...but such rather as proceed from a single sentiment. The Paradise Lost comes next to be examined: " A Poem, which, considered with respect to design,...the second among the productions of the human mind." Dr. Johnson's criticism on this immortal work extends through fifty pages. To give any adequate idea...

...rhymes to be often changed. Those little pieces may be despatched without much anxiety; a greater work calls for greater care. I am now to examine " Paradise...the second, among the productions of the human mind. By the general consent of critics the first praise of genius is due to the writer of an epic poem,...

...rhymes to be often changed. Those little pieces may be dispatched without much anxiety; a greater work calls for greater care. I am now to examine Paradise...place, and with respect to performance the second, 27 among the productions of the human mind. By the general consent of critics the first praise of genius...

...section, the reader should be reminded, first, that it occurs after Johnson commends Paradise Lost as “a poem which, considered with respect to design,...second, among the productions of the human mind”; 2 and, second, that Johnson's criticism arises, paradoxically, from what he takes to be Milton's imaginative...

...such a subject for its theme. " I am now to examine the Paradise Lost," says the immortal Samivell—" a poem, which, considered with respect to design,...the second among the productions of the human mind." Now in opposition to this claim of pre-eminence, "with respect to design," there comcsa very learned...

...faults sufficient to obscure and overwhelm any other merit." Or, in his "Life of Milton," his remarks on Paradise Lost, "a poem which, considered with respect...second, among the productions of the human mind." "Before the greatness displayed in Milton's poem all other greatness shrinks away." But: "the reader...

...claims, one finds “a full display of the united force of study and genius”(l83).ParadiseLost is “a poem which, considered with respect to design,...second, among the productions of the human mind” (170). Johnson's claims for Milton's greatness are not less dramatic or sweeping than those of his...

...rhymes to be often changed. Those little pieces may be dispatched without much anxiety; a greater work calls for greater care. I am now to examine Paradise...poem, which, considered with respect to design, may daim the first place, and with respect to performance the second among the productions of the human...

...conclusion, for Johnson's commentary on the poem begins with the extraordinary claim that Paradise Lost, “considered with respect to design, may claim the...second, among the productions of the human mind” (170). Some critics, trying to reconcile these apparently conflicting views, have been led to argue...

...it." Similarly, Johnson's gestures at ranking works according to artistic excellence - Paradise Lost, "considered with respect to design, may claim the...place, and with respect to performance the second" could seem both unequivocal and perfunctory, as if they were merely rhetorical and not actually positing...