Johnson’s Views on Shakespeare’s Characters

Answer

Critically evaluate Johnson’s views on Shakespeare’s characters.

Or, What are the merits of Shakespeare for which Johnson admires him so much?

William Shakespeare (1564-1616) is the most brilliant figure in the realm of English drama. Shakespeare’s plays are pure gold. They have many excellences. In “Preface to Shakespeare” (1765), Dr. Samuel Johnson (1709-1784) very minutely tries to expose the absolute genius, keen intellect, genuine excellence, and everlasting significance of William Shakespeare. Johnson’s admiration for Shakespeare was not merely passionate but spontaneous. 

A Representation of General Nature: Shakespeare’s plays represent general nature that brings immortality to literary works. A faithful representation of nature is a source of pleasure to many people, and such a representation continues to give pleasure. The wonderful or artificial thing does not give delight for a long time. However, only things based on truth can be a source of permanent and perpetual pleasure. So Johnson rightly says,

Nothing can please many and please long, but just representation of general nature.

Here, it is noted that, according to the classical view, art imitates nature. For Johnson, nature is not life, but life is the actual and particular occurrences or persons.

A Faithful Mirror of Manners and Life: According to Johnson, Shakespeare is the poet of humans more than any other modern writer. His plays offer a faithful picture of real life. In Johnson’s words,

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

Shakespeare’s characters are so realistic that Johnson says,

Shakespeare has no heroes, his scenes are occupied only by men.

So, his characters are extremely decorated by both the common and extraordinary situations of real life.

Intransient Characters: Shakespeare’s Characters are the authentic and genuine product of common humanity. So,

His characters are not modified by the customs of particular places.

Undoubtedly, Shakespeare’s characters do not belong to a society in a definite place or time. They are enduring and universal, representing every man. His characters have a universal appeal. 

Realistic Dialogues: Shakespeare distinguishes himself from his contemporary writers as a thoroughly realistic dialogue maker. Unlike the other authors, Shakespeare always rejects unfamiliar characters, dead language, and unreliable or peculiar subjects, which are never seen in real life. 

Tragi-Comedy, another Striking Feature: Johnson agrees that Shakespeare’s plays are neither comedies nor tragedies. But in a real sense, the free use of tragedy and comedy in the same play is one of the most striking features in the work of Shakespeare and other romantic dramatists of his time. Though the neo-classical theory does not permit this mixture, Johnson vindicates such mingling. He says the imitation of general human nature permits it and eagerly demands it.

Violation of Classical Unities: Johnson vindicates Shakespeare’s violation of two classical unities, unities of time and place. Johnson thinks that only unity of action is important for a play and that Shakespeare’s plays preserve this unity satisfactorily. His plays generally have a beginning, middle, and end, as Aristotle requires. The end of his play also marks the end of expectations. So Johnson justifies that there is no essentiality of the other two unities- time and place.

In conclusion, from the above discussion, it is wise to say that no other dramatist has been successful in attaining the heights he has achieved. Johnson’s admiration for Shakespeare is not merely passionate but instinctive, too. Through a series of eloquent passages, Jonson examines Shakespeare in the test of time, nature, and universality and finally finds him supreme in all.