Literature Network » Samuel Johnson

Samuel Johnson and the Aesthetics of Complex Dynamics

Content courtesy of

From: The Eighteenth Century
Date: 20070401
Author:Wildermuth, Mark

After Bertrand Bronson, Johnsonians have been aware of the double tradition beginning in the 1700s and lasting into the twenty-first century.1 One side argues for Johnson the Tory conservative, dogmatist, defender of classicism, church tradition, and the social order. The other depicts him as a progressive whose skepticism exists in tension with his religious faith and respect for tradition. Many critics have followed Bronson's suggestion that the latter conception of Johnson is more accurate, but some late modern readers of Johnson have suggested that this tension is an uneasy one which ...

Read the rest of this article with a Free Trial at HighBeam Research.

Other Articles on Samuel Johnson

About Our Articles: We've partnered with Highbeam Research to provide these article excerpts for your research needs. However, due to copyright laws, we cannot publish the whole article. To view these articles in full length you'll need to use the link above to access the free trial at Highbeam.