London: A Poem, in Imitation of the Third Satire of Juvenal
By
Samuel Johnson
Transcription, correction, editorial commentary, and markup by Staff and Research Assistants at The University of Virginia, Sara
Brunstetter, John
O'Brien, Austin
Benson
n054Shameless, immodest. Source: Oxford English
Dictionary - [UVAstudstaff]n055To deceive or cheat. Source: Oxford English Dictionary - [UVAstudstaff]n037Members of Parliament who had been paid off to vote the
government line. - [UVAstudstaff]introductionLondon,
published in 1738, represents Johnson's attempt to satirize the grubby world
of London and also to rise above it. The poem is an "imitation" of the third
Satire of the Roman poet Juvenal, which probably dates to the first century.
In this poem, Juvenal imagines a friend of the poet, named Umbricius, who is
sick and tired of the city of Rome and is leaving for the countryside for
good. In doing what was called an "imitation" of his classical source,
Johnson is not simply translating Juvenal's poem, but
updating it, finding modern correlations to the
Latin original. Here, London stands in for Rome, "Thales" stands in for
Juvenal's friend Umbricius, and the Tuscan countryside to which Umbricius
was headed becomes Wales. Exhausted by the filth, crowds, noise of London,
and the difficulty of making a living as a writer, Thales (believed by some
scholars to refer to Richard Savage, another hack writer who had become a friend of
Johnson's) in some ways expresses Johnson's own frustrations. But London itself, published in a handsome folio edition,
written in the heroic couplet form that to readers of the 1730s identified
the high style of serious poetry, using the form of the imitation to signify
its neoclassical aspirations, and hyped in the pages of the Gentleman's Magazine (which published ads for the
poem, and also excerpted it), is clearly an attempt to Johnson to get out of
hackdom as soon as possible, to become a poet like Alexander Pope, making a good living independent of the whims and
tight fists of the booksellers and magazine editors.
The poem also positioned itself as part of the growing opposition to the
government of Sir Robert Walpole, who had dominated British politics since
taking over as the de facto Prime Minister (there was no such official
position yet) in 1721.
Walpole successfully suppressed dissent through a mixture of brutality,
bribery, and control of the print media. By the late 1730s, however, attacks
on his regime were becoming more open and frequent, prompting new attempts
on the part of his government to suppress dissenting voices. In particular,
the Stage Licensing Act of 1737 called for theater managers to submit all
plays for government approval in advance of performance. Prompted in part by
satires against the regime like John Gay's The Beggars
Opera (1728) and the satirical afterpieces by Henry Fielding that
had been very popular in the mid-1730s, the Stage Licensing Act had a
chilling effect on the theater. In particular, the passage of the Act
thwarted Johnson's attempt to become a playwright himself. Johnson had
arrived in London just that year with a half-finished tragedy in his
luggage, a play called Irene that he probably
imagined as a vehicle by which he could make a lot of money and gain status
as an author. But in the aftermath of the Stage Licensing Act, theater managers became extremely cautious
about new plays in general, and Irene was not staged
until 1749. By using Juvenal's Third Satire as a point of departure, London manages to critique the Walpole regime
indirectly and through coded references, but contemporary readers,
particularly those in sympathy with the opposition, were readily able to see
how the poem mocked Walpole's reign as corrupt.
