COMMERCIAL LONDON

AND JOHNSON

 INTRODUCTION
Samuel 'Dictionary' Johnson is an unlikely hero
and a representative man of his age.
Written in 1738, London- his first major published
work, is tragical of it's grim picture of how worth
is not recognized by the metropolis.
London presents 18th CE English ancieties about
discord and decay through the antithesis of the
city and country.
 CITY AND COUNTRY
" Johnson condemns the city and praises what the still uncorrupted
country, ought, ideally to stand for. For Thales, the corrupt capital has
become an alien land, and when he resolves to leave to flee it, he is
prompted not by a desire of rural retirement, but by a willingness to
associate himself with spirit of his country's ancient inhabitants."
- J.P. Hardy

Even though "Malice, Rapine and Accident" are a common

occurence in the city, the narrator has not deluded himself into
believing in the bucolic atmosphere of countryside.
Thales only envisages counrtyside as a picturesque place where a
city bred man comes to enjoy the "paintings" of nature.
Johnson is unable to find the solution his friend has supposedly
found.
 COMMERCIALISATION IN THE LITERARY
DISCOURSE
"The fatal revolution, whereby writing is converted to a mechanic trade;
and booksellers, instead of the great, become the patrons and
paymasters of men of genius.”
- Goldsmith
As capitalism entered the world of writing, the perception of art
began to get newer definitions as a form of trade used to make
money.
New topics from the world of commerce and their subsequent
impact on city and country became a part of literary writings.
REPRESENTATION OF COMMERCIAL LONDON
IN JOHNSON'S LONDON
The advent of commercialization was
felt in London as the Walpole
government became the flag bearer of
corruption and avarice. The effects of
the commercial realm were observed
in the loss of moral consciousness of
people, indulgence in bribery and
flattery to fulfil materialistic pursuits.