LIFE OF MILTON – DR. JOHNSON

Ø  Lives of the Most Eminent English Poets (1779-81) was a work by Samuel Johnson, consists of 52 poets biographies, most of them lived during the 18^th century, it is arranged by date of birth.

Ø  Johnson hated Milton’s democratic principles and despised his impracticable philosophy.

Ø  Most of the lives can be divided into three sections: a biography, a brief character and a critical section.

Ø  His criticism on ‘Lycidas’ “easy, vulgar and therefore disgusting”.

Ø  He was asked by his publishers to write about Milton.

Ø  “The thought of obedience, whether canonical or civil, raised his indignation and sometimes very subtle and ironical”

Ø  Dr. Johnson accuses Milton of superiority complex and says that he never praised anybody: ‘of his praise he was very frugal’.

Ø  Dr. Johnson was not prepared to accept Milton the man.

Ø  Milton became an enemy of the Presbyterians, whom he had favoured before.

Ø  He ridicules Milton’s relationship with Cromwell and advocate of liberty.

Ø  Johnson fairly satisfactory about his poetic performance and gives a full praise.

Ø  Johnson dismisses of the early poems of Milton and no one is likely to grudge it.

Ø  ‘He was a lion that had no skill in dandling the kid’.

Ø  “Lycidas” of which the diction harsh, the rhymes uncertain, and the numbers unpleasing.

Ø  Dr. Johnson wrote a letter to Lord Chasterfield in which he referred about Virgil and Shepherd.

Ø  He accepts the common opinion about ‘L Allegro’ and ‘I ll Penseroso’.

Ø  He praises ‘Comus’ for its defence of virtue.

Ø  He praises ‘Paradise Lost’  and defends Addison’s criticism on Satan. He says, “remarks on Satan are Offensive to a pious ear.

Ø  He praises Paradise Regained’ and ‘Samson Agonistes’ for its dramatic work.

Ø  He fails to appreciate the blank verse of Milton fully because he could not see the beauty of blank verse as such he was for rhyme.

Ø  Dr. Johnson’s final tribute to Milton which speaks of the intellectual honesty of the great Tory.

Ø  The periodical ‘The Rambler’ was edited by Dr. Johnson.

Ø  Dr. Johnson’s Dictionary was published in 1755.

Ø  Saho, a famous club was started by Dr. Johnson.

Ø  Johnson’s Biography was written by Boswell.

Ø  Milton visited many countries. The city he first visited was Paris.

Ø  Johnson says in ‘Life of Milton’ that Milton was born between 6 and 7  in the midnight.

Ø  Milton knew Hebrew.

Ø  According to Johnson, Comus is the work of Milton deserves not any particular criticism.

Ø  According to Johnson, Milton’s sonnets are very worst.

Ø  Johnson considers Milton’s Paradise Lost in second place for its performance.

Ø  Johnson criticizes ‘Lycidas’ as “one of the books which the reader admires and lay down, and forgets to to take up again”.

Ø  Comus – “had this poem been written not by Milton, it would have claimed and received universal praise”.

Ø  Johnson admires much Milton’s ‘Samson Agonistes’.

Ø  Milton sets most value upon Spenser.

Ø  Milton’s favourite poet was Cowley.

Ø  Milton’s Sonnets – “In this poem there is no nature, for there is no truth. There is no art, there is nothing new”.

Ø  As a drama,Comus is deficient.

Ø  Milton married Katherine as his second wife.

Ø  Milton married thrice.