dr. Johnson - GREG CLINGHAM; 9. 'I smell you in the dark': Johnson, Orange Peel and the Art of Biography - KATE CHISHOLM; 10. Johnson and the Definition of Silence - ANTHONY HOWE; 11. Boswell's Authority as Reader and Critic of Johnson's Works - PAUL TANKARD; 12. Johnson and the Victorians - PHIL JONES; 13. Old House, New Views: A Curator's Perspective - CELINE LUPPO MCDAID; Bibliography; Index