Johnson's Chaucer: Searching for the Medieval in "A Dictionary of the English Language."

Author / Editor
Leff, Amanda M.

Title
Johnson's Chaucer: Searching for the Medieval in "A Dictionary of the English Language."

Published
Age of Johnson 21 (2011): 1–20.

Description
Demonstrates that Chaucer "occupies a more prominent place" in Samuel Johnson's "Dictionary" than has been acknowledged. Corrects some misconceptions of previous scholars and adds new data about attention to Chaucer in the "Dictionary"--quotations of his works, citations, mentions of Chaucer, and quotations from Dryden's modernizations of Chaucer--showing that the "Dictionary" belies Johnson's stated preference of Gower to Chaucer.

Chaucer Subjects
Chaucer's Influence and Later Allusion
Language and Word Studies