Author of Gulliver's Travels and "A Modest Proposal" BRIT LIT STUDENTS: GET OUT YOUR NOTES FROM YESTERDAY AND A GREEN TEXTBOOK. TURN TO PAGE 606. Jonathan Swift (1667-1745) Author of Gulliver's Travels and "A Modest Proposal"

Swift and His World Watch the Background Video: http://www.pearsonsuccessnet.com/snpapp/learn/navigateIDP.do?method=vlo&internalId=121210100000058&isHtml5Sco=false&fromTab=DONETAB

Early Years Swift was born in Dublin, Ireland, to English parents received a good education and then obtained an appointment in the household of Sir William Temple, a wealthy diplomat who lived on an estate in Surrey, England. Swift hoped for a career in politics, but receiving no support from Sir William, he decided on a career in the church. After Temple's death in 1699, he was given a small parish near London. The satirical writing Swift had done while in the Temple household was out of character for a clergyman, but its brilliance was widely acknowledged in 1704 when he published his satires as two separate books: A Tale of a Tub, which satirizes excesses in religion and learning, and The Battle of the Books, which describes a comic encounter between ancient and modern literature.

How England should be governed Religious affiliations Politics and Religion Political party How England should be governed Religious affiliations Whigs Pro-Parliament and aristocracy (limited monarchy) Pro-Protestantism Tories Pro-Monarchy (King or Queen rules with full control) Pro-Catholicism

Ambition and Achievement When the authorship of Swift's religious satires became known, Swift lost favor in the eyes of many church officials and also lost opportunities for advancement. Although he failed to achieve his goal of becoming a bishop in the Church of England, Swift remained a staunch defender of the Anglican faith. His political allegiance, however, shifted completely in 1710 when he left the Whig party to join the Tory party favored by Queen Anne. He benefited immediately from this move. As the leading party writer for the government, he wrote many pamphlets and wielded considerable political influence.

The Story Behind Gulliver's Travels Swift's most famous book, the novel Gulliver's Travels, began as a humorous assignment from the Scriblerus Club, a group of Swift's sharp-witted literary friends. These writers, who delighted in making fun of literary pretensions, gave Swift the project of writing a series of amusing, imaginary journeys because they knew he enjoyed reading travel books.

  Later Years Although embittered by his failure to be named a bishop, Swift served for more than thirty years as dean of St. Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin. His caustic wit did not flag, as shown in the savage satire "A Modest Proposal" (1729), on starvation in Ireland. His death in 1745 deprived the world of a generous and learned man who despised fanaticism, selfishness, and pride.

Gulliver’s Travels Satirical writing can appear in many genres— for example, Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels is a satirical novel and “A Modest Proposal” is a satirical essay. Although satirists unmask evils, they sometimes mask their targets in order to avoid the dangers involved in naming real people, places, or beliefs. Swift uses masks such as these in Gulliver’s Travels: imaginary lands and people, such as Lilliput and the Lilliputians fictional conflicts, like that between Big- and Little-Endians Intro to Gulliver’s Travels: http://www.shmoop.com/video/gullivers-travels

How to Break an Egg Lilliput = England Blefuscu = France Little-Endians = Protestants Big-Endians = Catholics Henry VIII “broke” with the Catholic Church, which led to centuries of rebellions and bloodshed. King Charles I lost his life (beheaded) King James II lost his crown (Catholic – he was the last Catholic king of England)

“A Modest Proposal” Swift recognized that the best audience for "A Modest Proposal" was the upper class-a group of people who had the ability to make changes for the better in Ireland. On a satirical level, however, Swift's essay mocks this very group of people. He suggests that their relentless pursuit of luxury has developed in them a taste for almost unimaginable delicacies. In this way, they become the perfect target for his modest proposal. The complete title is, “A Modest Proposal for Preventing the Children of poor People in Ireland, from being a Burden to their Parents or Country; and for making them beneficial to the Publick.”