Lives of the Most Eminent English Poets - by Samuel Johnson - 1

Sep 20, 2026

Uploaded by Miles

Lives of the Most Eminent English Poets (1779–81), also titled Lives of the Poets, is a book by Samuel Johnson containing short biographies and critical reviews of 52 English poets. The work was produced for a planned multi-volume publication, arranged largely by the poets’ dates of death and varying widely in length. Johnson’s biographies follow a three-part structure—life, character summary, and critical assessment—aimed at separating moral lessons from literary analysis. The final volume and Johnson’s own later life reflect physical illness and renewed spiritual resolve.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryLiterature

FormatPDF

Pages11

Reading Time17 min

AccessFree to download

Background and publication purpose

Arrangement and scope of the poets

Johnson’s biography structure and critical method

Moral lessons vs literary analysis

Major biographies and critical judgments

Pope, Dryden, Cowley, and others

Johnson’s later life and final days

| Lives of the Most Eminent English Poets by Samuel Johnson
Lives of the Most Eminent English Poets (1779–81), also known as Lives of the Poets, is a book by Samuel Johnson. It contains short biographies and critical reviews of 52 poets, mostly from the 18th century, arranged roughly by their death dates. Johnson began writing biographical sketches in 1740 , starting with pieces about JeanPhilippe Baratier, Robert Blake, and Francis Drake. In 1744, he wrote his first full-length literary biography, The Life of Mr Richard Savage, in memory of his friend who had passed away the year before. There are different stories about how Johnson came to write Lives of the Poets. During a time of anti-Scottish feeling in England, Scottish publishers began printing collections of English poets' works and selling them in London, which upset copyright practices. In 1777, John Bell, a Scottish publisher, announced plans to print a 109-volume series called The Poets of Great Britain, releasing one volume each week. In response, London publishers asked Johnson to write short biographies for their edition of English poets. He agreed to do the | work for 200 guineas, a smaller feethan he could have requested. Soon after, advertisements promoted the project as a collection of English poets' works, printed in small, elegant volumes with engraved portraits ofthe authors.
Samuel Johnson’s final major work, Prefaces, Biographical and Critical, to the Works of the English Poets (commonly called The Lives of the Poets), began as a simple project to write short introductions for an edition of English poetry. When London booksellers approached Johnson in 1777 to create “little Lives and little Prefaces” for the collection, he agreed, as he enjoyed anecdotes and biographical writing the most. However, the project grew far larger than planned, with Johnson’s prefaces alone filling 10 volumes (1779–81), and the poetry collection reaching 56 volumes. Johnson was upset when his name appeared on the spines of the books because he had not endorsed or revised the poets' works, though he did suggest the addition of Isaac Watts, Sir Richard Blackmore, John Pomfret, Thomas Yalden, and James Thomson. The Lives were arranged by the poets’ dates of death, not birth, and varied greatly in length, from just a few pages to an entire volume. Notable entries included the | | --- | --- | | lives of Abraham Cowley, John Milton, John Dryden, Joseph Addison, and Alexander Pope, while shorter but memorable lives included those of William Collins and William Shenstone. Although Johnson personally disliked some poets, such as John Milton and Thomas Gray, critics argue that his judgments of their poetry were not purely biased. For instance, while he admired William Collins as a person, he criticized his poetic style, saying Collins “puts his words out of the common order”and equated avoiding prose with creating poetry. Johnson took particular pride in The Life of Cowley, especially its detailed discussion of the 17th-century Metaphysical poets. Cowley, considered the last of this group, served as a focus for Johnson’s analysis of their unique style and historical significance.
The Life of Pope is considered both the longest and the best of Johnson’s biographies. Pope’s life and career were well-documented and provided plenty of material for Johnson to use. Johnson admired Pope’s poetry and wrote a moving, realistic account of his life, showing sympathy for Pope’s physical struggles but refusing to see them as excuses. Johnson strongly defended Pope’s status as a poet, dismissing critics like Joseph Warton with the | memorable line: “If Pope be not a poet, where is poetry to be found?”However, in comparing Pope with Dryden, Johnson ultimately judged Dryden to be the greater poet. Johnson structured each biography into three parts: the poet’s life story, a summary of their character, and a critical review of their main works. He used this approach because he believed that a

FAQs

What is Lives of the Most Eminent English Poets and what does it contain?

It is Samuel Johnson’s collection of short biographies and critical reviews of 52 poets. The entries combine life narratives with assessments of character and key works.

How are the poets’ lives organized in Johnson’s book?

The biographies are arranged roughly by the poets’ dates of death. Entry lengths range from a few pages to an entire volume.

What structure does Johnson use for each biography?

Each biography is organized into three parts: the poet’s life story, a summary of character, and a critical review of major works. This approach supports Johnson’s separation of moral lessons from literary analysis.

Sep 20, 2026

Uploaded by Miles