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Melancholic Johnson at Dr Johnson’s House
By Karen | 8 February 2010
Thursday 18 February 2010, 7pm
Melancholic Johnson
A lecture by Dr Jane Darcy
Boswell was keen to present Johnson as an exemplary eighteenth-century Man of Feeling, a man whose melancholic moods were evidence of his refined sensibility. In so doing, he could play down evidence of Johnson’s distinctly odd behaviour, and most importantly, insist that Johnson had never bordered on madness. But for Johnson himself, melancholy was no mere fashionable complaint. His was a profound religious melancholy. To the end he feared the prospect of madness in this life and of eternal damnation in the next. These bitter experiences of suffering informed his writings and made him a compassionate friend.
Dr Jane Darcy is British Academy Post-Doctoral Fellow at the Department of English, King’s College London
£12/£10 concessions, includes a glass of wine.
Please note, there are many unavoidable steps.
For lectures and performances, doors open at 6:15pm and the event starts promptly at 7pm – seating is limited and tickets must be booked in advance. Send a cheque made payable to Dr Johnson’s House Trust Ltd to Dr Johnson’s House, 17 Gough Square, London EC4A 3DE to book your place. Please include your contact details with your cheque.
Visit http://www.drjohnsonshouse.org/events.htm#jane_darcy to see more upcoming events at Dr Johnson’s House.
Topics: Seminars/Lectures | No Comments »