preface biograpical and critical, to the works of the english poets |
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Page 11
DENHAM is deservedly confidered as one of the fathers of English poetry . "
Denham and Waller , " saysPrior , « improved our versification , “ and Dryden
perfected it . ” He has given specimens of various composition , descriptive ,
ludicrous ...
DENHAM is deservedly confidered as one of the fathers of English poetry . "
Denham and Waller , " saysPrior , « improved our versification , “ and Dryden
perfected it . ” He has given specimens of various composition , descriptive ,
ludicrous ...
Page 16
He seems to have been , at least among us , the author of a species of
composition that may be denominated local poetry , of which the fundamental
subject is some particular landschape , to be poetically defcribed , with the
addition of such ...
He seems to have been , at least among us , the author of a species of
composition that may be denominated local poetry , of which the fundamental
subject is some particular landschape , to be poetically defcribed , with the
addition of such ...
Page 31
... of these petty faults are in his first productions , when he was less skilful , or at
least less dexterous in the use of words ; and though they had been more
frequent , they could only have leffened the grace , not the strength , of his
composition .
... of these petty faults are in his first productions , when he was less skilful , or at
least less dexterous in the use of words ; and though they had been more
frequent , they could only have leffened the grace , not the strength , of his
composition .
Page 2
It was his turn , one day , to pronounce a declamation ; and Dr. Hough , the
prefident , happening to attend , thought the composition too good to be the
speaker's . Some time after , the doctor , finding him a little irregularly busy in the
library , fet ...
It was his turn , one day , to pronounce a declamation ; and Dr. Hough , the
prefident , happening to attend , thought the composition too good to be the
speaker's . Some time after , the doctor , finding him a little irregularly busy in the
library , fet ...
Page
His Choice exhibits a system of life adapted to common notions , and equal to
common expectations , such a state as affords plenty and tranquillity , without
exclusion of intellectual pleasures . Perhaps no composition in our language has
...
His Choice exhibits a system of life adapted to common notions , and equal to
common expectations , such a state as affords plenty and tranquillity , without
exclusion of intellectual pleasures . Perhaps no composition in our language has
...
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Preface Biograpical and Critical, to the Works of the English Poets Samuel Johnson No preview available - 2016 |
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Popular passages
Page 14 - Damn with faint praise, assent with civil leer, And without sneering, teach the rest to sneer; Willing to wound and yet afraid to strike, Just hint a fault and hesitate dislike; Alike...
Page 62 - James, whose skill in physic will be long remembered, and with David Garrick, whom I hoped to have gratified with this character of our common friend ; but what are the hopes of man ! I am...
Page 24 - Blank verse, left merely to its numbers, has little operation either on the ear or mind ; it can hardly support itself without bold figures and striking images.
Page 62 - His studies had been so various, that I am not able to name a man of equal knowledge. His acquaintance with books was great; and what he did not immediately know, he could at least tell where to find.
Page 18 - The lines are in themselves not perfect, for most of the words thus artfully opposed are to be understood simply on one side of the comparison, and metaphorically on the other ; and if there be any language which does not express intellectual operations by material images, into that language they cannot be translated.
Page 24 - Horace's wit and Virgil's state He did not steal, but emulate, And when he would like them appear, Their garb, but not their clothes, did wear...
Page 1 - Having been compelled by his necessities to contract debts, and hunted, as is supposed, by the terriers of the law, he retired to a publick house on Tower-hill, where he is said to have died of want ; or, as it is related by one of his biographers, by swallowing, after a long fast, a piece of bread which charity had supplied. He went out, as is reported, almost naked, in the rage of hunger, and, finding a gentleman in a neighbouring coffeehouse, asked him for a shilling.
Page 14 - That fervile path thou nobly doft decline, "• Of tracing word by word, and line by line. " Thofe are the labour'd births of...
Bibliographic information
| Title | preface biograpical and critical, to the works of the english poets |
| Author | samuel johnson |
| Published | 1779 |
| Original from | Oxford University |
| Digitized | 31 Jul 2007 |
| Export Citation | BiBTeX EndNote RefMan |