The impact of Johnson's beliefs and his statements of them have frequently been interpreted as excessively dogmatic. Indeed, some critics have chosen to view Johnson as an eccentric, the last defender of an obsolete neo-classical tradition. Moreover, before the twentieth century's reappraisal of Johnson's literary role, the nineteenth had heaped scorn and derision on his perceptive judgment.As a practitioner of most forms of literary criticism, Johnson was particularly qualified to pass judgment on the "faults and beauties" of. literary compositions. His own distinguished career as poet, biographer, essayist and journalist gave him direct and invaluable knowledge of the creative process so that his pronouncements represent a lifelong interest in and association with literature.Johnson was an empirical critic. His point of departure was always the literary text. Although he acknowledged that rules could be formulated from an analysis of poetry, he stressed the danger of rigid standards of measurement. While Johnson exemplified the classical tradition in criticism, he was no slavish conformist to rules even when they had evolved from the ancients in such matters as the unities.Truth, nature and reason were basic to Johnson's criticism. He insisted that conventions should harmonize with the dictates of reason and common sense. Moreover, he took an independent stand when occasion demanded it. Such was his opposition to the pastoral and his censure of the use of excessive mythology in poetry.Johnson was a strong advocate of general principles. He believed that only general effects were indicative of true worth, and so he repudiated both microscopic and telescopic methods of criticism. Particularity, he maintained in Rasselas, was to be avoided because the minute analysis of poetry fragmented the general spirit of the composition.Johnson was a moral critic. He never judged literature solely on aesthetic grounds, nor did he value literature for its own sake. Life and literature were inseparable for him. He supported the established custom in letters that held that poetry should provide utility and pleasure. Moreover, Johnson insisted that poets should teach man the correct view of manners, morals and social relations, for he strongly believed that literature should inculcate goodness, teach society principles of reason and justice and demonstrate the repression of evil.This study was divided into five chapters. Chapter I, "The Critic and Criticism," is devoted to Johnson's pronouncements on the role of the critic and the nature of criticism. Johnson forcefully provides a rationale for the dual function of poet and critic which he so admirably exemplifies. Chapter II, "Little Prefaces, Little Lives," reviews the circumstances that resulted in his last great work and includes a representative sampling of Johnson's critical declarations as it appears in a number of major and minor lives. Chapters III and, IV present an analysis of six major life studies: Dryden, Milton, Addison, Cowley, Swift and Pope. The accounts of these particular poets were selected for detailed comment because they represent Johnson's critical writing at its best. In each spirited rendition, Johnson weaves a rich tapestry of critical and biographical composition that is unrivalled in English letters.Finally, in Chapter V, "Critical Matrices," significant clusters of ideas are identified around which Johnson's critical attitudes adhere in all of his works. Thus it is with admirable consistency of statement, abundant illustration and clarity of example, that Johnson skillfully presents his view on mythology, imagination, decorum and imitation, as well as on the pastoral and the general and particular in literary criticism. Each of these topics, therefore, is discussed at some length in the last chapter, illustrated by examples from the Lives of the English Poets.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2007. / The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file. Title from title screen of research.pdf file (viewed on April 1, 2008) Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Nevada, Reno, 2005. / "May, 2005." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 88-92). Online version available on the World Wide Web.

Zugl.: Augsburg, Univ., Diss., 2007

Thesis (M.A.)--Ohio University, June, 2009. / Title from PDF t.p. Release of full electronic text on OhioLINK has been delayed until June 1, 2014. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 64-69)

Thesis--University of Michigan. / Includes bibliographical references (vol. 1, leaves 408-421).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin, 1967. / Typescript. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Akron, School of Dance, Theatre, and Arts Administration-Theatre Arts, 2009. / "August, 2009." Title from electronic thesis title page (viewed 10/21/2009) Advisor, James Slowiak; Faculty readers, Durand Pope, David Bush; School Director, Neil Sapienza; Dean of the College, Dudley Turner; Dean of the Graduate School, George R. Newkome. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Florida State University, 2005. / Advisor: Joe M. Richardson, Florida State University, College of Arts and Sciences, Dept. of History. Title and description from dissertation home page (viewed Jan. 24, 2006). Document formatted into pages; contains viii, 164 pages. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.A.)--Florida State University, 2005. / Advisor: Dr. Helen Burke, Florida State University, College of Arts and Sciences, Dept. of English. Title and description from dissertation home page (viewed Sept. 19, 2005). Document formatted into pages; contains v, 62 pages. Includes bibliographical references.