Genre and Periodization: Macro- and Micro-history in the Life of Garth

The relationship between history and literary interpretation is the subject of Chapter Five. Here the focal point is Samuel Garth’s mock-heroic poem, “The Dispensary” (1699). Garth is seen by Johnson as more important as a medical doctor than as a poet. The implication of this value judgement concerning the mediocrity of Garth’s poetry is that “The Dispensary” is of more historical than literary interest, but genre analysis is required to understand this distinction. For Johnson the mock-heroic as a genre is closely related to history because it is motivated by social problems, actual abuses, if not crimes, committed at the time.