Share to: share facebook share twitter share wa share telegram print page

A Biographical Sketch of Dr Samuel Johnson

A Biographical Sketch of Dr Samuel Johnson was written by Thomas Tyers for The Gentleman's Magazine's December 1784 issue. The work was written immediately after the death of Samuel Johnson and is the first postmortem biographical work on the author. The first full length biography was written by John Hawkins and titled Life of Samuel Johnson.

Background

There is little known about the relationship that Johnson and Tyers shared, except that Johnson claimed that "Tyers always tells him something he did not know before"[1] and was familiarly mentioned by Johnson to Johnson's friends.[2] However, Johnson, in The Idler, described Tyers, called Tom Restless, as "a circumstance" and says:

"When Tom Restless rises he goes into a coffee-house, where he creeps so near to men whom he takes to be reasoners, as to hear their discourses and endeavours to remember something which, when it has been strained through Tom's head, is so near to nothing, that what it once was cannot be discovered. This he carries round from friend to friend through a circle of visits, till, hearing what each says upon the question, he becomes able at dinner to say a little himself; and as every great genius relaxes himself among his inferiors, meets with some who wonder how so young a man can talk so wisely."[3]

On 13 December 1784, Samuel Johnson died.[4] In response to his death,[5] the Gentleman's Magazine ran A Biographical Sketch of Dr Samuel Johnson for their December issue.[6] The work was written in the short time between the death and the printing.[7] Although it was the first biographical work on Johnson, the first full-length biography would be published by Murphy in 1787.[8]

Biography

Tyers used his Biographical Sketch to discuss Johnson's mental state, but not everyone agreed with the way Tyers revealed Johnson's private life; Hester Thrale wrote, in her Anecdotes of the Late Samuel Johnson, "Poor Johnson! I see they will leave nothing untold that I laboured so long to keep secret; & I was so very delicate in trying to conceal his fancied Insanity."[9] Regardless of what Thrale may have wanted, critics focused on Johnson's mental state from then after.[5] In particular, John Wain emphasizes Tyers's description of Johnson as "like a ghost. He never speaks unless he is spoken to",[10] which Wain considered a "bon mot".[11] Likwise, Walter Jackson Bate relies on how Tyers was able to partly capture Johnson's "bisociative" ability to bring "together two different frames of experience".[12] Tyers, when saying Johnson "said the most common things in the newest manner", describes Johnson's "unpredictability" and a

"further process of mind in which the original shuffling of perspectives, already surprising us with elements we had overlooked or forgotten, is joined by considerations drawn from other matrices of experience that can only be described as 'moral,' that is, having to do with the condition of man - with human hopes and fears; with values, purpose or aim; with the shared sense, never forgotten, of the 'doom of man'; and with an unsleeping practical urgency in considering concretely what to do and how to live."[12]

Tyers concludes his work by saying:

"At the end of this sketch, it may be hinted (sooner might have been prepossession) that Johnson told this writer, for he saw he always had his eye and ear upon him, that at some time or other he might be called upon to assist a posthumous account of him.

A hint was given to our author, a few years ago, by this Rhapsodist, to write his own life, lest somebody should write it for him. He has reason to believe, he has left a manuscript biography behind him. His executors, all honourable men, will sit in judgment upon his papers. Thuanus, Buchanan, Huetius, and others, have been their own historians.

The memory of some people, says Mably very lately, 'is their understanding.' This may be thought, by some readers, to be the case in point. Whatever anecdotes were furnished by memory, this pen did not choose to part with to any compiler. His little bit of gold he has worked into as much gold-leaf as he could[13]

Critical response

James Boswell, in his Life of Samuel Johnson, wrote:

"[Tyers] abounded in anecdote, but was no sufficiently attentive to accuracy. I therefore cannot venture to avail myself much of a biographical sketch of Johnson which he published, being one among the various persons ambitious of appending their names to that of my illustrious friend. That sketch is, however, an entertaining little collection of fragments."[2]

