Here is the synopsis of our sample research paper on Vanity of Human Wishes/Samuel Johnson. Have the paper e-mailed to you 24/7/365.
Essay / Research Paper Abstract
A 7 page research paper that discusses and analyzes Samuel Johnson's eighteenth century satire Vanity of Human Wishes, which is modeled after the Tenth Satire of Juvenal, the ancient Roman author. Bibliography lists 6 sources.
Page Count:
7 pages (~225 words per page)
File: KL9_khjvanity.doc
Buy This Term Paper »
Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
more positive time when human relations were bright with promise. However, examination of Samuel Johnsons poem "The Vanity of Human Wishes" reveals the dark cynicism of the learned doctors perspective
on the qualities that people typically desire and wish for in life. In this poem, Johnson argues that all of the things that people wish for in this life, beginning
with wealth and covering power, learning, glory, long life and beauty, are vain pursuits that are incapable of offering true happiness (Rosenblum 2). In his writing, Johnson defines satire as
"a poem in which wickedness or folly is censured" (Jemielity 37). In other words, in Johnsons view, the main purpose of satire was to illustrate the ineffectiveness of the traditional
wishes of humanity at promoting a fulfilling life. As the subtitle to Johnsons poem indicates, the poets purpose was to imitate the "Tenth Satire of Juvenal (Johnson). Written in
1749, the poem consists of rhymed couplets that are presented within 368 lines of iambic pentameter and is altered, rather than delivering an exact translation of Juvenal, to reflect eighteenth
century British society; therefore, while Johnson follows the general parameters of Juveniles satire closely, he also feels free to update the ancient Romans allusions (Rosenblum 1). It is
a poem of great emotional power, but the emotions that it expresses are also tightly controlled, which conveys the meaning that the detached and abstracted attitude that it assumes can
be understood as "personal defenses against despair" (Amis 16). The opening lines of the poem portray the human condition as characterized by such uncertainty that simply surviving appears to be
in question (Amis 18). In the world described in Johnsons opening lines, humanity treads "dreary paths without a Guide" (Johnson line 8). The poem, in brief, begins with a
...