Essay Questions

Many scholars have compared Samuel Johnson’s work to that of Shakespeare. Identify one way in which the two poets are similar?

Perhaps the most apparent point of connection between these two authors—given their vastly different styles, genres, and time periods—was their fascination with words and the lexicon of language. Shakespeare’s works quite literally created and contributed hundreds of new words, phrases, and ideas to the English language. His superfluous phrases and ideas required readers to decipher his fictitious words. Consequently, these fictitious words transformed the way humans interacted with and understood the English language. Shakespeare practically invented an entire language, much of which is still being used and analyzed today. Samuel Johnson has approached language in a similarly technical and detail-driven way. Though Johnson has not added words to the English language like Shakespeare did, he was quite obsessed with gathering language into a catalog of words with definitions. Both authors viewed the English language as something beautiful and something to be tweaked, analyzed. Both were critical in their analyses of words and definitions and in this way approached their poetry in similar ways.

Locate and analyze one theme in “The Vanity of Human Wishes.”

Perhaps one of the most prominent themes in Johnson’s “The Vanity of Human Wishes” is that of death. Johnson masterfully toys with our obsession about death. Humans have an unfailing tendency to believe that we are proverbial superheroes; that we can outlive and survive anything. We often—quite falsely—assume that we exist in a state of quasi-immortality; though we know that we all eventually die, the thought of such an ending seems distant and un-applicable. As Johnson points out, however, we are not immortal and we are not immune to the trials of life. In “The Vanity of Human Wishes,” Johnson points out the inevitability of death. He emphasizes that, despite our best efforts and despite our best wishes, death is always waiting for us. It is an omniscient and ever-present darkness that always looms over us, ready to strike at any moment. Though Johnson plays upon our fears of death, he also points out that inevitability of mortality can teach us a great deal about how we should live our lives. Essentially he urges people to use our inevitable mortality as a reason to enjoy and savor life. In this way, Johnson suggests that we should live our present lives in preparation for any lives that may come after (read: afterworld/heaven). As a result, death is certainly an integral theme in Johnson’s poem.

Religion plays a very prominent role in “The Vanity of Human Wishes.” Identify one quote that exemplifies this idea and then explain that quotation.

One of the quotes that best exemplifies Johnson’s theme of death in “The Vanity of Human Wishes” is the following:

“Safe in his pow'r, whose eyes discern afar

The secret ambush of a specious pray'r,

Implore his aid, in his decisions rest,

Secure whate'er he gives, he gives the best.”

In this quotation, Johnson is essentially urging his readers to understand and obey the power(s) of God. He doesn’t want his readers to think they are above God. Rather, because God is all knowing, he wants his readers to understand that God cannot be fooled, tricked, nor bribed. Johnson plays upon people’s most basic and private connections to God: prayer. He points out here that God always knowns when our prayers are hollow or motivated by false desires. Likewise, however, God knowns when our prayers are genuine. He responds to each situation accordingly. In short, Johnson uses religion in this poem to remind us that our trust in God should be a constant priority. God always knows best and is always aware of our wrongdoings.