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Lives of English Poets. Volume I
Of the Lives in this collection Johnson himself liked best his Life of Cowley for the thoroughness with which he had examined in it the style of what he called the metaphysical Poets.
461 pages, Hardcover
First published December 28, 1968
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240 people want to read
About the author
Samuel Johnson
4,773 books419 followersPeople note British writer and lexicographer Samuel Johnson, known as "Doctor Johnson," for his
Dictionary of the English Language
(1755), for
Lives of the Poets
(1781), and for his series of essays, published under the titles
The Rambler
(1752) and
The Idler
(1758).
Samuel Johnson used the first consistent Universal Etymological English Dictionary , first published in 1721, of British lexicographer Nathan Bailey as a reference.
Beginning as a journalist on Grub street, this English author made lasting contributions to English literature as a poet, essayist, moralist, novelist, literary critic, biographer, and editor. People described Johnson as "arguably the most distinguished man of letters in English history." James Boswell subjected him to Life of Samuel Johnson , one of the most celebrated biographies in English. This biography alongside other biographies, documented behavior and mannerisms of Johnson in such detail that they informed the posthumous diagnosis of Tourette syndrome (TS), a condition unknown to 18th-century physicians. He presented a tall and robust figure, but his odd gestures and tics confused some persons on their first encounters.
Johnson attended Pembroke college, Oxford for a year before his lack of funds compelled him to leave. After working as a teacher, he moved to London, where he began to write essays for The Gentleman's Magazine. His early works include the biography The Life of Richard Savage and the poem " The Vanity of Human Wishes ." Christian morality permeated works of Johnson, a devout and compassionate man. He, a conservative Anglican, nevertheless respected persons of other denominations that demonstrated a commitment to teachings of Christ.
After nine years of work, people in 1755 published his preeminent Dictionary of the English Language, bringing him popularity and success until the completion of the Oxford English Dictionary in 1905, a century and a half later. In the following years, he published essays, an influential annotated edition of plays of William Shakespeare, and the well-read novel Rasselas . In 1763, he befriended James Boswell, with whom he later travelled to Scotland; A Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland , travel narrative of Johnson, described the journey. Towards the end of his life, he produced the massive and influential Lives of the Most Eminent English Poets , which includes biographies and evaluations of 17th- and 18th-century poets.
After a series of illnesses, Johnson died on the evening; people buried his body in Westminster abbey. In the years following death, people began to recognize a lasting effect of Samuel Johnson on literary criticism even as the only great critic of English literature.
Samuel Johnson used the first consistent Universal Etymological English Dictionary , first published in 1721, of British lexicographer Nathan Bailey as a reference.
Beginning as a journalist on Grub street, this English author made lasting contributions to English literature as a poet, essayist, moralist, novelist, literary critic, biographer, and editor. People described Johnson as "arguably the most distinguished man of letters in English history." James Boswell subjected him to Life of Samuel Johnson , one of the most celebrated biographies in English. This biography alongside other biographies, documented behavior and mannerisms of Johnson in such detail that they informed the posthumous diagnosis of Tourette syndrome (TS), a condition unknown to 18th-century physicians. He presented a tall and robust figure, but his odd gestures and tics confused some persons on their first encounters.
Johnson attended Pembroke college, Oxford for a year before his lack of funds compelled him to leave. After working as a teacher, he moved to London, where he began to write essays for The Gentleman's Magazine. His early works include the biography The Life of Richard Savage and the poem " The Vanity of Human Wishes ." Christian morality permeated works of Johnson, a devout and compassionate man. He, a conservative Anglican, nevertheless respected persons of other denominations that demonstrated a commitment to teachings of Christ.
After nine years of work, people in 1755 published his preeminent Dictionary of the English Language, bringing him popularity and success until the completion of the Oxford English Dictionary in 1905, a century and a half later. In the following years, he published essays, an influential annotated edition of plays of William Shakespeare, and the well-read novel Rasselas . In 1763, he befriended James Boswell, with whom he later travelled to Scotland; A Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland , travel narrative of Johnson, described the journey. Towards the end of his life, he produced the massive and influential Lives of the Most Eminent English Poets , which includes biographies and evaluations of 17th- and 18th-century poets.
After a series of illnesses, Johnson died on the evening; people buried his body in Westminster abbey. In the years following death, people began to recognize a lasting effect of Samuel Johnson on literary criticism even as the only great critic of English literature.
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January 1, 2016
9/15/14: Well, I seem to have begun a Project, for better or worse. I recently reread 84, Charing Cross Road, and was struck by Helen Hanff's love for not only the contents of the books she received from Marks & Co., but for the volumes themselves as beautiful objects. So I went to my shelves and pulled off one of the coolest old books I have, Volume One of the 1811 American (Durell) edition of Johnson's Lives of the Poets, and started reading.
I've never read Lives of the Poets all the way through, but I plan to, an essay or two at a time. To prevent undo wear and tear on my fragile, three-volume 1811 edition, I'm going to read those sections that I have elsewhere in those other volumes. And I'll read some poems by the poets Johnson discuss whenever possible. So far I've read two of Johnson's chapters, his long essay on Abraham Cowley and his short one on Sir John Denham.
COWLEY: Johnson spends many pages criticizing the metaphysical poets, of whom considers he Cowley the last representative. I was somewhat amused that much of the poetry he criticizes negatively, like that of John Donne, has survived with a much greater reputation than that of Johnson's own poetry. I had never consciously read any of Cowley's poems, but I found eight of them on my shelves, spread among three anthologies. I read them mostly with pleasure. Since I enjoy raising a glass myself, I was taken with "Cheer Up, My Mates," which is subtitled "Sitting and drinking in the chair made out of the relics of Sir Francis Drake's ship." But my favorite passage is the ending of "The Epicure."