Probably because of its political stance, London seems
to have sold reasonably well, and Alexander Pope, the most famous poet of
the period (and a sympathizer with opposition politics), praised it. But as
a vehicle for establishing Johnson's reputation as a significant poet who
could make a living off his art it was a dead end. Johnson had to continue
to grind out work for hire for another decade and a half. It was not until
he achieved fame in the 1750s, first as the author of a Spectator-like series of journalistic essays called The Rambler and then as the editor of the Dictionary of the English Language, which made him a
kind of national treasure, since he had single-handedly accomplished for
English what it had taken large teams of scholars to do for other European
languages. Here, let's read Johnson as eighteenth-century Grub Street's
finest product--and its most perceptive critic.juvenal"Who can endure this terrible city? Who
is so iron-willed that he can bear it?"thalesThe character of Thales has often been seen to have been
inspired by the author Richard Savage, a friend of Samuel Johnson. Richard Savage, like
Thales here, left London in an attempt to live in Wales. In 1744, after the
death of Savage, Johnson published his Life of Richard Savage, a full-scale
biography. - [UVAstudstaff]cambriaWales. Savage did go to Wales, where he died in debtor's
prison. - [UVAstudstaff]davidThe Patron saint of Wales. - [UVAstudstaff]hiberniaThe Latin name for Ireland. - [UVAstudstaff]thestrandThe main thoroughfare of London, connecting the City of
London with Westminster. - [UVAstudstaff]rapinePlunder or pillage. Source: Oxford English Dictionary. - [UVAstudstaff]rabbleAn unruly, disorganized crowd or mob. Source: Oxford English
Dictionary. - [UVAstudstaff]wherryA light rowing boat used mainly on rivers. Source: Oxford English
Dictionary. - [UVAstudstaff]thamesThe second longest river in Britain, which flows through central
London. - [UVAstudstaff]elizaQueen Elizabeth I was born at Greenwich Palace. - [UVAstudstaff]consecratedSacred, hallowed, or sanctified. Source: Oxford English
Dictionary. - [UVAstudstaff]masqueradeMasquerade balls were enormously popular in London in
this period. People dressed up in costume in order to conceal their
identities; critics denounced masquerades as hot-beds of sexual intrigue and
immoral behavior. - [UVAstudstaff]excise Any
toll or tax. Source: Oxford English Dictionary. - [AJB]unrewardedscienceUnacknowledged intellectual pursuits. - [UVAstudstaff]osiersAny of several willows with tough pliant branches used in basketwork. It
can also be a flexible branch of any of these willows. Source: Oxford
English Dictionary. - [UVAstudstaff]valeA
more or less extensive tract of land lying between two ranges of hills, or
stretches of high ground, and usually traversed by a river or stream; a dale
or valley, esp. one which is comparatively wide and flat. Source: Oxford
English Dictionary. - [UVAstudstaff]britonA member of one of the Brittonic-speaking (Welsh, Cornish) peoples.
Source: Oxford English Dictionary. - [UVAstudstaff]dashesReaders were invited to fill in the blanks here with people who it might
be dangerous to name directly; perhaps even the name 'George,' that of the
king. - [UVAstudstaff]patriot"Patriots" were those who opposed the Walpole government
and "Courtiers" were those who supported his policies. - [UVAstudstaff]eunuchsCastrati singers; male singers who had been castrated as
children to preserve the high register of their voices, these singers had
become extremely popular to opera goers. - [UVAstudstaff]licenseThe Stage Licensing Act had been passed in 1737; it required
theatres to submit plays to the government for approval in advance of their
performance, and effectively censored the London stage. - [UVAstudstaff]poetJohnson is implicitly attacking Poet Laureate Colley
Cibber. Cibber was a mediocre poet and playwright but he was
primarily given the title because he supported Walpole and the Whig Party.
The borrowed wing part may be an accusation of plagiarism. - [UVAstudstaff]gazetteThe Gazette was the official newspaper used by
the Walpole government to influence public opinion, and, therefore, here
labeled a total bore. - [UVAstudstaff]henlyProbably referring to John Henly, known as Orator Henly, a
well-known London preacher who had become famous more for his showmanship
than his religious doctrine; he drew big crowds but was also considered to
be something of a buffoon, and was also known to be a Walpole
supporter. - [UVAstudstaff]varnishTo cover, gloss over, or disguise. Source: Oxford English
Dictionary. - [UVAstudstaff]orgilioThe poet may not be referring to a particular person, but
since orgueil means pride in
French, imagining a prideful person in general. - [UVAstudstaff]marlboroughJohn Churchill, the Duke of Marlborough (1650-1722), was a war
hero for his successes in the War of the Spanish Succession at the turn of
the eighteenth century; he was also widely believed to have been an enormous
war profiteer, making a fortune from contracts to supply the
troops. - [UVAstudstaff]villiersGeorge Villiers, the second Duke of Buckingham, (1628-87) was a
notorious rake and spendthrift. - [UVAstudstaff]sewerSewer. Source: Oxford English Dictionary. - [UVAstudstaff]transportHere referring to the sense of transport as a state of excitation, excess. - [UVAstudstaff]lineamentLine or outline. Source: Oxford English
Dictionary. - [UVAstudstaff]gibbetOrignially synonymous with gallows, but has later been used to mean an
