Jonathan Swift Clearly one of the most important writers of the era, Swift is a supreme ironist whose writings

remain as well known today as anyones works from the period. His prose satire is frequently excerpted, and Gullivers Travels has passed into iconicity through numerous reproductions in story, film, and artifact. Verses on the Death of Dr. Swift What prompts a person to write his own epitaph? Swifts erses on his death are !oth an example of the satirist turning his craft on himself and a witty analysis of his impact on culture. "n the poem he employs the tools of defamiliari#ation and satiric personae, !ut he offers a far more personal statement than in his other more famous works. $he poem consequently teases us with insights into the author himself. Quick Read % &orm' (ock elegy in iam!ic tetrameter. % Style' )i ely, con ersational, irre erent. % *ey +assages' ,ochefoucaulds maxim, -./01 +opes couplets, 23.341 importance of Swifts irony, 33.551 predictions of Swifts death, 6-.-251 reactions of friends, 473.241 satire on the print culture, 43/.801 self9portrait, /76.2021 Swifts satire, 233.62. % $hemes' We find something in the ad ersity of our friends that does not displease us1 death is our common fate1 we sur i e in the memory of those whose li es we touch. $he opening passage of Swifts Verses presents a negati e iew of human nature. He imagines the !enefit his misfortune will !ring to others, and it is through this lens that he iews his decline and death. While he ironically presents the predictions of his death and the arious responses of his friends, enemies, and culture at large, he also gi es us genuine insight into his alues:literary, moral, political. His satire on grief is a hilarious understatement of his friends alue for him, !ut the most significant part of the poem lies in the ;impartial portrait< drawn !y an o!ser er. )ike the moment when the pro=ector drops his mask in ;> (odest +roposal,< this section contains Swifts most straightforward presentation of his sentiments, in particular, the lines on ;too much satire in his ein.< . Discussion Questions -. What does ,ochefoucaulds maxim suggest a!out Swifts iew of humanity? 4. ?ote the use of different oices in the poem. How does Swift use this technique? What is the effect?

/. How do the arious groups respond to news of Swifts death? 2. Why does Swift include the people he does? Who is missing? 3. What happens to the author a year after his death? $o what extent is this an accurate picture of Swifts fate? 5. What do we learn a!out Swift in the ;impartial< character? What does he alue a!out himself? 6. How ;impartial< is the character Swift gi es us? 0. "f Swift is really a misanthropist, then why does he de ote so much energy to preser ing the dignity of the race? 8. What do the erses tell us a!out Swifts ideas on satire? $o what extent is this a helpful commentary on his own writing? Gullivers Travels Swifts !est9known work during his lifetime and thereafter, Gullivers Travels is a !rilliant satire on many le els. $he descriptions of )illiput, @ro!dingnag, and )aputa satiri#e different aspects of eighteenth9century Anglish society:its politics, its wars, its new science. @ut increasingly the satire also focuses on the human animal. +hysically, the )illiputians appear charming and delicate:like toys:to Bulli er, and he seems repulsi e to them. Cnly gradually does he come to see their pride, pettiness, and meanness. "n @ro!dingnag, these conditions are exactly re ersed, and Bulli ers own pride and nastiness emerge in his offer to make gunpowder for the king. Harder questions are raised !y the great and contro ersial fourth !ook. Here, for once, Swifts point of iew is not entirely clear. $he account of Bulli ers tra el to the land of Houyhnhnms challenges our most fundamental and cherished iews of human nature. While Swifts contemporaries en=oyed the earlier !ooks for their satire, the figure of the de!ased Dahoo as an analogue for the human !eing deeply distur!ed them. Commentary o er the years has helped readers acquire a more complete understanding of Swifts trou!ling representation of irtue and ice, and the fourth !ook stands alone well as an excellent representati e of Swifts complex prose satire. Quick Notes: Book 4 % &orm' +rose satire, fictional tra el narrati e, fa!le. % Style' &irst9person account1 empirical rhetoric1 clean, simple, descripti e sentences. % *ey +assages' Chapter -, encountering the Dahoos and Houyhnhnms1 chapter /, Bulli er assimilates1 chapters 2.5, Bulli ers narrati e of Angland1 chapter 6, Bulli ers decision to remain with the Houyhnhnms1 chapter 8, Beneral >ssem!ly1 chapter -7, Bulli ers !anishment1 chapter --, Captain +edro de (ende#1 chapter -4, Bulli er reconciled to his Dahoo family. % *ey $erms' Satiric fa!le or narrati e' the =ourney to the Houyhnhnms1 satiric persona' Bulli er1 defamiliari#ation' presenting the familiar through a lens of distortion in order to see it in a new way.

