The Vanity of Human Wishes
Assigned by 1 of the 9 reading lists, catalogue entry only
- Written
- 1749
- Form
- Lyric poetry
- Language
- English
- Length
- Short · 15 ppunder 120 pages
- Difficulty
- Demanding3 of 5 for a first-year reader
We recommendSamuel Johnson, The Major WorksOxford World's Classics, 2009Contains the poem with London, Rasselas, the prefaces and a selection of essays and letters.
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A poem of 368 lines in heroic couplets, freely imitating Juvenal's tenth satire. Surveying mankind from China to Peru, Johnson shows how each object of desire, wealth, political power, learning, military glory, long life and beauty, betrays those who obtain it. Cardinal Wolsey, the scholar, Charles XII of Sweden and the aged and the beautiful serve as examples. The poem ends by asking whether then no wish should be made, and answers that we should pray for a healthy mind, patience and faith, leaving the choice to heaven.
No reading guide yet
The catalogue entry above is complete: the dates, the form, the themes and every program that assigns The Vanity of Human Wishes 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.