The Lives of the Poets (Magill Book Reviews)
At a glance:
- Author: Samuel Johnson
- First Published: 1779
- Type of Work: Biography
- Genres: Criticism, Nonfiction, Biography
- Subjects: Authors or writers, Literature, Poetry or poets, Writing, England or English people, Eighteenth century, Seventeenth century, Human behavior
In 1777, Johnson was commissioned to write brief lives as prefaces to a new collection of works of popular poets. He produced instead more than 50 biographies of English writers in vogue during the second half of the 18th century. While many of these authors are seldom read today, quite a few important figures are included. John Milton, John Dryden, Alexander Pope, Thomas Gray, and Abraham Cowley head the list of poets. Johnson also includes men who wrote poetry but who are acclaimed today for works in other genres: essayist Joseph Addison, satirist Jonathan Swift, and dramatists...
[The entire page is 554 words long]
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