Neoclassical Age Part 2

Question 1

5 main things to remember about Dr. Samuel Johnson (1709-1784) ?

Answer 1

1) The Age
2) The Man
3) Lives of the Poets
4) On Milton
5) On Shakespeare

Question 2

The Age of Dr. Samuel Johnson ? (3)

Answer 2

1) the second half of the 18h century
was marked by a dual trend in
literary activity
2) focused on the Neoclassical strain
and the Romantic strain; the latter
carried forward from the spontaneity
of the Elizabethan age
3) no clear distinction between the two
in terms of practice; there was a
great deal of overlapping

Question 3

Dr. Samuel Johnson : The Man ? (8)

Answer 3

1) Dr. Johnson sought to defend classicism,
particularly against the rising Romantic
trend
2) was a fierce literary dictator
3) asserted a magisterial presence on 18th
century England
4) sought to bring order upon the age
5) wrote A Dictionary of the English
Language (not the first dictionary, but the
first comprehensive classification of the
English language)
6) Johnson said he published the Dictionary
for ‘the use of such as aspire to exactness of
criticism, or elegance of style’
7) wrote Lives of the Most Eminent English
Poets, or Lives of the Poets, which was a
collection of short biographies and
criticism of 52 poets (including Milton,
Dryden, Addison and Pope)
8) wrote a preface to The Plays of William
Shakespeare, which contained his
criticism of Shakespeare (who was not
included in Lives)

Question 4

Dr. Samuel Johnson : Lives of the Poets ? (13)

Answer 4

1) believed even trivial details of an
author’s life to be necessary for
appreciation/criticism of literature
2) aimed to introduce sincerity and
truthfulness in literature, as opposed to
artificial ornaments and trivial,
particular concerns
3) his criticism is coloured by his personal
beliefs and prejudices
4) Johnson was a conservative, a classicist,
and a monarchist
5)he had little patience with those who had
dissimilar beliefs
6)on the whole, Johnson is a strict neoclassicist,
but was able to rise above his preconceived
notions on what literature should be on
occasion, when presented with genius
7) it can be said that Johnson’s classicism was
liberal; he rose above the limitations of the
age because he was independent
8) defines poetry as ‘the art of writing pleasure
with truth, by calling imagination to the help
of reason; and ‘the essence of poetry is
invention; such invention as, by producing
something unexpected, surprises and delights’
9) with regard to the function of poetry,
Johnson says that ‘poetry must give pleasure,
but it must also have truth’
10) dulce et utile in a sense (with the utile
being an universal moral or religious
truth, and an emphasis on imagination
in the dulce)
11) poetry must address universal human
interest
12) critique against literature that was too
escapist, or did not deal with issues
pertinent to the human condition
13) general dislike of blank verse (since he
believed that the language of literature
should be true to everyday life), but
made exceptions where he felt blank
verse seemed natural

Question 5

Dr. Samuel Johnson : On Milton ? (6)

Answer 5

1) Life of Milton (in Lives of the Poets)
2) had no sympathy for, and was often
savagely rude towards Milton’s advocacy
of freedom of speech and press, and
personal religious liberty
3) especially critical of Milton’s lesser-known
poems
4) however, in his critique of Paradise Lost,
Johnson is seemingly freed from his
preconceptions
5) praises Milton’s breadth of vision, and emphasis
on morality
6) in here, as well, Johnson is not blind to Milton’s
faults (e.g.: lacking in human interest)

Question 6

Dr. Samuel Johnson : On Shakespeare ? (7)

Answer 6

1) preface to The Plays of William Shakespeare
(hereafter Preface)
2) balanced view of Shakespeare
3) praises Shakespeare’s virtues despite the fact that
some of those virtues went against classical dogma
4) these virtues include Shakespeare’s accurate
portrayal of general human nature
5) Shakespeare does not have heroes, only human
beings; the characters are universal types, but at
the same time, fiercely individual
6) defends the lack of unity (time & place) and the
mingling of tragedy and comedy in Shakespeare’s
works
7) was not blind to Shakespeare’s faults, e.g.: simple
plots, excessive punning, sometimes base humour,
frequent lapses into convenience that disrupts
pathos