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Johnson's Shakespeare
Challenging the long-held view that Johnson's criticism of Shakespeare is of historical interest only, having been assimilated and superseded by later work, this study argues that Johnson's interpretation of Shakespeare as "the poet of nature" is actually a radical and provocative proposition. Parker provides an illuminating series of contrasts of the leading Romantic critics—Coleridge, Schlegel, and Hazlitt—arguing that the dichotomies that emerge from their writings reflect tensions exhibited by or explored within the plays themselves. He relates Johnson's feeling for general nature to the characteristic scepticism of his thought, and concludes with a fresh discussion of Johnson's response to the "unnatural deeds" of Shakespearean tragedy. Parker also includes the central portion of the Preface to Shakespeare, as well as critically interesting notes, offering a fully developed anthology of Johnson's criticism and commentary on Shakespeare.
1000547502
Johnson's Shakespeare
Challenging the long-held view that Johnson's criticism of Shakespeare is of historical interest only, having been assimilated and superseded by later work, this study argues that Johnson's interpretation of Shakespeare as "the poet of nature" is actually a radical and provocative proposition. Parker provides an illuminating series of contrasts of the leading Romantic critics—Coleridge, Schlegel, and Hazlitt—arguing that the dichotomies that emerge from their writings reflect tensions exhibited by or explored within the plays themselves. He relates Johnson's feeling for general nature to the characteristic scepticism of his thought, and concludes with a fresh discussion of Johnson's response to the "unnatural deeds" of Shakespearean tragedy. Parker also includes the central portion of the Preface to Shakespeare, as well as critically interesting notes, offering a fully developed anthology of Johnson's criticism and commentary on Shakespeare.
38.99 In Stock
Johnson's Shakespeare

Johnson's Shakespeare

by G. F. Parker
Johnson's Shakespeare

Johnson's Shakespeare

by G. F. Parker

Overview

Challenging the long-held view that Johnson's criticism of Shakespeare is of historical interest only, having been assimilated and superseded by later work, this study argues that Johnson's interpretation of Shakespeare as "the poet of nature" is actually a radical and provocative proposition. Parker provides an illuminating series of contrasts of the leading Romantic critics—Coleridge, Schlegel, and Hazlitt—arguing that the dichotomies that emerge from their writings reflect tensions exhibited by or explored within the plays themselves. He relates Johnson's feeling for general nature to the characteristic scepticism of his thought, and concludes with a fresh discussion of Johnson's response to the "unnatural deeds" of Shakespearean tragedy. Parker also includes the central portion of the Preface to Shakespeare, as well as critically interesting notes, offering a fully developed anthology of Johnson's criticism and commentary on Shakespeare.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780198112716
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Publication date: 09/26/1991
Series: Clarendon Paperbacks
Pages: 226
Product dimensions: 5.44(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.56(d)

About the Author

Clare College, Cambridge

Table of Contents

Acknowledgementsvii
From Johnson's Preface to Shakespearexi
Note on Referencesxxi
1.Taking Johnson Seriously1
2.Just Representations of General Nature15
Sceptical Thinking28
The Pleasure of Generality42
Not Heroic but Human51
3.The Mind against the World63
The Idealist Imagination--Wordsworth--Falstaff--Hamlet63
The Defiant Imagination--Lear--Audience Identification and Dramatic Illusion91
Individuals or Species?106
Supernatural Creation--Caliban and Prospero111
Organic Unity--Wordplay--Romeo and Juliet126
Conclusion: On the Necessity of Choosing153
4.Johnson and Tragedy156
Index199
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