Jonathan Swift- Anglo-Irish satirist, publicist, poet and public figure. He is best known as the author of the fantastic tetralogy Gulliver's Travels, in which he wittily ridiculed human and social vices. He lived in Dublin (Ireland), where he served as dean (rector) of St. Patrick's Cathedral. Despite his English origins, Swift energetically defended the rights of ordinary Irish people and earned sincere respect from them.
Biography:
The main source of information about Swift's family and his early years is an Autobiographical Fragment, which was written by Swift in 1731 and covers events up to 1700. It says that during the Civil War, Swift's grandfather's family moved from Canterbury to Ireland.
Swift was born in the Irish city of Dublin into a poor Protestant family. The father, a minor judicial official, died when his son was not yet born, leaving the family (wife, daughter and son) in distress. Therefore, Uncle Godwin was involved in raising the boy; Jonathan almost never met his mother. After school he entered Trinity College, Dublin University (1682), from which he graduated in 1686. As a result of his studies, Swift received a bachelor's degree and a lifelong skepticism of scientific wisdom.
Due to the civil war that began in Ireland after the overthrow of King James II (1688), Swift went to England, where he stayed for 2 years. In England, he served as a secretary to the son of his mother’s acquaintance (according to other sources, her distant relative) - the wealthy retired diplomat William Temple. At the Temple estate, Swift first met Esther Johnson (1681-1728), the daughter of a servant who had lost her father at an early age. Esther was only 8 years old at the time; Swift became her friend and teacher.
In 1690 he returned to Ireland, although he later visited the Temple on several occasions. To find a position, Temple handed him a reference letter, which noted his good knowledge of Latin and Greek languages, familiarity with French and excellent literary abilities. Temple, himself a famous essayist, was able to appreciate the extraordinary literary talent of his secretary, provided him with his library and friendly assistance in everyday affairs; in return, Swift assisted Temple in the preparation of his extensive memoirs. It was during these years that Swift began literary creativity, first as a poet. Note that the influential Temple was visited by numerous eminent guests, including King William, and observing their conversations provided invaluable material for the future great satirist.
In 1692, Swift received his master's degree at Oxford, and in 1694 he was ordained. Church of England. He was appointed priest to the Irish village of Kilroot. However, Swift soon, in his own words, “tired of his duties for several months,” returned to the service of Temple. In 1696-1699 he wrote the satirical parables “The Tale of a Barrel” and “The Battle of the Books” (published in 1704), as well as several poems.
In January 1699 the patron, William Temple, died. He was one of those few acquaintances of Swift, about whom even this caustic satirist wrote only kind words. Swift is looking for a new position and turns to London nobles. For a long time, these searches were not successful, but Swift became closely acquainted with court morals. Finally, in 1700, he was appointed minister (prebendary) of St. Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin. During this period he published several anonymous pamphlets. Contemporaries immediately noted the features of Swift's satirical style: brightness, uncompromisingness, lack of direct preaching - the author ironically describes events, leaving conclusions to the discretion of the reader.
In 1702, Swift received the degree of Doctor of Divinity from Trinity College. Moves closer to the opposition Whig party. Swift's authority as a writer and thinker is growing. During these years, Swift often visited England and made acquaintances in literary circles. Published (anonymously, under the same cover) “The Tale of a Barrel” and “The Battle of the Books” (1704); the first of them is equipped with a significant subtitle, which can be attributed to Swift’s entire work: “Written for the general improvement of the human race.” The book immediately becomes popular and is published in three editions in the first year. Note that almost all of Swift’s works were published under different pseudonyms or even anonymously, although his authorship was usually no secret.
In 1705, the Whigs won a majority in Parliament for several years, but there was no improvement in morals. Swift returned to Ireland, where he was given a parish (in the village of Laracor) and lived there until the end of 1707. In one of his letters, he compared the feuds between Whigs and Tories to cat concerts on rooftops.
Around 1707, Swift met another girl, 19-year-old Esther Vanhomrigh, 1688-1723, whom Swift called Vanessa in his letters. She, like Esther Johnson, grew up without a father (a Dutch merchant). Some of Vanessa’s letters to Swift have been preserved - “sad, tender and admiring”: “If you find that I write to you too often, then you should tell me about it or even write to me again so that I know that you have not completely forgotten about me..."
