Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 08 Sep 2023).

Introduction: the criteria of the heart -- Johnson's Compassion -- "The tears stand in my eyes" : Johnson and Emotion -- Petty Caviller or "Formidable Assailant" : Johnson Reads Dennis -- Readers curious and common : Johnson, Thomas Warton and historical form -- Shakespeare, Johnson and philosophy -- Two ways of being wise : Johnson, philosophy and montaigne -- Johnson and time -- Truth, fiction and "undisputed history" -- Annotated immortality -- Arts of structure and they rhythm of the lives.

For Samuel Johnson, poetical judgments were no mere exercise in dry evaluation; rather, they reflected deep emotional responsiveness. In this provocative study, Philip Smallwood argues for experiencing Johnson's critical texts as artworks in their own right. The criticism, he suggests, often springs from emotional sources of great personal intensity and depth, inspiring translation of criticism into poetry and channelling prose's poetic potential. Through consideration of other critics, Smallwood highlights singularities in Johnson's judgments and approach, showing how such judgments are irreducible to philosophical doctrines. 'Ideas', otherwise the material of criticism's propensity to systems and theories, exist for Johnson as feelings that 'slumber in the heart.' Revealing Johnson's humour and intellectual reach, Smallwood frames his criticism in unresolved ironies of time and forms of historical change.