Preface to Shahespeare

by Samuel Jhonson

BY SYEDA SALIHA TAHIR

1825116110
Summary from page 23-29

 Samuel writes that some of the elevations and depressions of renown and the
contradictions to which all improvers of knowledge must forever be exposed ,
since they are not escaped by the mankind may surely be endured with patience.
 Whereas Dr Warburton had a name sufficient to confer on those who could exalt
themselves into antagonist .Now they both shown acuteness sufficient in the
discovery of faults. It appears how falsely we all estimate our own abilities.
 It is also published by Mr Upton about Shakespeare a man skilled in languages who
seems to have had a nicety of taste.
 Samuel mentions that no one has left Shakespeare without improvement. He is
willing that honour, be it less or more should be transferred to the ,first claimant
mainly for his rights stand above dispute and second the he can prove his
pretensions only to himself. He was of view that small thing made men proud and
vanity catches small occasions.
 Samuel mentions that the notes are illustrative by which difficulties are
explained and facts as well as beauties are remarked.
 He can only judge what is necessary by his own experience and how long
soever he may deliberate.
 And a complete explanation of an author’s work is not to be expected from
any single scholiast.He explained many things which others neglected or
mistaken and he mentions that if poetical beauties and defects then he had
not been very diligent to observe
 As well as to the end of most plays he added a general censure of faults or
praise of excellence and nothing is particularly examined.
 The part of criticism in which the succession of editors has labored with
greatest diligencies has been continued by persecutions which with a kind of
conspiracy has raised against all the publishers of Shakespeare.
 Having classed the observations others at the last he tried what he could
substitute for their mistakes.What Samuel have inserted in the text from old
copies , the improvement in them was slight even without notice . Whereas
conjecture though , it may be sometimes unavoidable.
 Reading of ancient books is probably true and is therefor not to be disturbed
for the sake of elegance and improvement of sense. And his first try is to turn
the old text through everyside through which light can find its way.
 He also preserved the common distributions plays into acts . As an act is so
much of drama passes without intervention of time or change of place.
 According to him whatever could be adjusting points is therefore to be
silently performed because it is hard to keep busy eye steadily fixed upon
alusory atoms.
 The greatest part of readers instead of blaming us for passing trifle will
wonder that on just trifles so much labour is expended with an importance of
debate and solemnity of diction.the judging of art cannot be understood by
every one.
 He mentions that he practiced conjecture more and confined his imagination
more to the margin. He always suspected that readings are right which
require many words to prove it a wrong one.
 The justness of a happy restoration strikes at once and moral percept may be
applied to criticism.
 He encountered wit struggling with its own sophistry. According to Samuels it
is an unhappy state in which danger is hid under pleasure where as conjecture
has all the joy and pride of invention.
 Conjectural criticism has been of great use in learned world and if one is
concerned with works of Homer and Chaucer then there are commonly more
manuscripts than one and they do not often conspire in the same mistakes.
 Perhaps Samuel may not be more censured for doing wrong than for doing
little for raising public expectations.
 It is even hard to satisfy those who know what to demand or those who
demand by design what they think impossible to be done.