Changing Interpretations Over Time: Samuel Johnson
It's not surprising that Shakespeare tops the league as the most quoted Englishman of all time; nor that Hamlet is the most often quoted of his plays. But Samuel Johnson, as well as being recognised amongst the most highly regarded literary figures in the eighteenth century, is regularly credited as being the second most-quoted after Shakespeare. And of course, most famous for compiling the first dictionary of the English Language in 1755. You can find out more about him here . Aside from being a handsome fellow, poet, lexicographer, essayist, and a big list of other things, he was a literary critic who wrote this about Hamlet: SAMUEL JOHNSON: from his edition of Shakespeare's plays, 1765 IF the dramas of Shakespeare were to be characterised, each by the particular excellence which distinguishes it from the rest, we must allow to the tragedy of Hamlet the praise of variety. The incidents are so numerous, that the argument of the play would make a long tale. The ...