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Shakespeare did not follow the convention of the three unities except in rare cases (such as The Comedy of Errors). In some cases he violates these so-called rules so brashly that one must feel that if he was aware of them, he held them in utter contempt. In particular one is reminded of the way the Winter's Tale flouts the "unity of time", Pericles completely ignores the "unities of place and action" and King Lear, with its complex of subplots, makes a hash of the "unity of action".

Dryden, and other late 17th and 18th century writers who worshipped the French authors who had invented these rules, criticized Shakespeare for not having anticipated them. Samuel Johnson, in his introduction to Shakespeare, said he did not know whether or not Shakespeare knew about the unities, but that he clearly knew how to write plays, and that nobody ought to give a hoot (or substitute the expression of your choice) about some arcane and artificial rules.

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Q: Analyze Johnson's views on Shakespeare's observance of the three unities?
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