Lives of the Poets, Volume 1 by Samuel Johnson
QR code
"Lives of the Poets, Volume 1" by Samuel Johnson is a collection of biographies written between 1779-81. This landmark work presents short biographies and critical appraisals of 52 English poets, most from the eighteenth century. Commissioned by London publishers to compete with Scottish editions, Johnson crafted portraits that blend life narratives with character assessments and literary criticism. His judgments sparked immediate controversy—praised for compelling prose yet criticized for prejudiced opinions on Milton,
Swift, and the Metaphysical poets, while conspicuously omitting women writers entirely. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
Download for free
For your e-reader or reading app — Kindle, Kobo, Apple Books, Calibre etc.
Kindle → Use Send-to-Kindle
Kobo, Nook etc → Transfer via USB
Phone, tablet or computer → Open in a reading app
Other formats & older devices
There may be more files related to this item.
About this eBook
| Author | Johnson, Samuel, 1709-1784 |
|---|---|
| Title | Lives of the Poets, Volume 1 |
| Alternate Title | The Lives of the English Poets |
| Note | Wikipedia page about this book: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lives_of_the_Most_Eminent_English_Poets |
| Contents | Cowley -- Denham -- Milton -- Butler -- Rochester -- Roscommon -- Otway -- Waller -- Pomfret -- Dorset -- Stepney -- J. Philips -- Walsh -- Dryden -- Smith -- Duke -- King -- Sprat -- Halifax -- Parnell -- Garth -- Rowe -- Addison -- Hughes -- Sheffield, duke of Buckinghamshire. |
| Credits | Produced by Jonathan Ingram, Jayam Subramanian and PG Distributed Proofreaders |
| Reading Level | Reading ease score: 60.5 (8th & 9th grade). Neither easy nor 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. | 9823 |
| Release Date | Feb 1, 2006 |
| Last Update | Dec 26, 2020 |
| Copyright | Public domain in the USA. |
| Downloads | 764 downloads in the last 30 days. |
Project Gutenberg eBooks are always free!