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Chargement... The Vanity of Human Wishes (1749) and Two Rambler papers (1750)par Samuel Johnson
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The book has no illustrations or index. Purchasers are entitled to a free trial membership in the General Books Club where they can select from more than a million books without charge. Subjects: Literary Criticism / Poetry; Poetry / English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh; Aucune description trouvée dans une bibliothèque |
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Google Books — Chargement... GenresClassification décimale de Melvil (CDD)824.63Literature English & Old English literatures English essays Later 18th century 1745–1800 Johnson, Samuel 1709–84Classification de la Bibliothèque du CongrèsÉvaluationMoyenne:
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In England, from the middle ages through the nineteenth century, one of the basic ways to teach composition was through imitation. Given a Latin poem or a piece of prose, a student would be asked to write another poem or piece of prose, either in English or Latin, on the same subject in a similar manner. Samuel Johnson, whose poverty forced him to leave Oxford in his second year, was a master of the art. In “The Vanity of Human Wishes,” Johnson takes the tenth satire of Juvenal and updates it in English using his own knowledge of history and drawing his own morals. It was personal to him. As he approached his fortieth year, none of his dreams of literary fame had come true, though he knew he was more talented than most of his competition. In fact, this poem is one of the first pieces he published in his own name, despite having done a ton of Grub Street hack work. Imitation of this sort is now an unappreciated skill and an underrated teaching tool. It depends, though, on having an audience that does not always demand novelty and has a common body of cultural experience on which to draw. Such an audience gets harder to find every day. ( )