presumptuous

Presumptuous
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Boswell's Presumptuous Task: The Making of the Life of Dr. Johnson
$15.00
This book tells the story of the greatest biographical masterpiece in the English language. In the course of it we learn to appreciate the skill, dedication, persistence and great art of Boswell. This is Sisman's description of Boswell as he wrote the life :

"The story of Boswell's life as he wrote the epic Life of Johnson is itself an epic: in the process Boswell experienced an extraordinary degree of exhilaration and depression, pride, humiliation, confidence, doubt, satisfaction, hurt, loneliness, disillusionment and grief." A man of great ambition, Boswell had little to show for his efforts at the time of Johnson's death. Writing the biography "was his last hope of achieving anything worthwhile."

But Boswell through his great diligence, his careful noting down of the words of his great friend, his artful reshaping of much of what he heard, his willingness to tell not simply of virtues but of faults, his ability to present the whole man, succeeded in giving the world the picture of the Great Cham which attracts and moves us to this day. Gruff, easily made irritable, but capable of incredible kindness, always fierce and fast in his remarks, tremendously knowledgeable, a loyal friend, the master maker of the Dictionary, Johnson is presented by Boswell as a fully rounded character.
Sisman gives the background to the lives of these two giants of English Literature. He focuses on Boswell's preparation for the work and his ongoing method of execution. He reveals in details the way one great masterpiece of world- literature was made by someone often derided by those of his own time.

Fidelio, Op. 72 (sung in English): Act I Scene 2: Finale: Presumptuous idiot, who are you to take such a liberty (Pizarro, Rocco)
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