The Arrogance of Man's Desires: The Ten Satire of Juvenal Imitated is a poem by the English writer Samuel Johnson. It was written in late 1748 and published in 1749 (see 1749). in poetry). It started and finished while Johnson was busy writing the English Dictionary and it was the first work published to include Johnson's name on the title page.
As shown by the subtitle, it is an imitation of Satire X by the Latin poet Juvenal. Unlike Juvenal, Johnson tried to sympathize with his poetic subject. Also, poetry focuses on human futility and human search after greatness like Juvenal but concludes that Christian values ​​are essential to living well. It was Johnson's second copy of Juvenal (the first of which was his 1738 London poem). Unlike London, The Vanity of Human Wishes emphasizes the philosophy of politics. The poem was not a financial success, but then critics, including Walter Scott and T. S. Eliot, regarded him as Johnson's greatest poem. Howard D. Weinbrot called it one of the great poems in English. "
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In 1738 Johnson composed London, the first replica of Juvenal's poetry, as imitation was popularized by people like the Pope in the 18th century. When Johnson replaced Edward Cave with Robert Dodsley as his publisher, he agreed with Dodsley that he needed to change the focus of his poem. Johnson's London is particularly concerned about political issues, especially those surrounding the Walpole administration, but The Vanity of Human Wishes focuses on a comprehensive philosophical concept.
In a conversation with George Steevens, Johnson recounts that he wrote the first seventy lines "on the way one morning, in the little house behind the church". Johnson claims that "All numbers are composed before I make a stanza to write". To achieve this achievement, Johnson relies on an "almost verbal form of composition" which is only possible "because of his remarkable memory". Johnson told Boswell that when he wrote poetry, he often "out of laziness" only wrote the first half of each line. This statement is borne out by the text of The Vanity of Human Wishes, in which the first half of each line is written in different ink until the second half; "Apparently Johnson knows that harsh words will keep the second part in mind." Although Johnson was busy after 1746 working on the Dictionary, he found time to work more about The Vanity of Human Wishes and finish his game, Irene .
The first edition was published on January 9, 1749. This was the first publication by Johnson to display his name on the title page. It was not a financial success and only produced Johnson fifteen guineas. The revised version is published in the 1755 edition of Dodsley anthology Collection of Poems by Some Hands . The third version was published posthumously in the 1787 edition of his Works Works , apparently employed from a copy of the 1749 edition. However, no independent version of the poem was published during Johnson's life beyond his initial publication.
Maps The Vanity of Human Wishes
Poems
The Vanity of Human Wishes is a poem of 368 lines, written in a closed heroic verse. Johnson loosely adapted the original satire of Juvenal to show "the complete inability of the world and worldly life to offer true or permanent satisfaction."
The opening line announces the universal scope of poetry, as well as its central theme that "the antidote of vain human desire is a hopeless spiritual hope":
Let the Observations with Broad View,
Humanity Survey from China to Peru ;
Say every Anxious, all Strife,
And watch the foggy scenes of Life foggy;
Then tell how Hope and Fear, Desire and Hate,
O'erspread with Snares the Dark the Maze of Fate,
Where Wav'ring Man is, betrayed by Pride vent, rous,
To walk the Dreary Road without a Guide;
As Phantom treach'rous in Mist delude,
Shuns fancies Ills, or chases Airy Good (Rows 1-10)
Later, Johnson describes the life of a scholar:
Should Beauty dull at the end of the arrow turn it off,
Also do not claim a letter'd winning heart;
There should be no torrent vein disease you are attacking,
Or the Melancholy Ghosts haunt your Shade;
But please do not Live from Grief or Hazard Free,
Not thinking about the humankind's punishment that changed for you:
Delight in the world of passing to change your eyes,
And a brief pause from Letters, to be wise; There is a sign of what suffered by Scholar students,
Hard work, envy, Want, Protector, and Jayl (Line 151-160)
Source
Johnson refers to personal experience as well as historical sources to illustrate the "vulnerability of the vulnerable individuals before the social context" and "the inevitable self-deception with which man is misled." Both themes are explored in one of the most famous passages in poetry, Johnson's outline of Charles XII's career from Sweden. As Howard D. Weinbrot notes, "This passage skillfully encompasses many familiar Johnson themes - disgusted with the massacre that aggregates one person and kills and impoverishes thousands of people, understands the human need to exalt the hero, and the subtle contrast with classical parental poetry and an inadequate moral vision. "Johnson describes Charles as the" Fire Soul "," Lord of Pleasure and of the Invincible Pain, "who refuses to accept that his pursuit of military conquest may end in disaster:
'Think No one gets it, he cries, till it goes to waste, Site On Moscow Wall to Standard Gothic Fly,
And it all becomes Mine under the Arctic Sky. ' (Line 202-204)
In a famous passage, Johnson reduced the military career of a noble king to be a memorial example in a poem:
His fall is destined for the Bad Strand, the Site Small Fortress, and a dubious Hand;
He left the Name, where the World became pale,
To show the Moral, or adorn Tale.
(Line 219-222)
In a passage related to the life of a writer, Johnson draws on his own personal experience. In the original manuscript of poetry, line 159-160 reads:
There are signs of what the Scholar abused Envy Toil
anGarret and Jayl [ sic ]
The word "Garret" is preserved in the first issue of the poem. However, after the failure of Lord Chesterfield's 1755 to provide Johnson's financial support for Dictionaries, Johnson incorporated the mordant definition of "protector" in Dictionary (" Protector : Generally a wretch who backs up with brash, and is paid with praise ") and the revision line 160 to reflect his disappointment:
There is a sign what the Ills the Scholar's Life ordered,
Hard work, Envy, Want, the Patron, and Jail.
Imitation
Howard D. Weinbrot notes that The Vanity of Human Wishes follows the outline of the lonely satire Juvenal, embracing some of what Johnson deems as 'sublimity,' but also using it as a touchstone rather than an argument about authority. "In particular, Johnson and Juvenal differed in terms of treatment of their topic: both discuss the conquering generals (Charles and Hannibal respectively), but Johnson's poetry invites compassion for Charles, while Juvenal mocks Hannibal's death.
Using Juvenal as a model did cause some problems, especially when Johnson emphasized Christianity as "the only source of true and lasting hope". Juvenal's poetry contains no faith in Christian redemption that informs Johnson's personal philosophy. In order not to violate the prototype, Johnson must accommodate his views on the Roman model and focus on the human world, approaching religion "in negative ways" and ignoring the "positive motives of faith, like Christ's love."
Critical response
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