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Collections
The Yale Edition attempts to collect all of Johnson's published writings and some of his unpublished works. Everything that appeared in a book, journal, or magazine is collected here, in addition to Johnson's extant diaries, prayers, and journal entries. Twenty-two volumes of the print edition are now published. The last volume will appear and will be added to the YDJ in the next couple of years. Not included are Johnson's letters and the body of his Dictionary. (The preliminary matter in the Dictionary is included: Johnson's Preface and his Plan, as well as his "History of the English Language," and "Grammar of the English Tongue"). A list of additional resources points the reader to Johnsonian work not included here. The texts of Johnson's works represent his final revisions of all of his writings, while a textual apparatus permits readers to follow his process of composition from the earliest to the latest extant versions. The amount of historical and philological commentary provided varies from work to work because the print volumes were prepared by various editors over a long period of time. While some volumes, notably the Rambler, present texts with sparse commentary, others -- Political Writings and Rasselas, for example -- provide very rich notes on every aspect of the text. The YDJ presents scholars and readers with opportunities over time to improve commentary where it is found to be lacking. |
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