Lives of the English Poets : Waller, Milton, Cowley by Samuel Johnson
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"Lives of the English Poets: Waller, Milton, Cowley" by Samuel Johnson is a critical work published between 1779-81. This collection presents short biographies and literary critiques of 52 English poets, mostly from the eighteenth century. Johnson examines each poet's life, character, and major works, offering judgments that proved controversial even upon publication. His assessments—including harsh views on Milton's "Lycidas" and metaphysical poetry—sparked immediate debate. Commissioned by London publishers to compete with Scottish
editions, these prefaces evolved from brief introductions into substantial literary criticism that shaped how generations understood English poetry. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
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About this eBook
| Author | Johnson, Samuel, 1709-1784 |
|---|---|
| Title | Lives of the English Poets : Waller, Milton, Cowley |
| Note | Wikipedia page about this book: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lives_of_the_Most_Eminent_English_Poets |
| Credits | Transcribed from the 1891 Cassell and Co. edition by David Price |
| Reading Level | Reading ease score: 58.5 (10th to 12th grade). Somewhat difficult to read. |
| Language | English |
| LoC Class | PR: Language and Literatures: English literature |
| Subject | English poetry -- Early modern, 1500-1700 -- History and criticism |
| Subject | English poetry -- 18th century -- History and criticism |
| Subject | Poets, English -- Biography -- Early works to 1800 |
| Category | Text |
| eBook-No. | 5098 |
| Release Date | Feb 1, 2004 |
| Last Update | Oct 26, 2014 |
| Copyright | Public domain in the USA. |
| Downloads | 519 downloads in the last 30 days. |
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