Jonathan Swift: Satirist and Irishman
Jonathan Swift is one of the most cutting satirists in the history of British literature. Born in 1667 in Dublin, Ireland seven months after his father’s death, Swift had a difficult life. [5] He remained with his uncle throughout his childhood, attending Kilkenny School, the best education to be had in Ireland at the time. [4] He later, in 1682, went on to attend Trinity College where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree. [5] Several years later he was forced to leave Ireland due to political unrest and relocated to England, where he rejoined his mother and worked for William Temple for the next ten years. [4] In 1692, Swift earned a Master of Arts at Oxford. In 1694, Swift returned to Ireland and was ordained as a priest. [4]
Upon
his return to Ireland, Swift became very involved in politics.
He was an active Whig for many years.
However, when Whig agenda went against the Church of England, Swift, a
profoundly religious man, broke with the party. [4]
He joined the Tory cause and employed his intelligence and writing skill
in helping to fight for Irish rights. [4] Swift
spent the rest of his life serving the church and writing a great deal of
literature responding to society, political policy, and social conditions. His
most famous works are listed below.
A
Tale of a Tub
( 1704 ).
Battle of the Books ( 1704 ).
The
Abolishing of Christianity
( 1708 ).
All of Swift’s works criticize the faults of mankind, uplifting virtue and
common sense above all else. [4] His works question whether the progress of
civilization and the behavior and values of society are truly advancements or
just complex barbarianism. [4] He challenges his readers to think for themselves
instead of accepting everything at face value.
Swift criticizes by employing the literary device called satire in which the author exposes folly or absurdity in the behavior of an authority or society. Occasionally such attempts provoke laughter. Swift uses many forms of satire. In "A Modest Proposal," he takes a bad idea to its most extreme and absurd conclusion when he suggests some very ridiculous impossible ways to end the problem of the poor in Ireland. He also repeated uses the technique of praising actions that in reality deserve to be condemned. [2] Using satire, Swift crafts his works with a biting edge, but like many satirists, he offers no solutions to the problems he addresses.
On October 19, 1745, Swift quietly passed on leaving a wonderful body of
literature. [5] Swift’s own script adorned his gravestone, reminding the
viewer of his efforts on the behalf of the Irish cause. His epitaph reads: “The body of Jonathan Swift, Doctor of
Sacred Theology, dean of this cathedral church, is buried here, where fierce
indignation can no more lacerate his heart.
Go, traveler, and imitate, if you can, one who strived with all his
strength to champion liberty.” [5]
Jonathan
Swift’s works are skeptical and sarcastic as well as intelligent and
enjoyable. Swift’s writing and
patriotism influenced British literature profoundly. With it he taught the
reader to question injustice and society’s conception of civilization. His
works continue to impact British literature and the body of its readers to the
present.
Note:
The image of Gulliver in Lilliput on the British Literature page was acquired
from http://www.jaffebros.com/lee/gulliver
and the image
of Jonathan Swift featured on this page was provided by “The San Antonio
College LitWeb Jonathan Swift Page” at http://www.accd.edu/sac/english/bailey/swift.htm
Works Cited and Consulted
1. Jaffe,
Lee. "Gulliver's Travels- Sources- His Works." (Last Modified 29 November
1999.) <http://www.jaffebros.com/lee/gulliver/sources/works.html >.
(Last Accessed 22 October 2000.)
2. Jaffe,
Lee. "Jonathan Swift- Gulliver's Travels- Dictionary: S." (Last
Modified
22 August 2000.)
<http://www.scruznet.com/~jaffe/lee/gulliver/dict/s.html#swiftj
3. "Jonathan Swift." <http://www.norfacad.pvt.k12.va.us/project/swift/swift.htm>.
(Last Accessed 22 October 2000.)
4. McVay, Chester and Belen Victoria Rodriguez. "Swift and
a Summary." (Last
Modified 26 October 1995.)
<http://www.cwrl.utexas.edu/~benjamin/316kfall/316kunit2/studentprojects/group1/
5. Read, Charles A. “Jonathan
Swift.” The Cabinet of Irish
Literature, Dublin: 1880. Andrew J.
Morris Geneology.
<http://www.genealogy.org/~ajmorris/ireland/swift.htm>.
(Last Accessed 17 October 2000.)
(Last Accessed 22
October 2000.)
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Article by Jessica Canino Brummitt Senior English Major, ETSU
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