"On the Death of Mr. Rober Levet, A Practiser in Physic" - Samuel Johnson Poem Analysis

Samuel Johnson's poem "On The Death Of Mr. Robert Levet, A Practiser In Physic," seems to be a poem about someone that he really holds in high esteem. I have come to this consensus because there are many lines praising this Robert Levet. The first time he does this is in the 7^th and 8^th lines where he says "Officious, innocent, sincere, Of every friendless name the friend." These are definitely words that one would use to describe someone they hold a lot of respect of. This Mr. Levet is also described as not being an arrogant person when he says "Nor, letter'd Arrogance, deny" in the 11^th line. This is basically saying that he could not be called arrogant. This detail really makes me think that Johnson is describing a person that he knows well. Mr. Levet was also "Obscurely wise and coarsely kind." By this I think Johnson is making the argument that it is actually abnormal for someone to be as wise and kind as he was. I think by this line he may be saying that people need to be more so, because as of now it is rare.

Johnson is also describing death as a freeing force. In the second to last and last lines, he says "Death broke at once the vital chain, and freed his soul the nearest way." This description is basically saying that life is a chain on our soul, and when you die that chain is broken. This is seen as a good thing, because from this part it can be inferred that Johnson has a high level of belief is a better life after death. I think this is a central part of the argument that he is making in this piece.

The lines that say "When fainting nature call'd for aid, and hov'ring death prepared the blow, his vig'rous remedy display'd, the power of art without the show" are basically telling how he died. It was a natural death, in which nature decided when he died. I think through this line Johnson is also saying that death is not a show, although it is quite an art. By saying death is not a show, he means that it is not to amuse someone or keep their attention, but merely the path to death.

One thing that Johnson is also saying in this poem is that the days and nights are really not that important at the time of death, because they are uncounted. He says this in the lines that read "The busy day, the peaceful night, Unfelt, uncounted, glided by." He is basically saying that these days are just a path to death and a better life, and are really not that important. He is also inferring that they fly by, and are all really the same. Night it described as peaceful, because there is a break from the busy day. The night could also be seen as a bridge to death, which he describes as a better place after life.

As you can see the meaning of Samuel Johnson's poem is actually quite deep. Through a thorough line by line interpretation, it is easy to see the simple message that he is trying to get across. Death is better than life, and you should be a good person because not enough people are so.