Samuel Johnson: The Life of an Author - Brossura

Lipking, Lawrence

Brossura

ISBN 10: 0674001982 ISBN 13: 9780674001985

Casa editrice: Harvard University Press, 2000

Riassunto

He was a servant to the public, a writer for hire. He was a hero, an author adding to the glory of his nation. But can a writer be both hack and hero? The career of Samuel Johnson, recounted here by Lawrence Lipking, proves that the two can be one. And it further proves, in its enduring interest for readers, that academic fashions today may be a bit hasty in pronouncing the "death of the author."

A book about the life of an author, about how an author is made, not born, Lipking's Samuel Johnson is the story of the man as he lived--and lives--in his work. Tracing Johnson's rocky climb from anonymity to fame, in the course of which he came to stand for both the greatness of English literature and the good sense of the common reader, the book shows how this life transformed the very nature of authorship.

Beginning with the defiant letter to Chesterfield that made Johnson a celebrity, Samuel Johnson offers fresh readings of all the writer's major works, viewed through the lens of two ongoing preoccupations: the urge to do great deeds--and the sense that bold expectations are doomed to disappointment. Johnson steers between the twin perils of ambition and despondency. Mounting a challenge to the emerging industry that glorified and capitalized on Shakespeare, he stresses instead the playwright's power to cure the illusions of everyday life. All Johnson's works reveal his extraordinary sympathy with ordinary people. In his groundbreaking Dictionary, in his poems and essays, and in The Lives of the English Poets, we see Johnson becoming the key figure in the culture of literacy that reaches from his day to our own.

Su questo libro

Product Description:

The career of Samuel Johnson, as recounted here by Lawrence Lipking, aims to prove that a writer can be both hack and hero. It further argues that academic fashions may be a bit hasty in pronouncing, after Roland Barthes, the "death of the author". This is a text about how an author is made, not born, the story of how Samuel Johnson lived - and lives - in his work. Tracing Johnson's rocky climb from anonymity to fame, in the course of which he came to stand for both the greatness of English literature and the good sense of the common reader, it describes how this life transformed the very nature of authorship. Beginning with the defiant letter to Chesterfield that made Johnson a celebrity, this text offers fresh readings of all the writer's major works, viewed through the lens of two ongoing preoccupations: the urge to do great deeds; and the sense that bold expectations are doomed to disappointment. Johnson steered between the twin perils of ambition and despondency. Mounting a challenge to the emerging industry that glorified and capitalized on Shakespeare, Johnson instead stressed the playwright's power to cure the illusions of everyday life.

Su questa edizione

• Editore: Harvard University Press
• Data di pubblicazione: 2000
• ISBN 10: 0674001982
• ISBN 13: 9780674001985
• Rilegatura: Copertina flessibile
• Numero di pagine: 384