And the aspect of "A Supplication" that I enjoyed most is a characteristic of Cowley's verse decried by Johnson - Cowley varies the meter from line to line. To me, this gives a somewhat modern feel to a poem written in the 17th century.
DENHAM: According to Johnson, "Denham is deservedly considered as one of the fathers of English poetry," but I had never heard of him before reading this short essay. Johnson is fairly liberal in his praise of Denham, and includes passages from several of his poems. I had nothing by him on shelves, so I downloaded a collection of his poems into my Kindle. The few I've read so far are mostly topical, on events of his time, and weren't very interesting to me. When I have time, I'll have to read his long "Cooper's Hill," which was highly regarded at the time.
9/17/14 - MILTON: Johnson is not impressed with Milton's character, politics, or most of his poetry. Paradise Lost is another story, though - more on that later.
Milton's "political notions were those of an acrimonious and surly republican," and he supported Oliver Cromwell in the civil war which resulted in the execution of Charles I. He was given the post of Latin Secretary in Cromwell's government. When the monarchy was restored, Milton's fortunes declined, and he narrowly avoided prosecution. The subjects of Johnson's first two essays, Crowley and Denham, were royalists, and fared much better after the restoration.
Milton was very religious, but apparently not a churchgoer, which brought on Johnson's disapproval. I was more distressed by the fact that he wrote a tract called A Treatise of True Religion, Heresy, Schism, Toleration, and the Best Means to Prevent the Growth of Popery, in which he argued that Catholics are "not to be permitted the liberty of either public or private worship."
Johnson has little good to say about Milton's work up to Paradise Lost, including "Lycidas," which is pretty well regarded today. But he is unstinting in his praise of the epic poem which is Milton's main legacy, calling Paradise Lost "a poem which, considered with respect to design, may claim the first place, and with respect to performance the second, among the productions of the human mind." (Johnson apparently had The Iliad in mind as the apex of poetry.)
I read Paradise Lost several years ago, and (somewhat to my surprise) enjoyed the experience. But once was enough, and the same can be said for most of Milton's longer poems. But this time around, I did read several of his sonnets, which Johnson found wanting. I thought they were pretty good, but what do I know?
9/18/14 - BUTLER: Johnson wasn't able to uncover much biographical information about Samuel Butler, and only discusses one of his poems, the long, satirical Hudibras. This was apparently quite a popular poem at the time, but its reputation has apparently faded; it's not in any of the poetry anthologies covering the 17th century that I have. This Samuel Butler is not to be confused with the 19th-century novelist, of course.
ROCHESTER: John Wilmot, Earl of Rochester, was apparently quite the party animal, in addition to being a talented poet; Johnson says that "he excelled in that noisy and licentious merriment which wine incites." Dr. Johnson seems to take grim satisfaction in the fact that he only lived to age 33.
I read some of his poems, and enjoyed the long "Satire Against Mankind," in which Rochester makes it clear that he doesn't think much of mankind's reasoning abilities, and the shorter "Love and Life," which seems to be designed to persuade his mistress not to be upset by the poet's infidelities. And here is "Epitaph on Charles II" in its entirety:
9/19/14 - ROSCOMMON: Wentworth Dillon, Earl of Roscommon, seems to be little known these days, and I haven't been able to find any of his poetry. The last paragraph of Johnson's short essay is classic Johnson; the balanced phrases are beautiful to read, and illustrate one aspect of why I like Johnson so much.
OTWAY: Thomas Otway, better known as a playwright than a poet, was another rake who aroused Johnson's disapproval: "Of Thomas Otway, one of the first names in the English drama, little is known; nor is there any part of that little which his biographer can take pleasure in relating." I have one poem by Otway in my library, "The Enchantment." I'll go out on a limb as a critic and say the it doesn't scan well and doesn't much impress me. Otway apparently died at 33 after choking on a piece of bread.
WALLER: Edmund Waller was a much a politician as a poet; he served in Parliament and was involved in a plot against Cromwell. When the plot was discovered, he apparently avoided execution by informing on his fellow plotters. He was exiled to France, but later pardoned by Cromwell. Johnson admires his wit, but not his character. It especially offends Johnson that the fence-straddling Waller wrote poems in praise of Charles I, Cromwell, and Charles II.
As a young widower, Waller courted Lady Dorothea Sidney with verse, but she rejected him and married someone else. Later in life, widowed herself, she met Waller and asked when he would again write such verses for her. He replied, "When you are as young, madam, and as handsome as you were then."
I read somewhere that The Lives of the Poets reads like a novel. That's an exaggeration (or wishful thinking), but parts of Johnson's essay on Waller came close to that description.
POMFRET, DORSET, STEPNEY: Very short essays on three mostly-forgotten poets. (The entry on Pomfret is less than a page and a half long.) The Earl of Dorset was another wild one; Johnson relates an incident in which Dorset and an equally drunken group of friends exposed themselves on a balcony until there were driven inside by a rock-throwing crowd.
9/20/14 - I found that I had overlooked two poems by Dorset in my library, the short "Dorinda" and the longer "Song (Written at Sea, in the First Dutch War)." They both seemed pretty lightweight, even silly, to me. (By the way, my main sources for poems by the writers Johnson discusses are 1910 Harvard Library English Poetry volumes, the 1939 edition of the Oxford Book of English Verse, and 1983 Norton Anthology of Poetry).