Notes

  1. ^ Hill 1897 p. 362
  2. ^ a b Boswell 1887 p. 308
  3. ^ Hill 1897 p. 380
  4. ^ Bate 1977 p. 600
  5. ^ a b Bate 1955 p. 147
  6. ^ Hill 1897 p. 335
  7. ^ Hill 1897 p. 366
  8. ^ Davis 1961 p. vii
  9. ^ Thrale 1897 p. 199
  10. ^ Wain 1974 p. 246
  11. ^ Wain 1974 p. 345
  12. ^ a b Bate 1977 p. 497
  13. ^ Tyers 1897 pp. 379-380

References

  • Bate, Walter Jackson (1977), Samuel Johnson, New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, ISBN 0-15-179260-7.
  • Bate, Walter Jackson (1955), The Achievement of Samuel Johnson, Oxford: Oxford University Press, OCLC 355413.
  • Boswell, James. Life of Johnson Vol. 3, London: 1887.
  • Davis, Bertram. "Introduction" in * The Life of Samuel Johnson, LL. D., ed. Bertram H. Davis, pp. vii-xxx. New York: Macmillan Company, 1961.
  • Hill, G. Birkbeck, editor, Johnsonian Miscellanies Vol 2. Oxford, 1897.
  • Piozzi, Hester Lynch. Anecdotes of the Late Samuel Johnson in Johnsonian Miscellanies Vol 1. ed. Hill, G. Birkbeck, pp. 141 – 351. Oxford, 1897.
  • Tyers, Thomas. A Biographical Sketch of Dr Samuel Johnson in Johnsonian Miscellanies Vol 2. Ed. G. Birkbeck Hill, pp. 335–381. Oxford, 1897.
  • Wain, John (1974), Samuel Johnson, New York: Viking Press, OCLC 40318001.

Read other articles:

Artikel ini membutuhkan rujukan tambahan agar kualitasnya dapat dipastikan. Mohon bantu kami mengembangkan artikel ini dengan cara menambahkan rujukan ke sumber tepercaya. Pernyataan tak bersumber bisa saja dipertentangkan dan dihapus.Cari sumber: Danau George Uganda – berita · surat kabar · buku · cendekiawan · JSTOR (September 2015) Untuk daerah perairan lain dengan nama sama, lihat Danau George (disambiguasi). Danau GeorgeFoto satelit Danau Edward…

Gambar montase dari Jupiter dan keempat satelit terbesarnya (jarak dan ukuran tidak dalam skala yang benar). Saat ini terdapat 79 satelit Jupiter yang diketahui.[1][2][3] Hal ini menjadikan Jupiter sebagai planet yang memiliki satelit alami dengan orbit cukup stabil terbanyak di Tata Surya, jika tidak dihitung dengan satelit-satelit minor yang berada di dalam cincin Saturnus.[4] Satelit-satelit Jupiter terbesar adalah empat satelit Galileo, yang ditemukan secara t…

بايزيد الثاني (بالتركية العثمانية: بايزيد ثانى)‏  الحكم مدة الحكم 886 - 918هـ\1481 - 1512م عهد توسع الدولة العثمانية اللقب الملكُ الوليّ، ضياء الدين، عون الغُزاة والمُجاهدين، أبو النصر التتويج 886هـ\1481م العائلة الحاكمة آل عثمان السلالة الملكية العثمانية نوع الخلافة وراثية ظاهرة و…

دورفال رودريغوس (بالبرتغالية: Dorval Rodrigues)‏  معلومات شخصية الميلاد 26 فبراير 1935 [1]  بورتو أليغري  الوفاة 26 ديسمبر 2021 (عن عمر ناهز 86 عاماً)سانتوس، ساو باولو  مركز اللعب وسط الجنسية البرازيل  مسيرة الشباب سنوات فريق إنترناسيونال 1950–1954 غريميو بورتو أليغرينزي ال�…