At the same time, Swift writes almost daily to Esther Johnson (Swift called her Stella); Later, these letters made up his book “Diary for Stella,” published posthumously. Esther Stella, left an orphan, settled in Swift's Irish estate along with her companion, as a pupil. Some biographers, relying on the testimony of Swift's friends, suggest that he and Stella secretly got married around 1716, but no documentary evidence has been found for this.
In 1710, the Tories, led by Henry St. John, later Viscount Bolingbroke, came to power in England, and Swift, disillusioned with Whig policies, came out in support of the government. In some areas, their interests actually coincided: the Tories curtailed the war with Louis XIV (the Peace of Utrecht), condemned corruption and Puritan fanaticism. This is exactly what Swift called for earlier. In addition, he and Bolingbroke, a talented and witty writer, became friends. As a token of gratitude, Swift was given the pages of the conservative weekly (English The Examiner), where Swift's pamphlets were published for several years.
1713: With the help of Tory friends, Swift is appointed Dean of St. Patrick's Cathedral. This place, in addition to financial independence, gives him a strong political platform for open struggle, but distances him from big London politics. Nevertheless, Swift from Ireland continues to actively participate in public life countries, publishing articles and pamphlets on pressing issues. He angrily opposes social injustice, class arrogance, oppression, religious fanaticism, etc.
In 1714 the Whigs returned to power. Bolingbroke, accused of having relations with the Jacobites, emigrated to France. Swift sent a letter to the exile, where he asked to dispose of him, Swift, at his discretion. He added that this is the first time he has made a personal request to Bolingbroke. That same year, Vanessa's mother died. Left an orphan, she moves to Ireland, closer to Swift.
In 1720, the House of Lords of the Irish Parliament, formed from English proteges, transferred all legislative functions regarding Ireland to the British Crown. London immediately used the new rights to create privileges for English goods. From that moment on, Swift became involved in the struggle for the autonomy of Ireland, which was being ruined in the interests of the English metropolis.
During these same years, Swift began work on Gulliver's Travels.
1723: Vanessa's death. She contracted tuberculosis while caring for her younger sister. For some reason, her correspondence with Swift over the past year was destroyed.
1724: The rebellious “Letters from a Clothmaker” were published anonymously and sold in thousands of copies, calling for a boycott of English goods and inferior English coins. The response from the Letters was deafening and widespread, so that London had to urgently appoint a new governor, Carteret, to calm the Irish. The prize awarded by Carteret to the person who identified the author's name remained undelivered. The printer of the Letters was found and brought to trial, but the jury unanimously acquitted him. Prime Minister Lord Walpole proposed arresting the "inciter", but Carteret explained that this would require an entire army.
Ultimately, England thought it best to make some economic concessions (1725), and from that moment on, the Anglican Dean Swift became a national hero and the unofficial leader of Catholic Ireland. A contemporary notes: “His portraits were exhibited in all the streets of Dublin... Greetings and blessings accompanied him wherever he went.” According to the recollections of friends, Swift said: “As for Ireland, here only my old friends - the mob - love me, and I reciprocate their love, because I don’t know anyone else who deserves it.”
In response to continuing economic pressure from the metropolis, Swift, from his own funds, established a fund to help Dublin townspeople who were threatened with ruin, and did not distinguish between Catholics and Anglicans. A stormy scandal throughout England and Ireland was caused by Swift's famous pamphlet "A Modest Proposal", in which he mockingly advised: if we are not able to feed the children of the Irish poor, dooming them to poverty and hunger, let's better sell them for meat and make them out of leather gloves.
In 1726, the first two volumes of Gulliver's Travels were published (without indicating the name of the real author); the remaining two were published the following year. The book, somewhat spoiled by censorship, enjoys unprecedented success. Within a few months, it was republished three times, and translations into other languages soon appeared.
Stella died in 1728. Physical and state of mind Swift's are getting worse. His popularity continues to grow: in 1729, Swift was awarded the title of honorary citizen of Dublin, his collected works were published: the first in 1727, the second in 1735.
