Was it a bad break?

Welcome back to the home stretch.

What the last prompt said was, "Back in class, on March 12, we'll see what people chose to read, discuss their reflections on their reading, and organize to make some choices about what to read in Johnson."

We'll begin the first with a round. I'll begin by saying I was surprised that, given all the time over break to read it, there were so many people who found almost nothing to say about the two chapters of Boswell. While there were some reflections that were pretty thoughtful, I didn't learn much from quite a number of them. Let's see what we can learn by discussing the work orally.

For the second, we need, as we've done before, to survey what the standard views are on what works of Johnson are important for us to be familiar with as we work toward an understanding of the practice and status of prose writing in the period. We'll do that in the usual way.

So, for Wednesday, go to the library and choose any of the reference works we've been working with. Find a scholar (or two) making a case for the importance of two or three of Johnson's works, and quote or paraphrase what's said about each work.  (Be aware, of course, as you look for specific recommendations of works, of what else you're learning about Johnson, his work, the period, and prose.)

Post your report of a recommendation in the Preliminary exploration of Johnson forum. Use as a title the work recommended, and include the full bibliographic citation of your source at the bottom of your report. Quote where you can, paraphrase where you need to, and be as specific as you can about exactly what you're recommending we read.