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Which Roman poet inspired Samuel Johnson’s poem London?
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Samuel Johnson
Samuel Johnson, oil on canvas by Sir Joshua Reynolds, c. 1756; in the National Portrait Gallery, London.
Samuel Johnson’s poem London (1738) was modeled as an imitation of the third satire by the Roman poet Juvenal.12
An imitation in this context is a form of poetry that applies the manner and topics of an earlier work to contemporary conditions. In London, Johnson utilized Juvenal’s original critique of the discomforts and dangers of Roman city life to denounce the corruption and social deterioration he perceived in 18th-century London.21