PHILIPS: Johnson holds John Philips in high esteem, as a writer and a person; this is a fairly long essay, although Johnson reproduces a large part of essay by Edmund Smith, which takes up a good bit of the entry. Philips' reputation doesn't seem to have survived, and I don't have any of his poetry on my shelves.
WALSH: Another very short entry. William Walsh was "known more by his familiarity with greater men, than by any thing done or written by himself." My Oxford Book of English Verse includes his "Rivals," which I enjoyed: "I can endure my own despair, but not another's hope."
10/22/14 - DRYDEN: Johnson's essay on John Dryden is the second longest in the Lives; only Pope gets a longer entry. And frankly, this essay really tried my patience. I abandoned it for a couple of weeks before completing my reading. Johnson has much praise (and a few reservations), but spends much of his essay on accounts of nasty disputes Dryden had with other writers. I found all of this unpleasant and uninteresting to read.
But more positively, Johnson gives Dryden credit for modernizing English verse - a statement which must be considered in the context of its time, of course. I read some of Dryden's poems, and found many of them tough going, due to their length and the 17th-century language. But I enjoyed "To the Memory of Mr. Oldham," an elegy for a fellow poet who died too young. And how could I not like "A Song for St. Cecilia's Day," about the power of music?
That's the end of the first book of my three-volume edition of the Lives. After a break, I'll continue with volume two.
11/10/14 - SWIFT: On to book two. I knew from Boswell's Life of Johnson and other reading that Johnson was not an admirer of Jonathan Swift, so I was surprised that this essay was so fair-minded. I hadn't realized that Swift had such an active life in politics, but Johnson presupposes a knowledge of the 17th- and 18th-century political history of England and Ireland that I don't have, so a lot of what he writes about doesn't mean much to me. Of the Dean's poetry, Johnson says:
11/11/14 - BROOME: The now-forgotten William Broome was a friend of Alexander Pope, until money issues drove them apart. After that, Pope numbered him among "the parrots who repeat another's words in such a hoarse odd tone as makes them seem their own." Johnson praised Broome's work as a translator, but also thought that his poetry borrowed heavily from other writers.
11/19/14 - POPE: Johnson's longest entry. Alexander Pope's literary biography is the story of endless feuds conducted with the pen. Another writer criticizes Pope's work; Pope writes a poem ridiculing that writer; an ally of the first writer condemns Pope in a pamphlet, etc. ad nauseam. I found this all tiresome and depressing. But this essay also contained many passages that show Johnson's insight, like these:
11/20/14 - PITT: Christopher Pitt was once well-regarded for his translations from the Latin, but is mostly forgotten these days. Johnson seems to admire him, and quotes his epitaph:
THOMSON: For a change, I read some of James Thomson's poems before reading Johnson's essay. I rather enjoyed "On the Death of a Particular Friend" and "To Fortune;" I didn't much admire the chauvinism of "Rule Britannia." Johnson portrays Thomson as talented, but indolent and hedonistic. The best line is not Johnson's: in an age when theatrical productions had to be licensed, one of Thomson's plays was prohibited. When asked why, a spokesman for the government explained, using titles of Thomson's poems: "He had taken a liberty which was not agreeable to Britannia in any season." Of the first poem alluded to, Johnson says, "'Liberty,' when it first appeared, I tried to read, and soon desisted. I have never tried again and therefore will not hazard either praise or censure."
12/1/14 - WATTS: I get the impression that Johnson included Isaac Watts because he admired him so much as a man and a theologian, not because he considered him a great poet. Proportionally, there is more about Watts' life and less about his poetry than in any of Johnson's essays so far. Watts is known these days as the writer of many hymns which are still used in Protestant churches; I sang some of them in my youth. The one more ambitious poem by Watts I read, "The Day of Judgement," ("An Ode Attempted in English Sapphic"), seemed pretty stilted to me.
But Watts is worth a digression. Southern African-American congregations still sing what they call "Dr. Watts hymns" at times. Most, but not all of these, were indeed written by Watts, but they are usually sung in a style the good doctor would never recognize. One of the most enduring is "I Love the Lord," which starts, "I love the Lord; he heard my cry, and pitied every groan." This is usually sung as a "lining hymn;" the preacher sings a line, which is repeated by the congregation. But over the years, a particular performance style has developed for the song. The preacher's "call" is intense, but the congregation's response is absolutely hair-raising: slow, drawn-out, strange, and haunting. The definitive recording of "I Love the Lord" is by Rev. R.C. Crenshaw and his Memphis congregation, preserved by folklorist Alan Lomax in 1959, but the song is still performed in a similar style throughout the South. I love Dr. Watts, if for no other reason than that he inspired this amazing performance.
12/2/14 - A. PHILIPS: The essay on Ambrose Philips is short, but wide-ranging. Several pages are given over to a history of pastoral poetry, and Johnson describes Philips' feud with Pope - Philips hung a rod in Button's coffeehouse for the expressed purpose of beating Pope with it. In the end, Johnson find Philips wanting:
12/5/14 - WEST: Gilbert West seems to have been the first of these poets with whom Johnson was friends; that lends a touching quality to Johnson's short essay. Dr. Johnson admired West's religious piety as much (or more) than his poetry. Near the end there is a passage which illustrates Johnson's critical abilities:
12/6/14 - COLLINS: William Collins, "with whom I once delighted to converse, and whom I yet remember with tenderness," had a difficult life, oppressed with poverty when he was a young man, and afflicted with mental deterioration when he was older. Despite his obvious love for Collins, Johnson is hard on his friend's poetry: "As men are often esteemed who cannot be loved, so the poetry of Collins may sometimes extort praise when it gives little pleasure."
