Samuel Johnson‘s Literary Criticism in Life of Swift开题报告

1. 研究目的与意义

As the main biographical work of Samuel Johnson, The Lives of the Poets is composed of biographies of 52 poets (here choosing The Life of Swift), perfectly combining their life stories with Johnson’s literary criticism. The Lives of the Poets highlights the uniformity of human nature, pursues impartiality and truthfulness. It also emphasizes a high degree of harmony between form and content. Even though it focuses on the negative side of human nature, and heavily relies on subjective judgments and common sense, it widens the horizons of biographical literary, and is of great research values.

Through the analysis of Johnson’s Life of Swift, we can have a detailed understanding Swift’s life stories, his perspectives, his background of literary creation, and more importantly Johnson’s criticism on his literary works. Although Johnson’s criticism relied on his subjective judgments and common sense, we can find out his likes and dislikes, and find out what he agrees and what he disagrees. Then, more deeply, based on these clues, we can analyze Johnson’s life experiences, his individual opinions on religion, politics, morality, humanity, education, marriage, and so on. In the course of exploration, we can witness the clash of minds between Johnson and Swift.

2. 研究内容和预期目标

Swift’s literary work has been studied by many people, especially his sarcastic novel Gulliver’s Travels. But there are few people studying Johnson’s literary criticism in his Life of Swift. In Johnson’s Life of Swift, Johnson studied minutely Swift’s every work in his different periods with impartiality and truthfulness. As Johnson criticized works, he relied upon his own subjective judgments and common sense. From Life of Swift, we can see clearly his appreciation and hatred, his praise and criticism. Therefore, we can understand how Johnson criticized Swift’s literary works in his Life of Swift.

It is far from enough to understand how Johnson criticized Swift’s literary works in his Life of Swift. We also have to find out why he made such criticisms on Swift’s works. To figure out why, we need to have a better understanding of Johnson’s life. From different aspect, we can explore his views on politics, religion, morality and so on.

3. 国内外研究现状

as a satirist, swift’s literary works are full of irony, and he is also famous for his satire in the world. in johnson’s life of swift, it’s very obvious to find that johnson disliked swift but had an intense interest in him, sharing many of his different outlooks, and exhibiting a wide and life-long reading of his works. he found swift''''''''s irony and satire in general, unsympathetic. ironically, it is partly swift''''''''s own huge satirical powers that seem to have made johnson dislike him (rawson, 2012).

the public spirit of the whigs, an anti-scottish pamphlet ‘so provoking to that irritable nation’ that ‘a proclamation was issued, in which three hundred pounds was offered for discovery of the author’. johnson added: ‘he was become so formidable to the whigs that his familiarity with the ministers was clamored at in parliament, particularly by two men, afterwards of great note, aislabie and walpole.’(johnson, life of swift). johnson thought swift''''s political conservatism was more religious (demaria). and the proleptic glimpse of the ‘unenvied obscurity’ of swift''''''''s irish career, which swift himself saw as the political wilderness of exile, but which was to include gulliver''''''''s travels, a modest proposal, and all his best poems, as well as the major political activism which makes of him to this day one of the most celebrated political as well as literary heroes in irish history. johnson himself, as is well known, was not particularly enamored of either walpole or the scottish nation, but he spoke highly of walpole: ‘there is now no prime minister... as in sir robert walpole''''''''s time.’ (boswell, 1775). although johnson is often sharp on swift''''''''s political behavior in the narrative portion, he actually begins the character section by paying tribute to swift''''''''s major political influence on both english and irish affairs (rawson, 2012).

johnson also expresses respect for the lifelong decency of swift''''''''s political principles, as reflected in the sentiments of a church of england man. it was bewilderingly oblique. politically, johnson does not simply decide in a calculated and prudent way to write as a 'loyal subject of george iii,' carefully avoiding sensitive matters on which he felt deeply (griffin, 1997). he probably agreed with swift that the distinction between de jure and de facto rights of english kings was meaningless.

4. 计划与进度安排

1. introduction

1.1 samuel johnson and his life of swift

1.2 literary review

5. 参考文献

arieh, sachs. (1965). generality and particularity in johnson''''''''s thought. studies in english literature: restoration and eighteenth century, 1500-1900, 5(3), 491-511.

boswell, james. (1900). the life of samuel johnson. new york: the macmillan company.

boswell, james. (1980). life of johnson. oxford: oxford university press.