IN recent years Swift suffered from serious mental illness; in one of his letters he mentioned a “deadly sorrow” that was killing his body and soul. In 1742, after a stroke, Swift lost his speech and (partially) mental abilities, after which he was declared incompetent. Three years later (1745) Swift died. He was buried in the central nave of his cathedral next to the grave of Esther Johnson; he himself composed the epitaph on the tombstone in advance, back in 1740, in the text of his will:
“Here lies the body of Jonathan Swift, dean of this cathedral, and severe indignation no longer tears his heart. Go, traveler, and imitate, if you can, the one who courageously fought for the cause of freedom.”
Swift bequeathed most of his fortune to be used to create a hospital for the mentally ill; St Patrick's Hospital for Imbeciles was opened in Dublin in 1757 and continues to this day, being Ireland's oldest psychiatric hospital.
Creation:
At one time, Swift was characterized as a “master of political lampooning.” A considerable part of Swift's journalism is occupied by various kinds of hoaxes. For example, in 1708 Swift attacked astrologers, whom he considered to be outright swindlers. He published, under the name “Isaac Bickerstaff,” an almanac with predictions of future events. Swift's Almanac faithfully parodied similar popular publications published in England by a certain John Partridge, a former shoemaker; it contained, in addition to the usual vague statements (“a significant person will be threatened with death or illness this month”), also very specific predictions, including the imminent day of death of the mentioned Partridge. When that day arrived, Swift circulated a message (on behalf of an acquaintance of Partridge) of his death "in full accordance with the prophecy." The ill-fated astrologer had to work hard to prove that he was alive and to be restored to the list of publishers, from where they hastened to cross him off.
Over time, his works lost their immediate political urgency, but became examples of ironic satire. During his lifetime, his books were extremely popular both in Ireland and in England, where they were published in large editions. Some of his works, regardless of the political circumstances that gave rise to them, took on a literary and artistic life of their own.
First of all, this applies to the fantastic tetralogy “Gulliver’s Travels,” which has become one of the classic and most frequently read books in many countries around the world, and has also been filmed dozens of times. True, when adapted for children and into films, the satirical charge of this book is emasculated.
Swift used the fantasy travel genre for satirical purposes, without much concern for the coherence or plausibility of the fiction. Nevertheless, many of the fruits of his imagination acquired intrinsic value over time and were freed from the context of the author’s intention.
First of all, these are, of course, Lilliputians - the name of tiny people that has become a household name. Interestingly, Brobdingnagians did not become a household name.
The wise horses of the Houyhnhnms built a society resembling a biological civilization. They use Yahoos, creatures that have a human appearance but are not intelligent, as draft animals. This is Swift's philosophical utopia, very traditionalist in spirit.
The flying island of Laputa was invented to ridicule scientists who are out of touch with life and who are engaged in active but meaningless activities. A by-product of this satire was the mention of the satellites of Mars, which by that time had not yet been discovered. This is all the more surprising since for Swift astronomy (like other sciences) is an inappropriate and absurd activity that brings no practical benefit.
(estimates: 2
, average: 5,00
out of 5)
Name: Jonathan Swift
Birthday: November 30, 1667
Place of birth: Dublin, Ireland
Date of death: 19 October 1745
Place of death: Dublin, Ireland
Biography of Jonathan Swift
Jonathan Swift was born in 1667 in Dublin into a simple, bankrupt English family. His father died without ever seeing his newborn son. The family, and Jonathan also had a sister, was left in a sad situation due to the almost complete lack of means of subsistence. Soon after these events, the mother of the future writer leaves for England forever. 
Jonathan is raised by his uncle, who at that time was a successful and very famous lawyer in Dublin. It was he who did everything possible to ensure that Swift received the best possible training. He attended County Kilkenny School, graduating in 1681. After this, he entered Trinity College Dublin, where in 1686 he received a Bachelor of Arts degree.
Swift had to leave for England due to the outbreak of civil war in Dublin. He worked as a secretary to the diplomat and writer William Temple until the latter died in 1699.