I got little pleasure out of the several Collins poems I read - but that's a purely subjective judgement. They were full of classical and mythological allusions, and seemed old-fashioned even for their time. I did amuse myself with my reaction to Collins' "recording Sister" in his "An Ode to Music;" I thought of Lillian McMurry, the founder of Trumpet Records, the great Mississippi blues label.
12/8/14 - DYER: Johnson wasn't able to find out much about John Dyer, and wrote this short essay based mostly on information gleaned from Dyer's letters. The only one of Dyer's poems which Johnson has much praise for is "Grongar Hill," which, probably not coincidentally, is the only Dyer poem on my shelves. I, too, enjoyed reading this meditation on nature and the brevity of life.
Since I've used all the space Goodreads will allow, this "review" will continue in the comments section.
I've never read Lives of the Poets all the way through, but I plan to, an essay or two at a time. To prevent undo wear and tear on my fragile, three-volume 1811 edition, I'm going to read those sections that I have elsewhere in those other volumes. And I'll read some poems by the poets Johnson discuss whenever possible. So far I've read two of Johnson's chapters, his long essay on Abraham Cowley and his short one on Sir John Denham.
COWLEY: Johnson spends many pages criticizing the metaphysical poets, of whom considers he Cowley the last representative. I was somewhat amused that much of the poetry he criticizes negatively, like that of John Donne, has survived with a much greater reputation than that of Johnson's own poetry. I had never consciously read any of Cowley's poems, but I found eight of them on my shelves, spread among three anthologies. I read them mostly with pleasure. Since I enjoy raising a glass myself, I was taken with "Cheer Up, My Mates," which is subtitled "Sitting and drinking in the chair made out of the relics of Sir Francis Drake's ship." But my favorite passage is the ending of "The Epicure."
Crown me with roses while I live,This put me in mind of an old blues line: "Bring me flowers while I'm living; bring me flowers while I can smell."
Now your wines and ointments give:
After death I nothing crave,
Let me alive my pleasures have:
All are Stoics in the grave.
And the aspect of "A Supplication" that I enjoyed most is a characteristic of Cowley's verse decried by Johnson - Cowley varies the meter from line to line. To me, this gives a somewhat modern feel to a poem written in the 17th century.
DENHAM: According to Johnson, "Denham is deservedly considered as one of the fathers of English poetry," but I had never heard of him before reading this short essay. Johnson is fairly liberal in his praise of Denham, and includes passages from several of his poems. I had nothing by him on shelves, so I downloaded a collection of his poems into my Kindle. The few I've read so far are mostly topical, on events of his time, and weren't very interesting to me. When I have time, I'll have to read his long "Cooper's Hill," which was highly regarded at the time.
9/17/14 - MILTON: Johnson is not impressed with Milton's character, politics, or most of his poetry. Paradise Lost is another story, though - more on that later.
Milton's "political notions were those of an acrimonious and surly republican," and he supported Oliver Cromwell in the civil war which resulted in the execution of Charles I. He was given the post of Latin Secretary in Cromwell's government. When the monarchy was restored, Milton's fortunes declined, and he narrowly avoided prosecution. The subjects of Johnson's first two essays, Crowley and Denham, were royalists, and fared much better after the restoration.
Milton was very religious, but apparently not a churchgoer, which brought on Johnson's disapproval. I was more distressed by the fact that he wrote a tract called A Treatise of True Religion, Heresy, Schism, Toleration, and the Best Means to Prevent the Growth of Popery, in which he argued that Catholics are "not to be permitted the liberty of either public or private worship."
Johnson has little good to say about Milton's work up to Paradise Lost, including "Lycidas," which is pretty well regarded today. But he is unstinting in his praise of the epic poem which is Milton's main legacy, calling Paradise Lost "a poem which, considered with respect to design, may claim the first place, and with respect to performance the second, among the productions of the human mind." (Johnson apparently had The Iliad in mind as the apex of poetry.)
I read Paradise Lost several years ago, and (somewhat to my surprise) enjoyed the experience. But once was enough, and the same can be said for most of Milton's longer poems. But this time around, I did read several of his sonnets, which Johnson found wanting. I thought they were pretty good, but what do I know?
9/18/14 - BUTLER: Johnson wasn't able to uncover much biographical information about Samuel Butler, and only discusses one of his poems, the long, satirical Hudibras. This was apparently quite a popular poem at the time, but its reputation has apparently faded; it's not in any of the poetry anthologies covering the 17th century that I have. This Samuel Butler is not to be confused with the 19th-century novelist, of course.
ROCHESTER: John Wilmot, Earl of Rochester, was apparently quite the party animal, in addition to being a talented poet; Johnson says that "he excelled in that noisy and licentious merriment which wine incites." Dr. Johnson seems to take grim satisfaction in the fact that he only lived to age 33.
I read some of his poems, and enjoyed the long "Satire Against Mankind," in which Rochester makes it clear that he doesn't think much of mankind's reasoning abilities, and the shorter "Love and Life," which seems to be designed to persuade his mistress not to be upset by the poet's infidelities. And here is "Epitaph on Charles II" in its entirety:
Here lies our Sovereign Lord the King,
Whose word no man relies on,
Who never said a foolish thing,
Nor ever did a wise one.
9/19/14 - ROSCOMMON: Wentworth Dillon, Earl of Roscommon, seems to be little known these days, and I haven't been able to find any of his poetry. The last paragraph of Johnson's short essay is classic Johnson; the balanced phrases are beautiful to read, and illustrate one aspect of why I like Johnson so much.
Of Roscommon's works, the judgement of the publick seems to be right. He is elegant, but not great; he never labours after exquisite beauties, and he seldom falls into gross faults. His versification is smooth, but rarely vigorous, and his rhymes are remarkably exact. He improved taste, if he did not enlarge knowledge, and he may be numbered among the benefactors to English literature.