Department in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France This article is about the French department. For other uses, see Allier (disambiguation). Department in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, FranceAllier Alèir (Occitan)DepartmentPrefecture building in Moulins FlagCoat of armsLocation of Allier in FranceCoordinates: 46°20′N 3°10′E / 46.333°N 3.167°E / 46.333; 3.167CountryFranceRegionAuvergne-Rhône-AlpesPrefectureMoulinsSubprefecturesMontluçonVichyGovernment • Presi…

You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in German. Click [show] for important translation instructions. View a machine-translated version of the German article. Machine translation, like DeepL or Google Translate, is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated text into the English Wikipedia. Consider adding a …

I soldati tedeschi sfilano davanti al Palazzo Reale a Bruxelles, 1940 Nonostante fosse neutrale all'inizio della seconda guerra mondiale, il Belgio e i suoi possedimenti coloniali si trovarono in guerra dopo che il paese venne invaso dalle forze tedesche il 10 maggio 1940. Dopo 18 giorni di combattimenti in cui le forze belghe vennero respinte in una piccola sacca nel nord-ovest del paese, l'esercito belga si arrese ai tedeschi, iniziando un'occupazione che sarebbe durata fino al 1944. La resa d…

Eduardo López de Romaña Presiden PeruMasa jabatan8 September 1899 – 8 September 1903PendahuluNicolás de PiérolaPenggantiManuel Candamo Informasi pribadiLahir(1847-03-19)19 Maret 1847Arequipa, PeruMeninggal26 Mei 1912(1912-05-26) (umur 65)Yura, PeruPartai politikPartido CivilProfesiInsinyurSunting kotak info • L • B Eduardo López de Romaña y Alvizuri (19 Maret 1847 – 26 Mei 1912) adalah Presiden Peru dari tahun 1899 hingga 1903. Ia adalah insiny…

Niederschlesischer Oberlausitzkreis Kreis Tempat Negara berdaulatJermanNegara bagian di JermanSaxonia NegaraJerman Ibu kotaNiesky GeografiLuas wilayah1.340,29 km² [convert: unit tak dikenal]SejarahPembuatan1994 Pembubaran2008 Organisasi politik• Kepala pemerintahanBernd Lange Informasi tambahanKode NUTSDED26 Lain-lainSitus webLaman resmi Niederschlesischer Oberlausitzkreis adalah sebuah Landkreis atau semacam kabupaten yang terletak di negara bagian Sachsen, Jerman. Landkreis in…

Version of the Christian devotion 'the Stations of the Cross' It has been suggested that this article be merged into Stations of the Cross. (Discuss) Proposed since March 2024. The Way of the Cross, celebrated at the Colosseum in Rome on Good Friday. Part of a series onDevotions to Jesusin the Catholic ChurchChrist in Majesty Devotions Holy Wounds Sacred Heart Holy Face Divine Mercy Eucharistic adoration Holy Name Holy Hour Acts of Reparation Stations of the Cross Precious Blood Infant of Prague…

МифологияРитуально-мифологическийкомплекс Система ценностей Сакральное Миф Мономиф Теория основного мифа Ритуал Обряд Праздник Жречество Мифологическое сознание Магическое мышление Низшая мифология Модель мира Цикличность Сотворение мира Мировое яйцо Мифическое вр…

Questa voce sugli argomenti film polizieschi e film d'azione è solo un abbozzo. Contribuisci a migliorarla secondo le convenzioni di Wikipedia. Segui i suggerimenti del progetto di riferimento. Hard BoiledTony Leung Chiu Wai e Chow Yun-Fat in una scena del filmTitolo originaleHard Boiled Lingua originaleInglese, Cantonese Paese di produzioneHong Kong Anno1992 Durata129 Minuti Dati tecniciColorerapporto: 1,85:1 Generepoliziesco, azione, thriller RegiaJohn Woo SoggettoJohn Woo Sceneg…

Chronologies Données clés 1770 1771 1772  1773  1774 1775 1776Décennies :1740 1750 1760  1770  1780 1790 1800Siècles :XVIe XVIIe  XVIIIe  XIXe XXeMillénaires :-Ier Ier  IIe  IIIe Chronologies thématiques Art Architecture, Arts plastiques (Dessin, Gravure, Peinture et Sculpture), (), Littérature (), Musique (Classique) et Théâtre   Ingénierie (), Architecture et ()   Politique Droit et ()   Religion (,)   Science…

