Evidence: | 'Mrs. Montague, a lady distinguished for having written an Essay on Shakspeare [sic], being mentioned:—Reynolds. "I think that essay does her honour." Johnson. "Yes, Sir; it does her honour, but it would do nobody else honour. I have, indeed, not read it all. But when I take up the end of a web, and find it packthread. I do not expect, by looking further, to find embroidery. Sir, I will venture to say, there is not one sentence of true criticism in her book." Garrick. "But, Sir, surely it shews how much Voltaire has mistaken Shakspeare, which nobody else has done." Johnson. "Sir, nobody else has thought it worth while. And what merit is there in that ? You may as well praise a schoolmaster for whipping a boy who has construed ill".' |
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Century: | 1700-1799 | ||||||||||
Date: | Between 1 Jan 1769 and 16 Oct 1769 | ||||||||||
Country: | England | ||||||||||
Time: | n/a | ||||||||||
Place: | city: London | ||||||||||
Type of Experience (Reader): |
|
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Type of Experience (Listener): |
|
Reader: | Samuel Johnson |
Age | Adult (18-100+) |
Gender | Male |
Date of Birth | 18 Sep 1709 |
Socio-economic group: | Professional / academic / merchant / farmer |
Occupation: | writer |
Religion: | Anglican |
Country of origin: | England |
Country of experience: | England |
Listeners present if any: (e.g. family, servants,
friends, workmates) |
n/a |
Additional comments: | n/a |
Author: | Elizabeth Montagu |
Title: | Essay on the Writings and Genius of Shakespear |
Genre: | Essays / Criticism |
Form of Text: | Print: Unknown |
Publication details: | n/a |
Provenance: | unknown |
Record ID: | 21046 | |
Source - | ||
Author: | James Boswell | |
Editor: | R.W. Chapman | |
Title: | Life of Johnson | |
Place of Publication: | Oxford | |
Date of Publication: | 1980 | |
Vol: | n/a | |
Page: | 413-14 | |
Additional comments: | n/a |
Citation: | James Boswell, R.W. Chapman (ed.), Life of Johnson (Oxford, 1980), p. 413-14, http://can-red-lec.library.dal.ca/Arts/reading/recorddetails2.php?id=21046, accessed: 18 April 2024 |
Originally published 1791. |
Reading Experience Database version 2.0. Page updated: 27th Apr 2016 3:15pm (GMT)