OTWAY: Thomas Otway, better known as a playwright than a poet, was another rake who aroused Johnson's disapproval: "Of Thomas Otway, one of the first names in the English drama, little is known; nor is there any part of that little which his biographer can take pleasure in relating." I have one poem by Otway in my library, "The Enchantment." I'll go out on a limb as a critic and say the it doesn't scan well and doesn't much impress me. Otway apparently died at 33 after choking on a piece of bread.
WALLER: Edmund Waller was a much a politician as a poet; he served in Parliament and was involved in a plot against Cromwell. When the plot was discovered, he apparently avoided execution by informing on his fellow plotters. He was exiled to France, but later pardoned by Cromwell. Johnson admires his wit, but not his character. It especially offends Johnson that the fence-straddling Waller wrote poems in praise of Charles I, Cromwell, and Charles II.
As a young widower, Waller courted Lady Dorothea Sidney with verse, but she rejected him and married someone else. Later in life, widowed herself, she met Waller and asked when he would again write such verses for her. He replied, "When you are as young, madam, and as handsome as you were then."
I read somewhere that The Lives of the Poets reads like a novel. That's an exaggeration (or wishful thinking), but parts of Johnson's essay on Waller came close to that description.
POMFRET, DORSET, STEPNEY: Very short essays on three mostly-forgotten poets. (The entry on Pomfret is less than a page and a half long.) The Earl of Dorset was another wild one; Johnson relates an incident in which Dorset and an equally drunken group of friends exposed themselves on a balcony until there were driven inside by a rock-throwing crowd.
9/20/14 - I found that I had overlooked two poems by Dorset in my library, the short "Dorinda" and the longer "Song (Written at Sea, in the First Dutch War)." They both seemed pretty lightweight, even silly, to me. (By the way, my main sources for poems by the writers Johnson discusses are 1910 Harvard Library English Poetry volumes, the 1939 edition of the Oxford Book of English Verse, and 1983 Norton Anthology of Poetry).
PHILIPS: Johnson holds John Philips in high esteem, as a writer and a person; this is a fairly long essay, although Johnson reproduces a large part of essay by Edmund Smith, which takes up a good bit of the entry. Philips' reputation doesn't seem to have survived, and I don't have any of his poetry on my shelves.
WALSH: Another very short entry. William Walsh was "known more by his familiarity with greater men, than by any thing done or written by himself." My Oxford Book of English Verse includes his "Rivals," which I enjoyed: "I can endure my own despair, but not another's hope."
10/22/14 - DRYDEN: Johnson's essay on John Dryden is the second longest in the Lives; only Pope gets a longer entry. And frankly, this essay really tried my patience. I abandoned it for a couple of weeks before completing my reading. Johnson has much praise (and a few reservations), but spends much of his essay on accounts of nasty disputes Dryden had with other writers. I found all of this unpleasant and uninteresting to read.
But more positively, Johnson gives Dryden credit for modernizing English verse - a statement which must be considered in the context of its time, of course. I read some of Dryden's poems, and found many of them tough going, due to their length and the 17th-century language. But I enjoyed "To the Memory of Mr. Oldham," an elegy for a fellow poet who died too young. And how could I not like "A Song for St. Cecilia's Day," about the power of music?
That's the end of the first book of my three-volume edition of the Lives. After a break, I'll continue with volume two.
11/10/14 - SWIFT: On to book two. I knew from Boswell's Life of Johnson and other reading that Johnson was not an admirer of Jonathan Swift, so I was surprised that this essay was so fair-minded. I hadn't realized that Swift had such an active life in politics, but Johnson presupposes a knowledge of the 17th- and 18th-century political history of England and Ireland that I don't have, so a lot of what he writes about doesn't mean much to me. Of the Dean's poetry, Johnson says:
In the poetical works of Dr. Swift there is not much upon which the critic can exercise his powers. They are often humourous, almost always light, and have the qualities which recommend such compositions, easiness and gaiety. They are, for the most part, what the author intended. The diction is correct, the numbers are smooth, and the rhymes exact. There seldom occurs a hard-laboured expression or a redundant epithet; all his verses exemplify his own definition of a good style, they consist of "proper words in proper places."I read the half-dozen Swift poems I had at hand, and would say that Dr. Johnson hit the nail on the head. Not that I didn't enjoy the poems; I did. But this was "easy," obvious poetry, for the most part. Nothing wrong with that; I like "easy" poetry. I enjoyed Johnson's essay, and I enjoyed Swift's poetry.
11/11/14 - BROOME: The now-forgotten William Broome was a friend of Alexander Pope, until money issues drove them apart. After that, Pope numbered him among "the parrots who repeat another's words in such a hoarse odd tone as makes them seem their own." Johnson praised Broome's work as a translator, but also thought that his poetry borrowed heavily from other writers.
11/19/14 - POPE: Johnson's longest entry. Alexander Pope's literary biography is the story of endless feuds conducted with the pen. Another writer criticizes Pope's work; Pope writes a poem ridiculing that writer; an ally of the first writer condemns Pope in a pamphlet, etc. ad nauseam. I found this all tiresome and depressing. But this essay also contained many passages that show Johnson's insight, like these:
Almost every man's thoughts, while they are general, are right; and most hearts are pure while tempation is away. It is easy to awaken generous sentiments in privacy; to despise death when there is no danger; to glow with benevolence when there is nothing to be give.
