- Brief biography of the author.
Jonathan Swift was born on November 30 in 1667, His family of Anglo-Irish Protestant lived in Dublin, Ireland. His father died a little time before he was born, and his mother had to return to England and left her son in the care of relatives because of poverty. He was well educated: first at Kilkenny Grammar School, which was, at the time, the best in Ireland then at Trinity College in Dublin, though he was not a very good student. In 1689 Swift went to England and became secretary to Sir William Temple at Moor Park in Surrey. In 1713 Swift was set as Dean of St. Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin. But every time he came to England he turned out to be a writer, a harsh judge of human nature,
- Influenced by
Being a secretary to Sir William Temple Swift read extensively in his patron's library. This job turned out to be a landmark in Swift's life. With Temple's assistance he received an M. A. degree from Oxford University, and his first poem was published. After reading it his relative John Dryden remarked "Cousin Swift, you will never be a poet." Swift's family had also connections with Francis Godwin, author of The Man in the Moone which influenced parts of Swift's Gulliver's Travels.
His creations were influenced by the masterpieces of the ancient authors as well as by the works of coevals. He respected and cooperated with Addison, Steele and Pope. As for another his contemporary Defoe and his Robinson Crusoe, Swift stepped on satirical critics it in the first book of his Gulliver's Travels. But the greatest influence of his works, anyway, made contemporary political events in England, which are under his satirical view in the Lilliputian episode in Gulliver, as well as socio-economic situation in Ireland, which he mocks in A Modest Proposal.
- Who he influenced
His literary impact to the oeuvre of the next generations of authors has been countless. As the greatest satirist in the English language he was a strong influence on Joyce, T. S. Eliot and Yeats.
- Contributions to literature
- Major works of the author that are significant
In 1704 A Tale of a Tub, The Battle of the Books, and The Mechanical Operation of the Spirit were published anonymously. In 1708 Swift got acquainted with Addison and Steele, and his Bickerstaff Papers, and a series of ironical pamphlets on church questions, such as An Argument Against Abolishing Christianity were published. In 1720 he began work upon Gulliver's Travels, 1724-25 the publication of The Drapier Letters appeared and gained Swift enormous popularity in Ireland. A Modest Proposal was written and published anonymously by Jonathan Swift in 1729. This satirical hyperbole derided cruel attitudes towards the poor, as well as Irish policy in general.
- How has the author changed writing for the future generation
He's actually one of the most outstanding satirists of the Western literature. He created an epic satire, made a parody of a travel novel and also a sort of protoplast for the future science fiction genre. Moreover, the phrase "a modest proposal" is now contingently a reference to the style of straight-faced satire. It also makes a great contribution to the concept and use of argumentative language. His Modest Proposal is also a substantial part of many comparative and global literature and history disciplines, and also other courses in the arts, humanities, and even the social sciences.
Swift’s style is clear, acute and exact. His metaphors help particularly to describe various points of Swift’s satiric vision. Swift also creates a realistic framework by using scientific jargon and specific terms.
- Discussion of the novel
- How was the book originally received by the public
First published under the pseudonym Lemuel Gulliver Gulliver's Travels(1726) became Swift's masterpiece, a peak of his active political position as for the Whigs and Tories. Gulliver's Travels was a sharp criticism on the Whig. Its symbolism and metaphors of socio-political situation made it very popular.
- Why is this particular book important
Swift's Gulliver's Travels presents a great and refined satire of humanity having in mind the experience of his times. It is a great satiric endeavor to show human nature, a sardonic reflection with a little bit of misanthropy. Each of the four parts has a different theme, but all are efforts to take down human pride. The brilliant metaphors and special structure helps to show problems of society, religion and human nature.
- A sample of the novel
Swift writes:
- How this passage is representative of the author’s writing style
This is an example of satiric language when Gulliver speaks using the formal mathematical and scientific terms of his time with all of these things like parallelism, attraction, and repulsion. It is without doubt a justified satire on most of his contemporary scientists by means of an imitation of rigid and complicated scientific descriptions of things. Swift’s imitation and using different kinds of slang and technical terms give realism to fantastic allegory of so-called pure scientists of Swift's own day.
Work cited
Swift, Jonathan. Gulliver's Travels. Walnut, CA: Diamond Entertainment Corp, 2007.
