Dr Samuel Johnson age of johnson

AGE OF JOHNSON

Dr Samuel Johnson (1709-1784)

 He is the greatest prose writer of this age.

 He lived most of his life in poverty and sickness.

 He had a melancholic disposition.

 Dr Johnson published essays in ‘The Rambler’ and ’‘The Idler’

 In 1750 he started the periodical ‘The Rambler’.

 In 1756 he founded ‘The Idler’ which ran for 103 numbers.

 He also founded a periodical named ‘The Adventurer’.

 One of his greatest pupils was David Garrick.

 One of his earlier poems titled “London” was written in imitation of Juvenal.

 A Dictionary of the English Language was completed and published in 1755.

 The most important critical work of Dr Johnson is Preface to Shakespeare.

 In the evenings of a single week he composed the romance of Rasselas, an Abyssinian Prince.

 He wrote speeches for both Whigs and Tories.

 In 1764 Johnson organised the famous Literary Club which included well known figures of the day like his student David Garrick,

Goldsmith, Joshua Reynolds, Burke and others.

 They met regularly at Turk’s Head Tavern.

He wrote a tragedy titled Irene

His important works are

 The Vanity of Human Wishes.

 It is a poem written in imitation of Juvenal.

 The poem examines Wolsey Buckingham and Clarendon.

The poem also refers to Swift.

Rasselas.

The Lives of the Poets.

This is a series of Biographies published between 1779 and 1781.

He sketches the life of 52 poets.

The sketches begin with the Life of Cowley.