If the flights of Dryden therefore are higher, Pope continues longer on the wing. If of Dryden's fire the blaze is brighter, of Pope's the heat is more regular and constant. Dryden is read with frequent astonishment, and Pope with perpetual delight.And I loved this passage from Pope's "Elegy to the Memory of an Unfortunate Lady:"
Thus unlamented pass the proud away,
The gaze of fools, and pageant of a day!
So perish all whose breast ne'er learn'd to glow
For others' good, or melt at others' woe!
11/20/14 - PITT: Christopher Pitt was once well-regarded for his translations from the Latin, but is mostly forgotten these days. Johnson seems to admire him, and quotes his epitaph:
In Memory of
CHR. PITT, clerk, M.A.
Very eminent
for his talents in poetry;
and yet more
for the universal candour of
his mind, and the primitive
simplicity of his manners
He lived innocent;
and died beloved.
Apr. 13, 1748.
Aged 48.
THOMSON: For a change, I read some of James Thomson's poems before reading Johnson's essay. I rather enjoyed "On the Death of a Particular Friend" and "To Fortune;" I didn't much admire the chauvinism of "Rule Britannia." Johnson portrays Thomson as talented, but indolent and hedonistic. The best line is not Johnson's: in an age when theatrical productions had to be licensed, one of Thomson's plays was prohibited. When asked why, a spokesman for the government explained, using titles of Thomson's poems: "He had taken a liberty which was not agreeable to Britannia in any season." Of the first poem alluded to, Johnson says, "'Liberty,' when it first appeared, I tried to read, and soon desisted. I have never tried again and therefore will not hazard either praise or censure."
12/1/14 - WATTS: I get the impression that Johnson included Isaac Watts because he admired him so much as a man and a theologian, not because he considered him a great poet. Proportionally, there is more about Watts' life and less about his poetry than in any of Johnson's essays so far. Watts is known these days as the writer of many hymns which are still used in Protestant churches; I sang some of them in my youth. The one more ambitious poem by Watts I read, "The Day of Judgement," ("An Ode Attempted in English Sapphic"), seemed pretty stilted to me.
But Watts is worth a digression. Southern African-American congregations still sing what they call "Dr. Watts hymns" at times. Most, but not all of these, were indeed written by Watts, but they are usually sung in a style the good doctor would never recognize. One of the most enduring is "I Love the Lord," which starts, "I love the Lord; he heard my cry, and pitied every groan." This is usually sung as a "lining hymn;" the preacher sings a line, which is repeated by the congregation. But over the years, a particular performance style has developed for the song. The preacher's "call" is intense, but the congregation's response is absolutely hair-raising: slow, drawn-out, strange, and haunting. The definitive recording of "I Love the Lord" is by Rev. R.C. Crenshaw and his Memphis congregation, preserved by folklorist Alan Lomax in 1959, but the song is still performed in a similar style throughout the South. I love Dr. Watts, if for no other reason than that he inspired this amazing performance.
12/2/14 - A. PHILIPS: The essay on Ambrose Philips is short, but wide-ranging. Several pages are given over to a history of pastoral poetry, and Johnson describes Philips' feud with Pope - Philips hung a rod in Button's coffeehouse for the expressed purpose of beating Pope with it. In the end, Johnson find Philips wanting:
Men sometimes suffer by injudicious kindness; Philips became ridiculous, without his own fault, by the absurd admiration of his friends, who decorated him with honorary garlands, which the first breath of contradiction blasted.Much to my surprise, I have one poem by Philips on my shelves, "To Charlotte Pulteney." It's an ode to an infant ("Pleasing, without skill to please;"); I was predisposed to dislike it, but its simple charm won me over.
He has added nothing to English poetry....
12/5/14 - WEST: Gilbert West seems to have been the first of these poets with whom Johnson was friends; that lends a touching quality to Johnson's short essay. Dr. Johnson admired West's religious piety as much (or more) than his poetry. Near the end there is a passage which illustrates Johnson's critical abilities:
Works of this kind may deserve praise, as proof of great industry, and great nicety of observation; but the highest praise, the praise of genius, they cannot claim. The noblest beauties of art are those which the effect is co-extended with rational nature, or at least with the whole circle of polished life; what is less than this can only be pretty, the plaything of fashion, and the amusement of a day.
12/6/14 - COLLINS: William Collins, "with whom I once delighted to converse, and whom I yet remember with tenderness," had a difficult life, oppressed with poverty when he was a young man, and afflicted with mental deterioration when he was older. Despite his obvious love for Collins, Johnson is hard on his friend's poetry: "As men are often esteemed who cannot be loved, so the poetry of Collins may sometimes extort praise when it gives little pleasure."
I got little pleasure out of the several Collins poems I read - but that's a purely subjective judgement. They were full of classical and mythological allusions, and seemed old-fashioned even for their time. I did amuse myself with my reaction to Collins' "recording Sister" in his "An Ode to Music;" I thought of Lillian McMurry, the founder of Trumpet Records, the great Mississippi blues label.
12/8/14 - DYER: Johnson wasn't able to find out much about John Dyer, and wrote this short essay based mostly on information gleaned from Dyer's letters. The only one of Dyer's poems which Johnson has much praise for is "Grongar Hill," which, probably not coincidentally, is the only Dyer poem on my shelves. I, too, enjoyed reading this meditation on nature and the brevity of life.
Since I've used all the space Goodreads will allow, this "review" will continue in the comments section.
November 3, 2018
My edition features an introduction by Arthur Waugh (I assume Evelyn Waugh's publisher-father?) who makes the historically interesting observation that Johnson's Lives will continue to be read for pleasure so long as the author's name is known, whereas works such as Rasselas are now 'read by few except the conscientious student.' Something of a reversal seems to have occurred over the 20th century - attributable perhaps to length, or the growing superannuation of Johnson's critical-eye. Or perhaps it is only conscientious students who still read Johnson.
