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Samuel demands the muse: Johnson's stamp on imaginative literature.(Samuel Johnson )

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From: The Antioch Review
Date: 20070101
Author:Meyers, Jeffrey

The impact of Samuel Johnson on later writers derives from the extraordinary way in which his works are inextricably connected to his personality. He himself is one of the great characters in literature; his opinions and conversation were recorded in intimate detail in letters, journals, and memoirs and in Boswell's great biography. His work, therefore, has always been interpreted in the rich social context of his life. Though deeply serious, he brought a sense of humor and sharp wit to illuminate his great subjects: the powerful claims of the individual conscience, the moral ...

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