莎拉·阿什頓-西里洛2023年8月,阿什頓-西里洛穿著軍服出生 (1977-07-09) 1977年7月9日(46歲) 美國佛羅里達州国籍 美國别名莎拉·阿什頓(Sarah Ashton)莎拉·西里洛(Sarah Cirillo)金髮女郎(Blonde)职业記者、活動家、政治活動家和候選人、軍醫活跃时期2020年—雇主內華達州共和黨候選人(2020年)《Political.tips》(2020年—)《LGBTQ國度》(2022年3月—2022年10月)烏克蘭媒體�…

Belgian homebuilt aircraft D-Plane 1 Verhees D-Plane 1 prototype Role Amateur-built aircraftType of aircraft National origin Belgium Manufacturer Verhees Engineering First flight October 2004[1] Status Plans available (2012) Number built One prototype The Verhees D-Plane 1 is a Belgian homebuilt flying wing, designed by Verhees Engineering and supplied as plans for amateur construction.[2] Design and development The D-Plane 1 features a cantilever mid-wing, a single-seat enclosed…

57th season of the Eredivisie Football league seasonEredivisieSeason2012–13Dates10 August 2012 – 5 May 2013ChampionsAjax (32nd title)RelegatedWillem IIVVV-VenloChampions LeagueAjaxPSVEuropa LeagueFeyenoordVitesse ArnhemAZUtrechtMatches played306Goals scored964 (3.15 per match)Top goalscorerWilfried Bony(31 goals)Biggest home winPSV 7–0 ADO Den HaagBiggest away winVVV 0–6 PSVHighest scoringHeracles Almelo 6–3 HeerenveenLongest winning run8 gamesPSVLongest unbeaten run14 gamesAjaxLo…

American publicly funded non-profit corporation This article needs to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (April 2023) Corporation for Public BroadcastingCompany typePrivate, non-profit[1][2]Industry Television Radio FoundedNovember 7, 1967; 56 years ago (1967-11-07)HeadquartersWashington, D.C., U.S.Area servedUnited StatesKey peoplePatricia Harrison (president & CEO)Number of employees100Websi…

Not to be confused with ¿Dónde Están Corazón?. For the 1930 song, see ¿Dónde estás corazón? (tango). 1996 single by Shakira¿Dónde Estás, Corazón?Single by Shakirafrom the album Pies Descalzos ReleasedFebruary 2, 1996 (1996-02-02)Recorded1994GenrePop rockLatin popLength3:56Label Sony Music Columbia Songwriter(s)ShakiraLuis Fernando Ochoa[1]Producer(s)Luis Fernando OchoaShakira singles chronology Estoy Aquí (1995) ¿Dónde Estás, Corazón? (1996) Pies Descalzos…

UEFA Women's Champions League 2018-2019 Competizione UEFA Women's Champions League Sport Calcio Edizione 18ª Organizzatore UEFA Date dal 7 agosto 2018al 18 maggio 2019 Partecipanti 60 Nazioni 48 Sito web UEFA Women's Champions League Risultati Vincitore Olympique Lione(6º titolo) Secondo Barcellona Statistiche Miglior marcatore Pernille Harder (8) Incontri disputati 121 Gol segnati 471 (3,89 per incontro) Cronologia della competizione 2017-2018 2019-2020 Manuale La UEFA Women…

Politics of Norway Constitution Monarchy King Harald V Crown Prince Haakon Government Council of State (current cabinet) Prime Minister (list) Jonas Gahr Støre List of governments Parliament Storting President: Masud Gharahkhani Norwegian Parliamentary Ombudsman Political parties Politicians Recent elections Parliamentary: 2021201720132009 Local: 2023201920152011 Local government Administrative divisions Counties (Fylker) Municipalities (Kommuner) Sámi Parliament Foreign relations European Uni…

Kembali kehalaman sebelumnya