The length of these various lives differ widely; many are 5 pages or less, which I found to be of scant interest - biographical house-keeping and perhaps a bibliography. The longer profiles, given to poets of greater importance (Milton and Dryden fill the most pages), are divided in half, between biography and appraisal of the work. The literary criticism is much the most interesting.
Johnson's approach is very workmanlike and full of humour. The opening section on Cowley includes also a treatise on the Metaphysical poets. Johnson has this to say: 'their thoughts are often new, but seldom natural; they are not obvious, but neither are they just; and the reader, far from wondering that he missed them, wonders more frequently by what perverseness of industry they were ever found.' Poets also are also chastised for debasing lofty subject matter with coarse similes, and one should know better than to mix too freely the Christian and the Greek deities. In these and other opinions Johnson represents the prejudices of his day. But it is interesting to note the development of literary taste. For example: 'Words too familiar, or too remote, defeat the purpose of a poet. From those sounds which we hear on small or on coarse occasions, we do not easily receive strong impressions, or delightful images; and words to which we are nearly strangers, whenever they occur, draw that attention on themselves which they should transmit to things.' How much do tastes today concur? Probably many would agree with his second edict - wilfully recondite language draws attention to itself, although we might allow poetry more leeway here than prose. Familiar language, on the other hand, seems to have been in vogue for quite some time, especially in quotidian American poetry. (And what would he have made of Philip Larkin?)
Sometimes he is unequivocally on the 'right side' of history. He defends, for instance, the works of English tragedians against claims of vulgarity for allowing the wicked to prosper and the good suffer. Though even in such a safe opinion as that one might look to present-day Hollywood for counter-example.
All this is a reminder of how unfixed taste is, and why literary and artistic discussion can be so much fun, as well as an interesting conduit for examining history. Versions of these arguments take place every day in pubs, homes, internet forums. Johnson's prose burnishes its subject-matter, so that even the under-reported lives of minor poets achieve an elegiac quality of their own: 'In this mist of obscurity passed the life of Butler, a man whose name can only perish with his language. The mode and place of his education are unknown; the events of his life are variously related; and all that can be told with certainty is, that he was poor.'
The length of these various lives differ widely; many are 5 pages or less, which I found to be of scant interest - biographical house-keeping and perhaps a bibliography. The longer profiles, given to poets of greater importance (Milton and Dryden fill the most pages), are divided in half, between biography and appraisal of the work. The literary criticism is much the most interesting.
Johnson's approach is very workmanlike and full of humour. The opening section on Cowley includes also a treatise on the Metaphysical poets. Johnson has this to say: 'their thoughts are often new, but seldom natural; they are not obvious, but neither are they just; and the reader, far from wondering that he missed them, wonders more frequently by what perverseness of industry they were ever found.' Poets also are also chastised for debasing lofty subject matter with coarse similes, and one should know better than to mix too freely the Christian and the Greek deities. In these and other opinions Johnson represents the prejudices of his day. But it is interesting to note the development of literary taste. For example: 'Words too familiar, or too remote, defeat the purpose of a poet. From those sounds which we hear on small or on coarse occasions, we do not easily receive strong impressions, or delightful images; and words to which we are nearly strangers, whenever they occur, draw that attention on themselves which they should transmit to things.' How much do tastes today concur? Probably many would agree with his second edict - wilfully recondite language draws attention to itself, although we might allow poetry more leeway here than prose. Familiar language, on the other hand, seems to have been in vogue for quite some time, especially in quotidian American poetry. (And what would he have made of Philip Larkin?)
Sometimes he is unequivocally on the 'right side' of history. He defends, for instance, the works of English tragedians against claims of vulgarity for allowing the wicked to prosper and the good suffer. Though even in such a safe opinion as that one might look to present-day Hollywood for counter-example.
All this is a reminder of how unfixed taste is, and why literary and artistic discussion can be so much fun, as well as an interesting conduit for examining history. Versions of these arguments take place every day in pubs, homes, internet forums. Johnson's prose burnishes its subject-matter, so that even the under-reported lives of minor poets achieve an elegiac quality of their own: 'In this mist of obscurity passed the life of Butler, a man whose name can only perish with his language. The mode and place of his education are unknown; the events of his life are variously related; and all that can be told with certainty is, that he was poor.'
February 28, 2017
I have the 2 volume 1826 Dove's English Classics edition, easily the oldest books I own and I did want to make a point of that. The text is tiny and many of the pages are set charmingly askew but compared to many used books in my library the binding is still flawless and the pages are in excellent condition. There is a fine musty smell to the paper and the pages are gilt edged which makes for a handsome book, I imagine it'll last another 200 years without difficulty especially as the audience for this work has dwindled, unless I perish in a fire, or some other apocalyptic event causes it to fall out of my possession.
This volume contains some acknowledged heavyweights such as Milton, Dryden, and Addison (who has not appreciated much in value compared to the others). Johnson takes his time with the more well-regarded poets and his criticism is as interesting as the anecdotes he provides about their lives. Personally, I really enjoyed reading about those smaller figures who were entirely lost to time and who I never learned about or read. The criticism, and Johnson's learned deliberations about the art of poetry, make for heady reading and are not a bad place to find instruction or at least direction.
