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Gaye Ingram's avatar

Re Johnson's criticism, often linked, as you mentioned, to his politics and prejudices. Most often menioned in his criticism of Milton's "Lycidas," which, like much, is simply misunderstood by later critics because they did not read it in context. It begins with what the poem is NOT, which should have been a clue to some outside source to which he was responding. Johnson wrote for his time. And in his time the Wartons and others of the Whiggish, romantic sort were elevating that great poem over the greater epic, "Paradise Lost." They were using it as a touchstone for what poetry should be. It is against the backdrop of their writings and editions of Milton's work that his infamous criticsm of "Lycidas" must be read to be understood. The older I get, the savvier I realize Sam'l Johnson was.

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Stephen Bradford Long's avatar

This is an excellent example of what I consider genuine skepticism: an openness to the unbelievable and mysterious, while simultaneously demanding evidence and reason.

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