These were the most best years Swift. He could spend whole days in the huge Temple library, and it was here that he first tried his hand at the literary field and wrote poetry. In 1692, Swift received a Master of Arts degree from Oxford University. And finally, he falls in love with his student Esther Johnson, who eventually becomes his wife.
In 1695, Swift took holy orders in the Church of England and left for the Irish village of Kilruth. But, as the writer himself said, he got tired of the service after just a few months, and returned to work for Temple.
At a church service, he found himself at the center of spiritual scandals. There he begins to work on the sarcastic work “The Tale of a Barrel.” The work was completed a few years later and was published in 1704, creating a lot of hype around it. The author was not identified, but when it became known that it was Swift, he was called a wit. In the work, the author harshly criticized three branches of Christianity - Catholic, Anglican and Puritan, which were presented in the story as three brothers.
When Temple died in 1699, Swift returned to Ireland, where he took ecclesiastical orders in Laracor. At Trinity College he receives a Doctor of Divinity degree.
Jonathan Swift became even more popular after his essays “Bickerstaff's Papers” were published in 1708-1709. Readers liked the image of the main character so much that the instructive and sarcastic magazine “Chatterbox” began to be published on his behalf.
In 1707, he met Esther Vanhomrie, but Swift called her Vanessa in his letters. The letters have only partially survived. They were imbued with tenderness, love, sadness and admiration. These are the ones love relationship inspired him to create the legendary poem "Cadenus and Vanessa".
At the same time, Swift writes almost every day to Esther Johnson, whom she calls Stella. It is from him 
letters and the book “Diary for Stella” will be compiled. There is some evidence that they got married secretly around 1716. However, there is no evidence for this.
In 1710-1713, Swift was in London, and it was at this time that he was known as a Tory publicist. He wrote scathing political pamphlets such as "The Conduct of the Allies" and "The Attack on the Whigs."
When Swift realized that the Tories would soon not rule England, he returned to Ireland and began to serve in St. Patrick's Church, where he began to write his most famous work, Gulliver's Travels. The book was very successful and popular. It is worth noting that many of the events in the book took place in real life. Swift experienced them during various political incidents of the time.
Esther Johnson dies in 1728. He writes the work "The Death of Mrs. Johnson." Also, during this period, Swift loses many close people, and this greatly undermines him.
In 1742, Swift had a stroke and stopped speaking. In 1745, Jonathan Swift leaves this world. He was buried next to his lifelong friend, Esther Johnson.
Bibliography of Jonathan Swift
All books by Jonathan Swift:
- 1697 - Battle of the Books
- 1704 —
- 1726 —
- 1708 - Discussion on the inconvenience of the destruction of Christianity in England
- 1712 — Proposal for correction, improvement and consolidation English language
- 1729 — A Modest Proposal
- 1710-1714 — Diary for Stella
- 1724-1725 — Letters from a clothier
- Pamphlets
Irish satirist Jonathan Swift was born on November 30, 1667 in Dublin, Ireland. His father, also named Jonathan Swift, was a minor judicial official. He died two months before his son was born. Left without income, Swift's mother did her best to provide for her newborn child. In addition, Swift was very sick. It was later discovered that he suffered from Meniere's disease, a disease of the inner ear that causes nausea and hearing loss. In an attempt to give her son a better upbringing, Swift's mother gives him to Godwin Swift, her late husband's brother, a member of the respected Gray's Inn bar and judge community. Godwin Swift sent his nephew to study at Kilkenny Grammar School (1674-1682), which was most likely the best in Ireland at that time. Swift's transition from a life of poverty to a strict private school environment was challenging.
However, he quickly found a friend in William Congreve, a future poet and playwright.
At the age of 14, Swift began his undergraduate studies at Trinity College, Dublin University. In 1686 he received a bachelor's degree in humanities and continued his studies for a master's degree. But unrest began in Ireland, and the king of Ireland, England and Scotland was soon overthrown. This civil revolution became known as the Glorious Revolution in 1688, and it prompted Swift to move to England and start over there. His mother helped him get a position as secretary to the revered English statesman, Sir William Temple. For 10 years, Swift worked at Moon Park in London as Temple's assistant on political assignments and also assisted with the research and publication of his own essays and memoirs. Temple was amazed by Swift's abilities and after a while began to trust him with more delicate and important matters.
