Preface to Shakespeare
Assigned by 1 of the 9 reading lists, catalogue entry only
- Written
- 1765
- Form
- Essay
- Language
- English
- Length
- Short · 60 ppunder 120 pages
- Difficulty
- Demanding3 of 5 for a first-year reader
We recommendSamuel Johnson, The Major WorksOxford World's Classics, 2009Contains the Preface to Shakespeare alongside the Preface to the Dictionary, Rasselas and the major poems.
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Johnson's preface to his 1765 edition of Shakespeare's plays argues that Shakespeare has stood the test of time because he is the poet of general nature, whose characters are species rather than individuals. Johnson lists Shakespeare's faults frankly, his carelessness with plots, his puns, his failure to teach morality, and then dismantles the neoclassical rule of the unities of time and place, observing that spectators always know they are in a theatre. He also defends mixing comedy and tragedy and describes the textual problems he faced as an editor.
No reading guide yet
The catalogue entry above is complete: the dates, the form, the themes and every program that assigns Preface to Shakespeare are verified against each program's published list.
What is missing is the part that takes real work: the summary, the key passages, and a recommended translation. The edition named below is the one most programs assign, so the buy links are useful already.