...the Life of Dry den, Johnson observed that "Words . . . too remote defeat the purpose of a poet . . . words to which we are nearly strangers, whenever they...attention on themselves which they should transmit to things."41 Thomson's frequent reliance on such words, however, was precisely what made Johnson recognize...

...remote defeat the purpose of a poet. From those sounds which we hear on small or on coarse occasions, we do not easily receive strong impressions or delightful...on themselves which they should transmit to things. (I, 420) Some thirty years later, Wordsworth would resoundingly condemn what he called 'poetic diction',...

...remote, defeat the purpose of a poet. From those sounds which we hear on small or on coarse occasions, we do not easily receive strong impressions, or delightful...poetry from prose had been rarely attempted; we had few elegancies or flowers of speech; the roses had not yet been plucked from the bramble, or different...

...remote, defeat the purpose of a poet. From those sounds which we hear on small or on coarse occasions, we do not easily receive strong impressions or delightful...distinguish poetry from prose had been rarely attempted." And again Johnson says: "The new versification, as it is called, may be considered as owing its establishment...

...remote, defeat the purpose of a poet. From those sounds which we hear on small or on coarse occasions, we do not easily receive strong impressions or delightful...draw that attention on themselves which they should convey to things." It was this last error that Wordsworth professed to avoid ; and he certainly did...