Preface to Shakespeare

Johnson, Samuel, 1709-1784Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

4.3

Word count: 132K words
Chapters: 14

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Preface to Shakespeare by Samuel JohnsonAuthor: Johnson, Samuel, 1709-1784,Language: English, Class: PR: Language and Literatures: English literature, Release Date: Apr 1, 2004

Editor's review

This is Samuel Johnson's famous preface to his edition of Shakespeare's plays, a classic text in the history of English literary criticism. Writing as an eighteenth-century critic, Johnson affirms Shakespeare's grasp of universal human nature and his dramatic genius while frankly naming his faults—loose plotting, excessive punning, and more. This manner of judgment, neither blind worship nor deliberate belittlement, is itself a critical attitude worth learning. The essay is written in English, dense in argument and careful in syntax; reading it offers contact with the characteristic style of English prose and an understanding of one source of the modern evaluation of Shakespeare. It suits readers beginning the study of English literary criticism or seeking supplementary material for Shakespeare studies, and also those who wish to see how eighteenth-century English argumentative prose is written. Reading it after at least one or two Shakespeare plays is recommended, for the experience will be more concrete.

Who it's for

A good fit for

English literature students who need to know a classic document of Shakespeare criticism
Shakespeare enthusiasts who want to see early commentary that does not deify him
Readers who wish to study the craft of English argumentative and critical prose
General readers interested in the history of eighteenth-century English literary criticism

Not a good fit for

Beginners who have not yet encountered any Shakespeare play and lack background in the works
Readers seeking plot guides or introductory appreciation of Shakespeare's plays
Readers with limited stamina for English reading who prefer light material

Reading tips

Read one Shakespeare play first, then read this essay, comparing Johnson's specific judgments with your own to understand his critical stance
Read it in two or three sittings, summarizing each part's core argument in your own words after finishing it
When you meet a long sentence, find the subject and predicate first, then add the modifiers; consult a Chinese translation if necessary
After reading, write down one judgment you agree with and one you disagree with, to train independent critical awareness

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

What does this preface mainly discuss?

It examines Shakespeare's dramatic achievements and shortcomings, discussing both his strength in capturing universal human nature and creating characters and his problems in plotting and language, and it touches on drama's relation to social morality and on standards of criticism. It is a representative text of eighteenth-century Shakespeare commentary.

Can I read this preface without having read any Shakespeare?

You can, but your understanding will suffer. Many judgments in the text concern specific plays and characters, and without an impression of the works you may remember only the conclusions. It is better to read a common play such as Hamlet or Macbeth first, then return to this preface; the gain will be noticeably greater.

What language is this electronic edition in, and what reading tools suit it?

The text is in English, from a public-domain eBook on Project Gutenberg. It can be opened on a computer or e-reader, with a dictionary for unfamiliar words, and is convenient for annotating long sentences. If English is difficult, read a Chinese excerpt first to grasp the general sense, then return to the English original.

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About the author

Johnson, Samuel, 1709-1784 Author

Samuel Johnson (1709–1784) was an influential English writer, critic, and lexicographer. The collection holds 23 of his works, spanning poetry, essays, literary criticism, and dictionary writing. Representative titles include The Vanity of Human Wishes, Two Rambler papers, the multi-volume Lives of the Poets, the Preface to Shakespeare, and the Preface to a Dictionary of the English Language. His writing is known for its eloquent, concise prose and moral seriousness, and he excelled in biographical criticism and literary judgment, leaving a lasting mark on the English essay and critical tradition. Because publicly available information is limited, details of his life are not elaborated here.