The Challenge to Samuel Johnson’s Literary Theory

李銘

【Abstract】Shakespeare is one of the greatest writers in the history of mankind. This paper will take some plays of Shakespeare as example and analyze the moral principles which are embodied in the plays of Shakespeare， in order to challenge what Samuel Johnson idea in Preface to Shakespeare—lack of morality.

【Key words】Shakespeare； morality； drama

Shakespeare is one of the most influential writers， and his plays are encyclopedias of human society， the play of him still holds their rank as a kind of secular Bible wherever the English language is spoken. Shakespeare had quoted the character Hamlet to speak of the function of drama—since drama came out， the purpose of the drama had always been reflecting life， revealing the true colors of good and evil and providing model with its development of that time. It is thus clear that Shakespeare inherited Aristotles imitation theory. He reveals truth and objective laws by virtue of drama so as to educate common people and inspire readers.

First， the moral principle of “bad deeds， as well as good， may rebound upon the doer” is embodied vividly. For example， the protagonist Richard in Richard Ⅲ is a combination of deceit， hypocrisy， slaughter， disinformation， temptation， and greed. He does all kinds of evil and is simply the incarnation of the devil， finally Richard pays back for his evil. Shakespeare tells us the moral principle that one bad turn deserves another by the result of Richard so as to keep people on the straight path. There are also many same examples， the two elder sisters of Lear in King Lear， Goneril and Regan， are vicious to their father after they get the property， then Goneril is sent to prison in that she killed Regan with poison and Lear witnesses misery encounters which he doesnt want to experience and paid back for his errors. Moral judgments lie at the heart of his greatest plays from beginning to end. Written at the peak of his powers， Hamlet exemplifies this well. Hamlet finally achieves justice for his father and the usurper Claudius in Hamlet is stabbed by him. All these examples give us the instruction that good will be rewarded with good， and evil with evil. These are the moral principles which are embodied in Shakespeares plays. He either makes just distribution of good or evil， or is always careful to show in the virtuous a disapprobation of the wicked.

Second， the moral integrity of filial piety and philanthropism are shown in Shakespeares plays. King Lear is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It depicts the gradual descent into madness of the title character， after he disposes of his kingdom giving bequests to two of his three daughters based on their flattery of him， Lears eldest daughter Goneril and second daughter Regan have credit with Lear by blandishments and flattery. They immediately go back on their promise after they get what they want， and then abuse their father and drive him out into wilderness. Unlike her father and sisters， Cordelia， the youngest daughter of Lear， is able to differentiate love from property and she is always dutiful to her father. Love as the essence of human nature exists in her heart constantly. The bad consequence of Goneril and Regan results from their nature of breaking the moral principle of filial piety. Lear realizes his errors and know who do good for him for real after his witnesses all tragedies which happened. This play criticizes the hypocrisy ethical relationship between father and daughter at that time. On the one hand， the moral principle of filial piety should be obeyed all the time from the family angle. On the other hand， the moral principle of philanthropism which we can find from the good quality of Cordelia should be borne in our mind from the perspective of society. We see that there is a principle of justice and morality in the depth of his or her soul or in human nature through reading King Lear.

In conclusion， Shakespeare always obeys the aim of drama-reflecting the nature and showing the true colors of good and evil. His plays present a kind of morality centered on the pursuit of love. This is why others can not reach. The moral connotation of wisdom， compassion， kindness， tolerance， equality， justice， temperance， charity is to record master spiritual exploration. The moral principles in his writing possess enlightenment significance even for common people today.

References：

[1]Alan Hobson.Full Circle：Shakespeare and Moral Development. Chatto&Windus，1972.

[2]Frank Sharp.Shakespeares Portrayal of Moral Life .Haskell House Pub Ltd，1970.

[3]Mrs Griffith.The Morality of Shakespeares Drama.A.M. Kelley，1971.

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