Two New Allusions: Samuel Johnson and the Book of Common Prayer, Boswell, and Apollonius of Rhodes

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

7-3-2019

Department

English & World Languages

Abstract

Both Samuel Johnson and his disciple James Boswell were masters of deploying intertextual allusions to impart greater freight to their meaning. In Rambler 8 Johnson covertly alludes to the Anglican Book of Common Prayer, while in the Tour to the Hebrides Boswell alludes to Apollonius of Rhodes’ Argonautica. In both cases, these allusions offer considerable insight into characteristic aspects of the art and minds of the two authors. They share a dedication to intertextuality as an important literary technique. However, the two examples reveal important differences: Johnson emerges as a traditional public Christian humanist, while Boswell reveals himself as a private, proto-Romantic confessionalist. © 2018, © 2018 Taylor & Francis.

DOI

10.1080/0895769X.2018.1527203

First Page

144

Last Page

148

Volume

32

Issue

3

Publication Title

ANQ - Quarterly Journal of Short Articles Notes and Reviews

ISSN

0895769X

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