Preface to Shakespeare by Samuel Johnson

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Preface to Shakespeare by Samuel Johnson

Samuel Johnson in his “Preface to Shakespeare” highlights several qualities and defects in Shakespeare’s plays, whether they are comedies or tragedies. Samuel Johnson’s preface gained enough fame due to the points he raised in his writing. However, while highlighting the defects and qualities of Shakespeare’s work, Johnson sometimes contradicts his own views.

Samuel Johnson, a well-known figure from the end of the time of Augustus, is considered excellent by his critical preface, Preface to Shakespeare by most critics. Harold Bloom defines “Johnson’s vitality as critical” as “always enough within Shakespeare’s works to judge them as he judges human life, never forgetting that Shakespeare’s function is to bring life to mind.” In his preface, Johnson identifies several strengths and imperfections in Shakespeare’s writing abilities.

Shakespeare develops his argument by considering Shakespeare and his works as ancient. He used the word “antiquity” as a reference. He argues that something written a long time ago, must have been discussed a lot and, if he is still admired, it contains some established qualities because he has gone through a phase of testing, verification and comparison.

Preface to Shakespeare: YouTube

Book Information:

  • Name: Preface to Shakespeare
  • Writer: Samuel Johnson
  • Categories: English Literature, Novel
  • Language: English
  • Book Format: PDF
  • Total Pages: 98 pages
  • File Size: 0.48 MB

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Updated: January 21, 2020 — 3:09 pm