Swift's life in Moon Park also brought him the acquaintance of the daughter of a Temple maid named Esther Johnson, who was only 8 years old. When they first met, she was 15 years younger than Swift, but despite the age difference, they became lovers for the rest of their lives. As a child, he was her mentor and teacher, and gave her the nickname "Stella". After Esther reached adulthood, they maintained a fairly close but controversial relationship, which continued until Johnson's death. There was a rumor that they got married in 1716, and Swift kept a lock of Johnson's hair with him all the time.
Creation
During his ten years working for Temple, Swift returned to Ireland twice. On a trip in 1695 he accomplished everything necessary requirements and took holy orders in the Church of England. Under Temple's influence, he also began to write, first short essays and then, later, a manuscript for a book. Temple dies in 1699. Swift finishes editing and publishing his memoirs - not without controversy with some members of the Temple family - and then reluctantly accepts the position of secretary and chaplain to the Earl of Berkeley. But after long journey at the Earl of Berkeley's estate, Swift was informed that all positions for his position had already been filled. Discouraged but resourceful, he relied on his qualifications as a clergyman and found work in a small community 20 miles from Dublin. For the next 10 years, he gardens, preaches, and looks after the house provided to him by the church. He is also starting to write again. His first political pamphlet was entitled “A Discourse on the Contests and Dissentions in Athens and Rome.”
In 1704, Swift anonymously published the work “The Tale of the Barrel” and the pamphlet “The Battle of the Books.” The "barrel", which became quite popular among the public masses, was severely condemned in the Church of England. Ostensibly, he criticized religion, but in fact Swift was just parodying pride. However, his writings earned him a reputation in London, and when the Tories came to power in 1710, they asked Swift to become editor of their Conservative weekly, The Examiner. After a while, he became fully immersed in the political environment and began writing some of the most scathing and famous political pamphlets, including “The Conduct of the Allies” and “Attack on the Whigs.” on the Whigs”). Initiated into the inner circle of the Tory government, Swift expresses his personal thoughts and feelings in many letters to his beloved Stella. These letters later made up his book “Diary for Stella.”
Recent years
When he saw that the Tories would soon be overthrown from power, Swift returned to Ireland. In 1713 he was appointed dean of St Patrick's Cathedral. He was still in contact with Esther Johnson, and it was also documented that he had romantic relationship with Esther Vanhomrie (whom he called Vanessa). His courtship inspired his long and legendary poem, “Cadenus and Vanessa.” There were also rumors that he had a relationship with the famous beauty Anna Long.
While serving at St. Patrick's Cathedral, Swift begins to work on what would later be his most famous work. In 1726, with the completion of the manuscript, he traveled to London and took the help of several friends, who anonymously published his Travels to Some Remote Countries of the World in Four Parts: the Essay of Lemuel Gulliver, First a Surgeon, and Then a Captain of Several Ships - which more known as Gulliver's Travels. The book instantly became incredibly successful and has not been out of print since its very first publication. The most interesting thing is that most of the plot events are related to historical facts that Swift himself once experienced during strong political upheavals.
But they didn’t have a chance to celebrate success for long, because Swift’s longtime love, Esther Johnson, became very ill. She dies in January 1728. Her death prompts Swift to write “The Death of Mrs. Johnson.” Soon after her death, many of Swift's close friends died, including John Gay and John Arbuthnot. Swift, who had always been supported by the people around him, took a turn for the worse.
In 1742, Swift suffered from a stroke and lost the ability to speak. And on October 19, 1745, Jonathan Swift dies. He was buried next to Esther Johnson in the central nave of St Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin.
Quotes
“A wise man should have money in his head, but not in his heart.”
Biography score
New feature! The average rating this biography received. Show rating
Years of life: from 30.11.1667 to 19.10.1745
Famous Anglo-Irish satirist, master of the journalistic genre, poet and public figure. He is best known as the author of the fantastic tetralogy Gulliver's Travels, which ridicules human and social vices.
