Samuel Johnson

Samuel Johnson was born on 18 September 1709 as son of a bookseller (Michael Johnson). He is considered as one of the chief British intellectuals of the 18th century.

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Biography

Samuel Johnson was born in Lichfield, England, and from his early life on he suffered from several diseases (loss of hearing and blind in one eye). Since his father was a bookseller he early came into contact with books and developed a good knowledge even in his childhood.

Johnson later spent a year at Pembroke College, Oxford, but due to financial problems he had to leave. As a consequence “[…] he went to a severe depression” [www.samueljohnson.com/brifbio.html] . His depression lasted for two years. It was in that time that Johnson met the Porters, a merchant family. Henry Porter was a big help for Johnson to get back his self-confidence. Porter’s wife Elizabeth was from the first day she met Johnson fascinated by him. After her husband’s death, she got married (1735) to Samuel Johnson, who was 21 years younger than her (she was 46).

His first profession was that of a schoolmaster but he had to give it up because he did not have a proper degree and he was not respected by his students since his appearance was not very pleasant.

His career as a writer started in 1737 when Johnson went to London where he wrote for several periodicals. Later on, “he was assigned the task of writing thinly disguised reports of the debates in Parliament” [www.samueljohnson.com/brifbio.html]. Although he was quite successful in the 1730s and 40s, his real success started in the 1750s. Worth mentioning in this context is his Dictionary of the English Language which was published in 1755. ”Oxford University rewarded him with a Master of Arts degree, which came in time for him to include it on the title page of the Dictionary” [justus.anglican.org/resources/bio/20.html]. Moreover, Samuel Johnson is also known for his complete edition of Shakespeare’s works.

On 13 December 1784 Samuel Johnson died.

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Friendship with Boswell

In 1763, James Boswell (1740-1795) met Samuel Johnson by accident in a bookshop. Both liked each other and became fast friends. Boswell began his literary career in 1760 by writing pamphlets. In 1791 he published a biography of Samuel Johnson (The Life of Samuel Johnson) which today is known to be one of the best biographies ever written about Johnson. The biography was published in two volumes. "Contemporary criticism set the pattern of acclaim for the work and derision for its author." (http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/74986/James-Boswell)

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Conflict with his patron

Samuel Johnson needed several years to write his Dictionary. Since he could not finance his work on his own, Jonson looked for a patron - and a man called Lord Chesterfield offered his help. Nevertheless, Johnson never received money from his patron and never heard from him until the Dictionary was finished. Now, Lord Chesterfield expected a dedication to him. The letter Johnson wrote to Chesterfield in response to his demand is well-known. In this letter, Johnson describes a patron as someone who stands on the river bank watching a man drowning. Then, after the drowning man is saved, the patron asks him if he can help.

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Johnson as a man of letters

Not only did Samuel Johnson write his famous Dictionary, he is also known for his poems and other literary works. His literary career began shortly after his marriage. Johnson did not have much money and in order to earn some extra money, he started to write small articles for Edward Cave, publisher of The Gentleman's Magazine, the first example of a magazine in a modern sense. Quickly, Johnson realized that Pope's imitations of Horace's satires were very fashionable at that time and so he decided to write an imitation of Juvenal's satires and called his poem "London. This poem was very successful and was also acknowledged and praised by Pope himself. In the following years, Johnson kept on writing for The Gentleman's Magazine. Moreover, he wrote biographies and even a preface to Shakespeare as well as some novels.

Major works and contributions

Essays, pamphlets, periodicals, sermons

1732–33 Birmingham Journal

1747 Plan for a Dictionary of the English Language

1750–52 The Rambler

1753–54 The Adventurer

1756 Universal Visiter

1756- The Literary Magazine, or Universal Review

1758–60 The Idler

1770 The False Alarm

1771 Thoughts on the Late Transactions Respecting Falkland's Islands

1774 The Patriot

1775 A Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland, Taxation No Tyranny

1781 The Beauties of Johnson

Poetry

1728 Messiah, a translation into Latin of Alexander Pope's Messiah

1738 London

1747 Prologue at the Opening of the Theatre in Drury Lane

1749 The Vanity of Human Wishes Irene, a Tragedy

Biographies, criticism

1744 Life of Mr Richard Savage

1745 Miscellaneous Observations on the Tragedy of Macbeth

1756 "Life of Browne" in Thomas Browne's Christian Morals

Proposals for Printing, by Subscription, the Dramatick Works of William Shakespeare

1765 Preface to the Plays of William Shakespeare The Plays of William Shakespeare

1779–81 Lives of the Poets

Dictionary

1755 Preface to the Dictionary of the English Language

A Dictionary of the English Language

Novellas

1759 The History of Rasselas, Prince of Abissinia

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Sources

http://justus.anglican.org/resources/bio/20.html

http://www.samueljohnson.com/briefbio.html

http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/boswell.htm

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/74986/James-Boswell

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Johnson#Major_works