upright post with projecting arm from which the bodies of criminals were
hung in chains or irons after execution. Source: Oxford English
Dictionary. - [UVAstudstaff]wheelAn instrument of torture and punishment. Source: Oxford English
Dictionary. - [UVAstudstaff]obsequiousCompliant with the will or wishes of another. Source:
Oxford English Dictionary. - [UVAstudstaff]volubleLiable to change; inconstant, variable, mutable. Source:
Oxford English Dictionary. - [UVAstudstaff]credulityReadiness to believe. Source: Oxford English
Dictionary. - [UVAstudstaff]henryProbably a reference to Henry V, who was famous for his military success in the Hundred
Years War with France. - [UVAstudstaff]gulledDuped, deceived, befooled. Source: Oxford English Dictionary. - [UVAstudstaff]gaulFrenchman. Source: Oxford English Dictionary. - [UVAstudstaff]balboBalbo is Latin for one who stammers, so, such a person's eloquence here
is an oxymoron. - [UVAstudstaff]bowerA cottage, often used as a romanticized abode in poetry. Source: Oxford
English Dictionary. - [UVAstudstaff]akingAn archaic spelling of aching. - [UVAstudstaff]laureateThe poets laureate; since this was an official position,
such poets, like Cibber, did not deviate far from the government's official
line. - [UVAstudstaff]vassalPart of the feudal system, vassals are the ones who own land, and thus
control the workers of the land. Normally they're portrayed in a negative,
arrogant manner. Source: Oxford English Dictionary. - [UVAstudstaff]n036The River Severn is in Wales; the Trent river is a major river in
England. Both are far from London. - [UVAstudstaff]repastRefreshments or rest. Source: Oxford English Dictionary. - [UVAstudstaff]venalCorrupt. Source: Oxford English Dictionary. - [UVAstudstaff]fopOne
who is overtly concerned about their appearance and other people's
perceptions of them. Source: Oxford English Dictionary. - [UVAstudstaff]bramblePrickly Shrubs. Source: Oxford English
Dictionary. - [UVAstudstaff]flambeauTorches. Source: Oxford English Dictionary. - [UVAstudstaff]reposeA break or rest. Source: Oxford English Dictionary. - [UVAstudstaff]tyburnTyburn, roughly at the site of Marble Arch today was the location
of the gallows at which criminals were hanged. Often such executions drew
large crowds. - [UVAstudstaff]alfredAlfred was King of Wessex from 871 to 899. He successfully
defended his kingdom against the Viking attempt at conquest, and by the time
of his death had become the dominant ruler in England. He is the only
English monarch to be accorded the epithet the Great.
His reputation has been that of a learned and merciful man who encouraged
education and improved his the legal system and military structure of his
kingdom. - [UVAstudstaff]kentA
country in southeastern England. - [UVAstudstaff]cambrianWelsh. Source: Oxford English Dictionary. - [UVAstudstaff]
[TP]
LONDON:introduction
A
POEM,
In IMITATION of the
THIRD SATIRE of JUVENAL
by Samuel Johnson
---------Quis ineptæ
Tam patiens Urbis, tam ferreus ut teneat se?juvenal Juv.
LONDON:
Printed for R. Doddesley, at Tully's Head in Pall-Mall.
MDCCXXXVIII.
A
POEM,
In IMITATION of the
THIRD SATIRE of JUVENAL
by Samuel Johnson
---------Quis ineptæ
Tam patiens Urbis, tam ferreus ut teneat se?juvenal Juv.
LONDON:
Printed for R. Doddesley, at Tully's Head in Pall-Mall.
MDCCXXXVIII.
![Page [TP]](https://anthologyassetsdev.lib.virginia.edu/johnson-london/pageImages/london-tp.png)
Page [TP]Footnotes
a054Shameless, immodest. Source: Oxford English
Dictionary
a055To deceive or cheat. Source: Oxford English Dictionary
a037Members of Parliament who had been paid off to vote the
government line.
thales_The character of Thales has often been seen to have been
inspired by the author Richard Savage, a friend of Samuel Johnson. Richard Savage, like
Thales here, left London in an attempt to live in Wales. In 1744, after the
death of Savage, Johnson published his Life of Richard Savage, a full-scale
biography.
cambria_Wales. Savage did go to Wales, where he died in debtor's
prison.
david_The Patron saint of Wales.
hibernia_The Latin name for Ireland.
thestrand_The main thoroughfare of London, connecting the City of
London with Westminster.
rapine_Plunder or pillage. Source: Oxford English Dictionary.
rabble_An unruly, disorganized crowd or mob. Source: Oxford English
Dictionary.
wherry_A light rowing boat used mainly on rivers. Source: Oxford English
Dictionary.
thames_The second longest river in Britain, which flows through central
London.
eliza_Queen Elizabeth I was born at Greenwich Palace.
consecrated_Sacred, hallowed, or sanctified. Source: Oxford English
Dictionary.
masquerade_Masquerade balls were enormously popular in London in
this period. People dressed up in costume in order to conceal their
identities; critics denounced masquerades as hot-beds of sexual intrigue and
immoral behavior.
excise_ Any
toll or tax. Source: Oxford English Dictionary.
unrewardedscience_Unacknowledged intellectual pursuits.
osiers_Any of several willows with tough pliant branches used in basketwork. It
can also be a flexible branch of any of these willows. Source: Oxford
English Dictionary.
vale_A
more or less extensive tract of land lying between two ranges of hills, or
stretches of high ground, and usually traversed by a river or stream; a dale
or valley, esp. one which is comparatively wide and flat. Source: Oxford
English Dictionary.
briton_A member of one of the Brittonic-speaking (Welsh, Cornish) peoples.
