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How does Johnson extol Shakespeare’s merits and censure demerits in his “Preface to Shakespeare?”

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Preface to Shakespeare is a notable literary work by Samuel Johnson. A complete discussion of this literary work is given, which will help you enhance your literary skills and prepare for the exam. Read the Main texts, Key info, Summary, Themes, Characters, Literary devices, Quotations, Notes, and various study materials of Preface to Shakespeare.

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How does Johnson extol Shakespeare’s merits and censure demerits in his “Preface to Shakespeare?”

Samuel Johnson (1709-1784) was a great English writer in the 18th century. He wrote “Preface to Shakespeare” (1765) to both praise and criticize Shakespeare’s works. Johnson said Shakespeare (1564-1616) was the best English writer. He praised his deep knowledge of human nature. But he also pointed out some faults. Johnson gave a fair and honest opinion. He showed both the good and bad sides of Shakespeare’s writing. His balanced view helps us understand Shakespeare better.

Understanding Human Nature: Johnson says Shakespeare’s greatest merit is showing human nature truthfully. His characters act and speak like real people. They show common feelings like love, jealousy, and ambition. Whether kings or fools, all characters feel genuine. Even magical characters like ghosts seem real. Johnson believes no writer matches Shakespeare in understanding people. He says,

“Shakespeare is above all writers, at least, above all modern writers, the poet of nature, the poet that holds up to his readers a faithful mirror of manners and of life.”

Violating Dramatic Rules: Shakespeare ignored two unities: time and place. He kept only unity of action. Johnson supports this. He says drama is not real life, so strict rules are unnecessary. The audience can imagine time jumps or location changes. About the unity of time and place, the author says,

“The unities of time and place are not essential to a just drama, that though they may sometimes conduce to pleasure, they are always to be sacrificed to the nobler beauties of variety and instruction.”

Mixing Comedy and Tragedy: Johnson praises Shakespeare for mixing sad and funny scenes. He says life has both joy and sorrow, so plays should too. For example, “Hamlet” (1623) has not only deep tragedy but also comic gravediggers. Critics called this wrong, but Johnson defends it. He says, 

“Shakespeare’s plays are not in the rigorous and critical sense either tragedies or comedies but compositions of distinct kind.”

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