Passage 1:Passage 2: Thus have I laboured by settling the orthography, displaying the analogy, regulating the structures, and ascertaining the signification of English words, to perform all the parts of a faithful lexicographer . . .

–Preface to A Dictionary of the English
Language,
Samuel Johnson

Read the passages. Then, write two to three sentences explaining how the meaning and connotation of the word lexicographer differs in each passage.

answer on edge. 2021:
Sample Response: In the first passage, lexicographers are described as diligent and accomplished; they have a number of difficult and complex tasks to do. In the second passage, however, the word lexicographer seems to have a negative connotation, and a dictionary writer is compared unfavorably with a poet. This shift is likely because Johnson had to adjust his plan as he wrote his dictionary and thought that he had not met his lofty goals.