Shakespeare is above all writers,at least above all modern writers,the poet of nature; the poet that holds up to his readers a faithful mirror of manners and of life.
His characters are not modified by the customs of particular places,unpracticed by the rest of the world; by the peculiarities of studies or professions,which can operate but upon small numbers; or by the accidents of transient fashions or temporary opinions:they are the genuine progeny of common humanity,such as the world will always supply,and observation will always find.
His persons act and speak by the influence of those general passions and principles by which all minds are agitated,and the whole system of life is continued in motion.
In the writings of other poets a character is too often an individual; in those of Shakespeare it is commonly a species.
Samuel Johnson; preface to Shakespeare's Plays,1755
1.What does it mean by saying "Shakespeare is above all writers" as a poet of human nature?
A.He is the best of all writers.
B.He writers the strangest poems.
C.He is the worst writer.
2.What are Shakespeare’s characters NOT modified by?
i.the peculiarities of studies or professions
ii.the accidents of transient fashions
iii.the customs of particular places
iv.the genuine progeny of common humanity
A.i and ii.
B.ii,iii and iv
C.All
D.i,ii and iii.
3.What do the characters in Shakespeare's work often represent?
A.A species
B.An individual
C.A genuine progeny
4.What is Shakespeare honored as?
A.The poet above poets
B.The peculiar poet
C.The best poet of nature.