Gullivers Travels demands some attention to the formal aspects of satire. (ost definitions of satire will include the following elements' distortion through er!al pictures, an attitude of censure, and wit or humor, all intended to impro e humanity or expose ice. &or Gullivers Travels, the primary mode of distortion is through the fictional tra el narrati e or fa!le, in this case Bulli ers =ourney to the land of the Houyhnhnms. "n this imaginati e story, we read a!out speaking horses and incoherent !rutish humans. $he fiction includes details that distort reality in a way that calls attention to their meaning. We ask, what is the significance of the race of irtuous Houyhnhnms and icious Dahoos? What does it mean for Bulli er to !e at first ama#ed at this world and gradually to acclimate and internali#e its alues, e en after he returns to the ;normal< world of Angland? Swift also relies on the technique of defamiliari#ation:as he does throughout Gullivers Travels:a method of representing the e eryday world and its alues in such a way as to render them unfamiliar and consequently worth e aluating. Here the alue of reason is owned !y horses, who in the ;normal< world are !rutes, and ice is em!odied in animalist humans, who are supposed to !e rational creatures. @y characteri#ing all the actions of the Houyhnhnms as go erned !y reason, Swift highlights the irtue of reason and also, incidentally, its limitations. @y rendering ice in the figure of a de!ased human !eing, Swift highlights the repul9 si eness of !eha iors characteri#ed !y selfish !rutality. He also uses this technique to great effect in ha ing Bulli er recount the history of and current political situation in Angland. What happens to common notions of war or go ernment when Bulli er explains them to !eings go erned solely !y reason? &inally, the character of Bulli er is another significant medium for Swifts satire. @y creating this fictional oice, Swift remo es himself from the work and adopts a persona through which he can critici#e his world. $his technique gi es the satirist a great deal of imaginati e freedom, !ut it can pose difficulties for the reader. >s a full, de eloped character, Bulli er operates according to the strengths and weaknesses of his character. We recei e information through his =udgment and understanding, and so the reader needs to !e attuned to the limitations of this ision. What character flaws or !lindspots impede Bulli ers =udgment? When do we !elie e Bulli er? When does Bulli er himself !ecome the o!=ect of satire? Discussion Questions -. What is Bulli ers reaction to !eing considered a Dahoo? Why is this significant? 4. A aluate the notion of ;saying the thing that is not.< What role does language play in the Houyhnhnm world?

/. What is the point of Bulli ers account of war and law in Angland? 2. Why does Bulli er decide to ne er lie again and ne er to return to human society? 3. How is the society of the Dahoos Edescri!ed in chapter 0F different from Einferior toF the society of the Houyhnhnms? 5. What does reason dictate regarding reproduction, death, and art? 6. What does the Brand >ssem!ly de!ate and conclude? $o what extent is this a alid response to the pro!lem? 0. What is the significance of +edro de (ende#? 8. >re the purely rational Houyhnhnms really ideal !eings? -7. What are Bulli ers limitations as a narrator? What has he really learned from the irtues of the Houyhnhnms? A Modest Proposal Succinct, memora!le, and !rutally clear, Swifts most famous essay is a super! example of irony and controlled rage. Cn another le el, it documents the colonial history of "reland and the desperation of its inha!itants. Cn yet another le el, it sounds a chord of humanitarianism that continues to !e significant in this world of ha es and ha e9nots. Quick Notes % &orm' Satiric prose essay, mock proposal. % *ey $echniques' +ersona of pro=ector, irony. % *ey +assages' (athematical reckoning of population, 425/1 ;a young healthy child . . . is at a year old a most delicious, nourishing, and wholesome food,< 42521 food proper for landlords, 42521 six ad antages gained, 42551 ;let no man talk to me of other expedients . . .< 4256. $he proposal to sell one9year9old infants as flesh like so many pigs for market is patently outrageous and ta!oo. >s with Gullivers Travels, Swift adopts a persona with definite limitations in =udgment. What character flaws or !lind spots impede the pro=ectors =udgment? When do we !elie e the pro=ector? When does the pro=ector himself !ecome the o!=ect of satire? Discussion Questions -. "n what sense does the essay make literal the metaphor that the Anglish are de ouring the "rish? What is the relationship !etween the metaphoric de ouring and the literal star ation of the "rish people? 4. Swift lets the mask of the persona slip at se eral points in the essay' where does Swifts genuine sentiment emerge? /. Giscuss the !rutality of the imagery Efor example, ;dressing them hot from the knife<F. $o what extent is this effecti e? Why? 2. Why is the comparison !etween the economic state of "reland and the canni!alism of infants appropriate?

3. What is the moral purpose of Swifts satire? 5. Who is Swifts audience for the satire? 6. >re there modern parallels for which the satire would !e applica!le?