...his edition of The Plays of William Shakespeare (1765) • Shakespeare is above all writers, at least above all modern writers, the poet of nature; the poet that holds up to his readers a faithful mirrour of manners and of life. His characters are not modified by the customs of particular places,...

...—Othello (5.2.343-48) Samuel Johnson was persuaded that "Shakespeare is above all writers, at least above all modern writers, the poet of nature; the...up to his readers a faithful mirror of manners and life."1 His great tragedies in particular explore the devious vices that wreak havoc on humankind.2...

...was already a commonplace that Shakespeare, as Johnson expressed it (taking his image from Hamlet), 'holds up to his readers a faithful mirror of manners and of life'. In this 'mirror', so it was widely believed, could be seen 'human nature'. With scorn and sarcasm,...

...Although he criticized what he saw as Shakespeare's lack of moral purpose, he described him as 'a poet who holds up to his readers a faithful mirror of manners and of life' and applauded Shakespeare for creating characters who were true to life. Jones, Inigo (1573-1652) A...

...zu seiner Shakespeare- Ausgabe von 1 765 genannt hatte: Shakespeare is above all writers, at least above all modern writers, the poet of nature, —...up to his readers a faithful mirror of manners and life.2 Damit wird Shakespeare nicht nur als Norm für die klassisch-romantische Literatur in Deutschland...

...Vorwort zu seiner Shakespeare-Ausgabe von 1765 genannt hatte: Shakespeare is above all writers, at least above all modern writers, the poet of nature, —...up to his readers a faithful mirror of manners and life. 2 Damit wird Shakespeare nicht nur als Norm für die klassisch-romantische Literatur in Deutschland...

...expressed a general viewpoint which I readily endorse: “Shakespeare is above all writers, at least above all modern writers, the poet of nature; the poet that holds up to his readers a faithful mirrour of manners and of life. His characters ... are the genuine progeny of common humanity, such...

...differently. One of those people was Samuel Johnson. He wrote: Shakespeare is above all writers, at least above all modern writers, the poet of nature; the...and of life. His characters are not modified by the customs of particular places, unpracticed by the rest of the world His persons act and speak by the...

...and in the eighteenth century it surfaced most powerfully in Dr Johnson's defence of Shakespeare as 'the poet that holds up to his readers a faithful mirror of manners and of life' 1Johnson 1984, 421). In discussion of the novel in particular, the image of the mirror has repeatedly...

...Shakespeare's genius is said to lie in his delineation of character: Shakespeare is above all writers, at least above all modern writers, the poet of nature; the poet that holds up to his readers a faithful mirrour of manners and of life His characters are not modified by the customs of particular places,...