Source: Oxford English Dictionary.
dashes_Readers were invited to fill in the blanks here with people who it might
be dangerous to name directly; perhaps even the name 'George,' that of the
king.
patriot_"Patriots" were those who opposed the Walpole government
and "Courtiers" were those who supported his policies.
eunuchs_Castrati singers; male singers who had been castrated as
children to preserve the high register of their voices, these singers had
become extremely popular to opera goers.
license_The Stage Licensing Act had been passed in 1737; it required
theatres to submit plays to the government for approval in advance of their
performance, and effectively censored the London stage.
poet_Johnson is implicitly attacking Poet Laureate Colley
Cibber. Cibber was a mediocre poet and playwright but he was
primarily given the title because he supported Walpole and the Whig Party.
The borrowed wing part may be an accusation of plagiarism.
gazette_The Gazette was the official newspaper used by
the Walpole government to influence public opinion, and, therefore, here
labeled a total bore.
henly_Probably referring to John Henly, known as Orator Henly, a
well-known London preacher who had become famous more for his showmanship
than his religious doctrine; he drew big crowds but was also considered to
be something of a buffoon, and was also known to be a Walpole
supporter.
varnish_To cover, gloss over, or disguise. Source: Oxford English
Dictionary.
orgilio_The poet may not be referring to a particular person, but
since orgueil means pride in
French, imagining a prideful person in general.
marlborough_John Churchill, the Duke of Marlborough (1650-1722), was a war
hero for his successes in the War of the Spanish Succession at the turn of
the eighteenth century; he was also widely believed to have been an enormous
war profiteer, making a fortune from contracts to supply the
troops.
villiers_George Villiers, the second Duke of Buckingham, (1628-87) was a
notorious rake and spendthrift.
sewer_Sewer. Source: Oxford English Dictionary.
transport_Here referring to the sense of transport as a state of excitation, excess.
lineament_Line or outline. Source: Oxford English
Dictionary.
gibbet_Orignially synonymous with gallows, but has later been used to mean an
upright post with projecting arm from which the bodies of criminals were
hung in chains or irons after execution. Source: Oxford English
Dictionary.
wheel_An instrument of torture and punishment. Source: Oxford English
Dictionary.
obsequious_Compliant with the will or wishes of another. Source:
Oxford English Dictionary.
voluble_Liable to change; inconstant, variable, mutable. Source:
Oxford English Dictionary.
credulity_Readiness to believe. Source: Oxford English
Dictionary.
henry_Probably a reference to Henry V, who was famous for his military success in the Hundred
Years War with France.
gulled_Duped, deceived, befooled. Source: Oxford English Dictionary.
gaul_Frenchman. Source: Oxford English Dictionary.
balbo_Balbo is Latin for one who stammers, so, such a person's eloquence here
is an oxymoron.
bower_A cottage, often used as a romanticized abode in poetry. Source: Oxford
English Dictionary.
aking_An archaic spelling of aching.
laureate_The poets laureate; since this was an official position,
such poets, like Cibber, did not deviate far from the government's official
line.
vassal_Part of the feudal system, vassals are the ones who own land, and thus
control the workers of the land. Normally they're portrayed in a negative,
arrogant manner. Source: Oxford English Dictionary.
a036The River Severn is in Wales; the Trent river is a major river in
England. Both are far from London.
repast_Refreshments or rest. Source: Oxford English Dictionary.
venal_Corrupt. Source: Oxford English Dictionary.
fop_One
who is overtly concerned about their appearance and other people's
perceptions of them. Source: Oxford English Dictionary.
bramble_Prickly Shrubs. Source: Oxford English
Dictionary.
flambeau_Torches. Source: Oxford English Dictionary.
repose_A break or rest. Source: Oxford English Dictionary.
tyburn_Tyburn, roughly at the site of Marble Arch today was the location
of the gallows at which criminals were hanged. Often such executions drew
large crowds.
alfred_Alfred was King of Wessex from 871 to 899. He successfully
defended his kingdom against the Viking attempt at conquest, and by the time
of his death had become the dominant ruler in England. He is the only
English monarch to be accorded the epithet the Great.
His reputation has been that of a learned and merciful man who encouraged
education and improved his the legal system and military structure of his
kingdom.
kent_A
country in southeastern England.
cambrian_Welsh. Source: Oxford English Dictionary.