Ah, the 18th century. Johnson's writing is incredibly prolix, fairly dense, demonstrates immense skill and perspicuity, and the style is irredeemably 'old' in every sense. This is not a book for the casual reader, or even most fans of poetry or history, for that matter. Still, it's easier going than most 18th century writing, in my opinion, and I enjoyed the prose for its own sake. It took me nearly a year of sporadic reading to finish volume 1, and the section on Dryden took nearly a week in itself. There are some very artful passages written to critique poems alone, there is a lot to digest and the writing is flawless, but easily verges into becoming tiresome when the reader is the least bit tired or distracted.
Unsurprisingly, my favorite portraits were the shorter ones, which vaguely portrayed frustrated lives and penury and all the suffering of poets who never achieved public or private regard and went out as paupers. I forgot to take any notes and the best passages escape me, but if you have the slightest inclination I'd recommend the book highly – it's rewarding, daunting, and informative. It's also dense and dry, so don't dive in if you don't have the time to spare. I don't think I'll start reading Volume 2 for some time, even though I'm tempted to at this very moment.
This volume contains some acknowledged heavyweights such as Milton, Dryden, and Addison (who has not appreciated much in value compared to the others). Johnson takes his time with the more well-regarded poets and his criticism is as interesting as the anecdotes he provides about their lives. Personally, I really enjoyed reading about those smaller figures who were entirely lost to time and who I never learned about or read. The criticism, and Johnson's learned deliberations about the art of poetry, make for heady reading and are not a bad place to find instruction or at least direction.
Ah, the 18th century. Johnson's writing is incredibly prolix, fairly dense, demonstrates immense skill and perspicuity, and the style is irredeemably 'old' in every sense. This is not a book for the casual reader, or even most fans of poetry or history, for that matter. Still, it's easier going than most 18th century writing, in my opinion, and I enjoyed the prose for its own sake. It took me nearly a year of sporadic reading to finish volume 1, and the section on Dryden took nearly a week in itself. There are some very artful passages written to critique poems alone, there is a lot to digest and the writing is flawless, but easily verges into becoming tiresome when the reader is the least bit tired or distracted.
Unsurprisingly, my favorite portraits were the shorter ones, which vaguely portrayed frustrated lives and penury and all the suffering of poets who never achieved public or private regard and went out as paupers. I forgot to take any notes and the best passages escape me, but if you have the slightest inclination I'd recommend the book highly – it's rewarding, daunting, and informative. It's also dense and dry, so don't dive in if you don't have the time to spare. I don't think I'll start reading Volume 2 for some time, even though I'm tempted to at this very moment.
April 14, 2013
Though the book is interesting mainly on Donne (under the section on Cowley), Milton, Dryden and Addison, Johnson is a great critic and a pleasure to read in his own right. He is, to use an inexact word, weighty. For instance: "It appears, in all his [Milton's] writings, that he had the usual concomitant of great abilities, a lofty and steady confidence in himself, perhaps not without some contempt of others; for scarcely any man ever read so much, and praised so few."
I'd like to come back to this in some hypothetical future where I know Latin and Greek and have more leisure time and have cultivated a taste for wine. More than any other writer I know, I feel like to appreciate Johnson, one should have a glass at one's elbow.
I'd like to come back to this in some hypothetical future where I know Latin and Greek and have more leisure time and have cultivated a taste for wine. More than any other writer I know, I feel like to appreciate Johnson, one should have a glass at one's elbow.
April 10, 2008
Though I'm no fan of Johnson, his account of Pope, and his "amus[ing] himself at the table with biscuits", may actually be the source of my love of the snide sniping of the eighteenth century (the potted lampreys just kill me):
His legs were so slender that he enlarged their bulk with three pair of stockings, which were drawn on and off by the maid... His weakness made it very difficult for him to be clean....
When he wanted to sleep he "nodded in company"; and once slumbered at his own table while the Prince of Wales was talking of poetry.
.... He was too indulgent to his appetite: he loved meat highly seasoned and of strong taste, and, at the intervals of the table, amused himself with biscuits and dry conserves.... The death of Pope was imputed by some of his friends to a silver saucepan, in which it was his delight to heat potted lampreys.
In familiar or convivial conversation it does not appear that he excelled.... traditional memory retains no sallies of raillery nor sentences of observation; nothing either pointed or solid, either wise or merry.
He was fretful and easily displeased, and allowed himself to be capriciously resentful....
He sometimes condescended to be jocular with servants or inferiors; but by no merriment, either of others or his own, was he ever seen excited to laughter.
His legs were so slender that he enlarged their bulk with three pair of stockings, which were drawn on and off by the maid... His weakness made it very difficult for him to be clean....
When he wanted to sleep he "nodded in company"; and once slumbered at his own table while the Prince of Wales was talking of poetry.
.... He was too indulgent to his appetite: he loved meat highly seasoned and of strong taste, and, at the intervals of the table, amused himself with biscuits and dry conserves.... The death of Pope was imputed by some of his friends to a silver saucepan, in which it was his delight to heat potted lampreys.
In familiar or convivial conversation it does not appear that he excelled.... traditional memory retains no sallies of raillery nor sentences of observation; nothing either pointed or solid, either wise or merry.
He was fretful and easily displeased, and allowed himself to be capriciously resentful....
He sometimes condescended to be jocular with servants or inferiors; but by no merriment, either of others or his own, was he ever seen excited to laughter.
December 17, 2007
Just began reading it after Frank McCourt name dropped it in his memoir 'Tis. More than a collection of biographies, it is a collection of his ideas on what makes good and bad poetry. Surprisingly relevant even if published in 1779.
January 12, 2016
I think the main interest in this work is in the polished and pompous writing of Dr Johnson. How did he keep it up? And since so much of this is precis (or probably the reverse), why did he bother? I'm still struggling to find out what is so great about The Great Doctor.
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