One of the more fascinating characteristics of Samuel Johnson's paradoxical temperament was his passionate and lifelong involvement with youth. Whether the "old man's child" of Lichfield, the almost shoeless student at Oxford, the "harmless drudge" of Gough Square, or the literary arbiter of Streatham and the Club, Johnson was surrounded by younger people of diverse backgrounds--from prostitutes to peers of the realm--and of varied achievements or promise, revered companions whose friendships with him often spanned many years. The purpose of this study is to explore the depth and breadth of Johnson's attachment to young people and to demonstrate, first, that this attachment influenced a group of younger associates who benefited from his aid, instruction, and encouragement and who helped to perpetuate his name among further generations; and, second, that it provided Johnson with an intellectual stimulus and a constant assessment of new ideas which profoundly affected the course of his own thinking and writing. / The circle that revolved around Johnson included some of the most brilliant minds and talents of the age: David Garrick, Sir Joshua Reynolds, Edmund Burke, Oliver Goldsmith, Sir John Hawkins, Thomas Percy, Charles Burney, Thomas Warton, George Steevens, Edmond Malone, and numerous others. But while he "talked for victory" among his reserved and scholarly colleagues, he, at the same time, "frisked" and "rambled" with Oxford students Bennet Langton and Topham Beauclerk. In the company of a Boswell, a Hester Thrale, or a Fanny Burney, he could provide the intellectual stimulus and excitement that they most sought in him or could lapse into a bear-like playfulness that, in their later memorials, they recalled with equal affection. As well as housing and otherwise aiding wastrels and prostitutes, he raised and educated a West Indian negro and made him the principal beneficiary of his estate. In one way or another, with prefaces, dedications, ghostwriting, emendations, encouragement, advice, and money, Johnson assisted the young people who came to him or whom he found in want or distress. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 44-02, Section: A, page: 0493. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1983.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_75053 |
| Contributors | REISS, ILA PATRICIA., Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
| Format | 283 p. |
| Rights | On campus use only. |
| Relation | Dissertation Abstracts International |
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