4 Samuel Johnson (1709-84): Genius and Disability
Let’s go back to the Gallery of Readers that Nick Hoffman guided you through at the end of Bundle 1. In introducing this famous portrait of Samuel Johnson, Nick noted, “You may already recognize this image, since it achieved meme-fame back in 2012. Frequently captioned ‘DAFUQ DID I JUST READ,’ this portrait of Johnson actually captures Johnson’s disability; he was extremely nearsighted.”
Near-sightedness was one of several disabilities that Johnson struggled with. Though many think of Johnson as some patriarch of privilege, he dropped out of college after one year because he couldn’t afford the tuition. From his college days, he battled what we now know as clinical depression. He taught and wrote to make ends meet, scrabbling his way to celebrity. Let’s take a closer look at this extraordinary man and his extraordinary achievements:
Mastery Check:
- How did Frances Burney describe her first meeting with Samuel Johnson?
- Why did Samuel Johnson leave college after only one year?
- What disabilities did Samuel Johnson live with?
- What are some of the features of Johnson’s Dictionary?
- What did Johnson say about Milton’s Paradise Lost?
- How did Johnson believe that fiction and biography could change the world?
This scene below from Blackadder shows the impossibility of “fixing” the language–something that the real-life Johnson appreciated.