TY - BOOK AU - Smallwood,Philip TI - The literary criticism of Samuel Johnson: forms of artistry and thought SN - 9781009369992 (ebook) AV - PR3537.L5 S64 2023 U1 - 828/.609 23/eng/20230523 PY - 2023/// CY - Cambridge ; New York, NY PB - Cambridge University Press KW - Johnson, Samuel, KW - Criticism KW - England KW - History KW - 18th century KW - English literature KW - History and criticism N1 - 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 N2 - 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 UR - https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009369992 ER -