A Brief History of the Life of Samuel Johnson
A Brief History of the Life of Samuel Johnson
By Michael J Turner
Samuel Johnson was born at Lichfield, in Staffordshire on th 18th September, 1709. His father, Michael Johnson, was a not very successful bookseller, (although his shop (nowadays the birthplace museum, was, and is, a very substantial building). His father also carried on his trade at local markets, and was a publisher also in a small way. He suffered from the condition known at the time as melancholy , nowadays, depression. His mother was a woman
of sound sense, and well aware of her son s extraordinary abilities.
Samuel was reputed as a child to have a phenomenal memory it is recorded that only a little after he had learned to read, his mother set him to memorize the collect for the day from the book of common prayer, and, went upstairs, leaving him to his studies. On reaching the 2nd floor, she hear.d him following her, and, on questioning him, discovered that he had memorized it. He received what would now be called his primary and secondary education mainly at Lichfield, later at the school at Stourbridge for about a year. This was followed by a year or two of self-directed study, or loitering, depending upon which authority is to be believed.
Johnson started his first year at Pembroke college, Oxford, apparently on an unreliable assurance of support from a friend or member of his family, at the age of 19, but left in 1731 without a degree, on the grounds of financial necessity. He had been happy at Pembroke,and, referring to the number of poets produced by the college, remarked, “Sir, we are a nest of singing birds. For a few months he was an usher ( a sort of assistant teacher) at a
school in Market Bosworth. He was not happy there and left after a few months.
He was then fortunate to be invited to stay with his friend, Mr. Hector, at his lodgings in Birmingham, where he met Mr. Hector s landlord, Mr. Warren. Mr Warren was a firmly established bookseller in Birmingham, and Johnson s extensive knowledge of literature was of great use to him. Johnson also produced a small number of essays published in a journal owned by Mr Warren. Whilst in Birmingham, Johnson became acquainted with a Mr Harry Porter, who shortly afterwards died.
Astonishingly, Johnson married Mr Porter s widow, Elizabeth (Tettie), a woman
of twice his age, and reputedly odd manners, possibly brought about by alcoholism or laudanum addiction.
In pursuit of an income Dr. Johnson now founded an academy at Edial, but gained only 3 pupils, one of whom was David Garrick, later to achieve fame on the stage. Unsurprisingly the school failed, and Doctor Johnson went to London in search of employment. Garrick went with him intending to study law, but was soon diverted to a career on the stage, and became the greatest actor (by general assent) of his age. For some years, Johnson supported himself as a journeyman hack, including some quite reputable works on Mr Edward Cave s “The Gentleman s Magazine .
In 1747 he published his plan to produce a “Dictionary of the English Language”, an undertaking backed, amongst others, by the Longman brothers. His wife died in 1752, but the work progressed. The work was eventually published in 1755, doing more to standardize English spelling and grammar (in Britain, at least). Ironically, having set out to regulate and prescribe, Johnson had the intellect and humility to realize that the English language predated his dictionary, and that he was engaged in a task of description, not prescription, and for this reason is possibly the first scientific linguist. He successfully defended the English language against the dangers of a prescriptive English Academy on the French model, as propounded by Swift years earlier.
His work earned him a pension of 300 pounds a year from the King, and Boswell s “Life of Johnson” made him a celebrity (sorry to use that word). This meant that he was now free from danger of poverty, and free to indulge in literary and dramatic undertakings, as well as social and geographical adventures.
It should be mentioned that he had an unusual relationship with the Thrale family, wealthy brewers. Henry Thrale, the husband and father, was much concerned with business, and seemed unconcerned by Johnson s intimate (in one sense or another) relationship with his wife Hester (Hettie). Hester Thrale is one of the more enigmatic characters in Johnson s life. He was certainly in love with her, although he was not afraid to rebuke her for excessive use of corporal punishment on her daughter Queeney and her other children, and, at the end of their relationship, for her controversial second marriage and abandonment of her children. She deserves an article to herself. Doctor Johnson now found himself possibly the most famous man in England, the Royal family aside, and the central figure of the cultural life of the latter part of the 18th century.
Peep into the Fabulous World of Dictionaries
Peep into the Fabulous World of DictionariesBy Linda Kate Correli
Lexicography is an important branch of linguistics, which covers the theory a...
New Mexico Bingo
New Mexico BingoBy Stanley Cardigan
New Mexico has a stormy gambling history. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was signed by Congress in ...
English Literature: Why Should We Study It?
English Literature: Why Should We Study It?By Ian Mackean
When we dip into the rich variety of novels, poems, and plays which constitute Englis...
Allen NFL Fades
Allen NFL FadesBy Jeff Allen
The Kansas City Chiefs
The Herman Edwards regime in Kansas City starts with more questions than answers. The prol...
Digital Photography Pointers
Digital Photography PointersBy David W Johnson
Even those of us who ve owned digital cameras for a while can use tips on how to make better pic...
His occupation in fact in the latter part of the century was more as a central figure, around whom other figures in the arts gathered, than as a producer of important work himself. Reynold s portrait of the Club shows us that he understood Johnson s importance, seated centrally and directing a challenging look in the direction of the viewer. He has recognized a challenge or intruder and is equal to the task of dealing with it. What is the challenge or intruder ? Basically, I would suggest, organizing, meddling whiggism. It should be remembered that Johnson was a radical Tory (Tory having almost nothing to do with the modern meaning of Conservative), and as such much more sympathetic to the poorer classes than were the whigs, who regarded them merely as industrial resources. A change was taking place romanticism attacked classicism constitutionalism attacked the smoothly functioning political traditionalism the greedy industrialist sought to replace the caring squire as employer (some sentimentality here, admittedly). The point is not whether these views are right or wrong, but whether they are the views Johnson held, and whether Reynolds perceived them correctly. The remainder of Dr. Johnson s life was largely engaged in dispersing influence through society and conversation, acquainted as he was with almost every influential figure of his day.
He lived a good life, frequently sheltering a household of unfortunates and inadequates. He died on 13th December 1794. His last words were “God bless you, my dear , to Miss Valentine Morris, daughter of a friend.
It is a great irony that, great as Johnson was, the greatest work mentioned in this website was that which established Johnson s reputation beyond his own age, the autobiography by his friend, James Boswell, who is unfairly overlooked as one our greatest literary geniuses.
http://www.DrSamuelJohnson.com
http://johnsontourettes.webeden.co.uk
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Michael_J_Turner
http://EzineArticles.com/?A-Brief-History-of-the-Life-of-Samuel-Johnson&id=789351
