Johnson on Language

This book assembles the many linguistic observations found in the works of Johnson, and presents them systematically. Johnson on Language: An Introduction argues that in Johnson's opinion there are two fundamentally different ways in which language may be deployed: in a style appropriate to poetry and oratory, or in one proper to science and demonstration. Many issues raised in the Plan and in the Dictionary proper are also addressed.

Johnson's use of terminology deriving from the linguistic controversies of antiquity is illustrated, and an account is given of the historical background of a number of critical opinions which he adheres to. Various classical loci are seen to be resumed and elaborated in the Renaissance period, and evidence is adduced for Johnson's familiarity with this material. Johnson's position in regard to certain important linguistic issues is compared with that of Wordsworth, as this is articulated in the Preface to the Lyrical Ballads. The main text is rounded off by a rehearsal of the synthesis achieved by Johnson.