Dr.

Samuel Johnson’s preface to The Plays

of William Shakespeare has long been
considered a classic document of English
literary criticism. In it Johnson sets forth
his editorial principles and gives an
appreciative analysis of the “excellences”
and “defects” of the works of Shakespeare.
Many of his points have become
fundamental tenets of modern criticism;
others give greater insight into Johnson’s
prejudices than into Shakespeare’s genius.
The resonant prose of the preface adds
authority to the views of its author.
Johnson is a true classicist in his concern
with the universal rather than with the
particular; the highest praise he bestows
upon Shakespeare is to say that his plays
are “just representations of general nature.”
The dramatist has relied upon his
knowledge of human nature, rather than on
bizarre effects, for his success. “The
pleasures of sudden wonder are soon
exhausted, and the mind can only repose
on the stability of truth,” Johnson
concludes. It is for this reason that
Shakespeare has outlived his century and
reached the point at which his works can
be judged solely on their own merits,
without the interference of personal
interests and prejudices that make
criticism of one’s contemporaries difficult.