The Life of Samuel Johnson

Boswell finds Utrecht “very dull” after “the animated scenes of London,” and his spirits are “grievously affected” (334). He writes to Johnson a “plaintive and desponding letter” (334), but Johnson does not reply. After Boswell writes a second, calmer letter, Johnson replies, giving Boswell advice on maintaining his emotional equilibrium and on pursuing the course of his studies. This exchange shows the changing dynamic between the two friends, where Boswell relies on Johnson for fatherly support, and Johnson seeks to discipline Boswell’s mind and emotions, giving a familial tinge to their otherwise intellectually equal friendship.

The pace of the narrative now quickens, as Boswell is abroad and no longer in constant contact with Johnson. Early in 1764, Johnson visits the country estate of his friends, the Langtons. Upon returning to London, he forms what will eventually be known as The Literary Club. In addition to Johnson, this consists of such luminaries as Sir Joshua Reynolds, Edmund Burke, Oliver Goldsmith, and David Garrick. The club meets once a week at the Turk’s Head tavern to enjoy supper and conversation principally about literature.

Johnson goes through a characteristic period of depression and guilt, in which he accuses himself of lazy and morally indifferent behavior and promises God to reform his life. Boswell points to these episodes of “pious anxiety” as evidence of a “tenderness of conscience” and “fervent desire of improvement” (341) that are “rarely [to] be found” (341). To this is added physical distress in the form of Johnson’s intermittent hypochondria. Boswell recalls that during these episodes of “misery” Johnson could often be heard talking to himself, including uttering short prayers. Boswell again underlines the physical and mental suffering Johnson went through during his life, so as to provide a rounded portrait and to instill in the reader an idea of how a person can achieve greatness despite hardship.

Boswell also takes an opportunity to detail a number of Johnson’s unusual mannerisms and “superstitious” behaviors, including counting the number of steps he takes on approach to a door. In more recent times, these mannerisms have been identified as possible symptoms of Tourette syndrome (see Terms for more discussion).

In July of 1765, Trinity College, Dublin awards Johnson an honorary Doctor of Laws degree. Although Johnson himself never referred to himself as “Dr. Johnson,” Boswell’s consistent use of this title in the Life popularized it for the public. The doctorate comes 10 years after Johnson’s honorary Master’s degree from Oxford and serves to enhance the prestige that surrounds him in the world of literature.

Another major event of 1765 is Johnson’s being introduced to Henry Thrale and his wife, Hester. Hester, who after her husband’s death will remarry and become Hester Piozzi, will remain a close friend and correspondent of Johnson throughout the rest of his life. After Johnson’s death, Hester’s memoirs of him will furnish Boswell with much information for the Life. However, Boswell frequently criticizes the accuracy and veracity of Mrs. Thrale’s memoirs, thus setting himself up as the more reliable witness to Johnson’s words and actions.

In October 1765, Johnson’s long-awaited edition of Shakespeare is published, in eight volumes. The edition contains, in addition to the complete plays and poems, a preface and extensive annotations by Johnson. Johnson’s Shakespeare edition is notable in a number of respects. Johnson’s commentary, geared to each individual play, explains many obscure aspects of Shakespeare’s language and illuminates why his writing was so great. He also defends Shakespeare against his alleged failure to adhere to classical aesthetics. At the same time, Johnson is not afraid to point out what he himself considered Shakespeare’s “faults” as a writer, thus giving a more rounded and balanced impression of the Bard.

Johnson’s edition would play a major role in shaping the public’s appreciation of Shakespeare, even though Boswell admits that later scholars would surpass Johnson in thoroughness of research. Johnson’s Shakespeare is widely considered his greatest work of criticism.

Boswell speaks of Johnson’s talent for writing dedications and prefaces to the works of others—an example of the charitable assistance that he provided to friends and fellow authors, sometimes extending to revising or improving their writing.

Late in 1765, Boswell travels to Corsica, moved with feelings of “generous enthusiasm” by the independence movement of that country against their rulers, the Genoese. There Boswell meets the Corsican patriot and resistance leader Pasquale Paoli and writes to Johnson about Corsican independence. Johnson does not share Boswell’s passion for this cause, which disappoints Boswell. This was a period in which many countries and colonies—including the British North American colonies—were seeking independence and freedom. Boswell becomes caught up in the Corsican movement because he feels the same sympathy for this colony’s desire for liberty that he will later feel for the American colonists. In both these instances, Boswell’s libertarianism contrasts with Johnson’s conservatism.

In February 1766, after spending time in Paris after his tour of Corsica, Boswell returns to London. There he enjoys more conversations with Johnson at the Mitre tavern. Then he goes on to Scotland to be admitted to the bar, after publishing a thesis in Latin. Much as he did with Johnson’s Master’s degree, Boswell reproduces part of the thesis in the book, thus somewhat uncharacteristically putting his own experiences front and center in the narrative. The inclusion is not meant as self-aggrandizement but as an attestation to Boswell’s fitness as Johnson’s intellectual equal—a biographer who can do justice to the erudition of his subject, which is something Boswell implies Johnson’s other biographers cannot do as easily.

Boswell sends Johnson the thesis and, when Johnson sends back some criticisms of the Latin grammar, Boswell proceeds to defend his grammatical choices. This illustrates Boswell’s independence of mind and willingness to stand his own ground and engage Johnson in debate. Boswell thus shows that he is far from a disciple of Johnson.