PREFACE TO SHAKESPEARE
Johnson's Preface to Shakespeare
“The Preface is the impartial estimate of Shakespeare’s virtues and defects by a powerful mind”. (Halliday). Johnson’s Preface to Shakespeare is a classic of literary criticism in which he is above his political personal, religious and literary prejudices: mentions both the merits and
One of the first excellence of Shakespeare, as Preface shows: “Shakespeare is above all the writers, at least above the modern writers, the poet of nature; the poet that holds up to his readers a faithful mirror if manners and life.” According to Johnson, “Shakespeare always makes nature predominate over accident”. His blend of tragedy and comedy is also nearer and more natural to life, because the mingled drama approaches nearer to life :Mingled drama m demerits of Shakespeare like a true critic; and become very honest and sincere in his estimate of Shakespeare. Johnson tests Shakespeare by the fact and experience, by the test of time, nature and universality, his defense to tragicomedy is superb and still unsurpassed; in which he has excelled his guru Dryden. He finds Shakespeare great because he holds a mirror to nature. In minimized the importance of love on the sum of life, Johnson anticipates Shaw. ay convey all the instructions of tragedy or comedy cannot be denied, because it includes both in its alternations of exhibition and approaches nearer than either to the appearance of life”
Shakespeare was the originator of “the form, the character, the language and the shadows of English drama” and “opens a mine contains cold and diamonds”. “Addison speaks the language of poets, and Shakespeare of men”, thus, Shakespeare is one of the great and the original masters of the language. There are few limitations of Preface too: Johnson could not fathom the depths of Shakespeare’s poetic genius. Nor could he think of the psychological subtleties of his characterization, he was equally deaf to “the overtones of Shakespeare’s poetry at its most
“The Preface is the impartial estimate of Shakespeare’s virtues and defects by a powerful mind”. (Halliday). Johnson’s Preface to Shakespeare is a classic of literary criticism in which he is above his political personal, religious and literary prejudices: mentions both the merits and
One of the first excellence of Shakespeare, as Preface shows: “Shakespeare is above all the writers, at least above the modern writers, the poet of nature; the poet that holds up to his readers a faithful mirror if manners and life.” According to Johnson, “Shakespeare always makes nature predominate over accident”. His blend of tragedy and comedy is also nearer and more natural to life, because the mingled drama approaches nearer to life :Mingled drama m demerits of Shakespeare like a true critic; and become very honest and sincere in his estimate of Shakespeare. Johnson tests Shakespeare by the fact and experience, by the test of time, nature and universality, his defense to tragicomedy is superb and still unsurpassed; in which he has excelled his guru Dryden. He finds Shakespeare great because he holds a mirror to nature. In minimized the importance of love on the sum of life, Johnson anticipates Shaw. ay convey all the instructions of tragedy or comedy cannot be denied, because it includes both in its alternations of exhibition and approaches nearer than either to the appearance of life”
Shakespeare was the originator of “the form, the character, the language and the shadows of English drama” and “opens a mine contains cold and diamonds”. “Addison speaks the language of poets, and Shakespeare of men”, thus, Shakespeare is one of the great and the original masters of the language. There are few limitations of Preface too: Johnson could not fathom the depths of Shakespeare’s poetic genius. Nor could he think of the psychological subtleties of his characterization, he was equally deaf to “the overtones of Shakespeare’s poetry at its most