Jonathan Swift was born in Dublin (Ireland) into a poor family of a minor official. Little is known about Swift's childhood and family, mostly from Swift's own autobiography. The writer's father died before his son was born and Swift was raised by his uncle. After school, the writer entered Trinity College, Dublin University (1682), from which he graduated in 1686 with a Bachelor of Arts degree. In 1688, Ireland was swept by a wave of ethnic violence and Swift's family, like many Englishmen, was forced to leave Ireland. In England, he served as a secretary to the wealthy retired diplomat William Temple, who provided him with great assistance and patronage in everyday affairs. Swift received his Master's degree from Oxford in 1690 and was ordained in the Church of England in 1694, but continued to serve as Temple's secretary until the latter's death in 1699. At this time, Swift published several pamphlets and worked on his first major works: the story-parables “The Tale of a Barrel” and “The Battle of the Books.”
After unsuccessful attempts to find a new position, Swift was appointed prebendary of St. Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin in 1700. Two years later, the writer received a Doctor of Divinity degree from Trinity College, his political views came closer to those of the Whig party. In 1704, “The Tale of a Barrel” and “The Battle of the Books” were published. The publication was anonymous, but Swift's authorship was quickly revealed and he became famous. The writer quickly became disillusioned with the policies of the Whigs, and in 1710, when the Tories came to power, Swift came out in support of the government. As a token of gratitude, Swift was given the pages of the conservative weekly (English The Examiner), where his pamphlets were published for several years, and in 1713 Swift became dean of St. Patrick's Cathedral. After the defeat of the Tories in 1714, Swift withdrew from public life and lived almost constantly in Ireland. In 1720, the Irish Parliament actually transferred its legislative functions to the English Parliament, which, in turn, immediately took advantage of this and adopted a number of laws unfavorable for Ireland. Swift became involved in the struggle of the Irish people for autonomy; his pamphlet “Drapier's Letters” (Drapier's Letters, 1724) caused a wide public outcry, which, along with the open speeches of the Irish, forced England to soften economic policy in relation to Ireland. In addition to his literary activities, Swift, from his own funds, established a fund to help Dublin citizens who were threatened with ruin.
In 1726-27 the most famous work Swift - Gulliver's Travels. The book is a great success, which provides another reason for Swift's increasing popularity. In 1729, Swift was awarded the title of honorary citizen of Dublin, and his collected works were published: the first in 1727, the second in 1735. However, the years take their toll and by the mid-30s the writer’s health had deteriorated greatly. Swift suffered from mental illness, and in 1742, after a stroke, he lost his speech and partially his mental abilities. Three years later the writer died. Swift is buried in the central nave of St. Patrick's Cathedral, of which he was dean.
Almost all of Swift's works were published anonymously or under pseudonyms, although Swift's authorship was not too hidden and became known very quickly. The exception was the rebellious “Letters of a Clothmaker”; the English governor in Ireland even appointed a reward for establishing their authorship, but it remained undelivered.
A stormy scandal throughout England and Ireland was caused by Swift's famous pamphlet "A Modest Proposal", in which he mockingly advised: if we are not able to feed the children of the Irish poor, dooming them to poverty and hunger, let's better sell them for meat and make them out of leather gloves.
Noticing that many of the graves in St. Patrick's Cathedral were neglected and the monuments were being destroyed, Swift sent letters to the relatives of the deceased, demanding that they immediately send money to repair the monuments; in case of refusal, he promised to put the graves in order at the expense of the parish, but in the new inscription on the monuments he would perpetuate the stinginess and ingratitude of the recipient. One of the letters was sent to King George II. His Majesty left the letter unanswered, and in accordance with his promise, the king's stinginess and ingratitude were noted on his relative's tombstone.
The words “liliput” and “yahoo”, invented by Swift, have entered many languages of the world.
Swift really disliked astrologers and considered them scammers. In 1708, he published, under the name Isaac Bickerstaff, an almanac with predictions of future events. Swift's Almanac faithfully parodied similar popular publications published in England by a certain John Partridge; it contained, in addition to the usual vague statements (“a significant person will be threatened with death or illness this month”), also very specific predictions, including the imminent day of death of the mentioned Partridge. When that day arrived, Swift circulated a message (on behalf of an acquaintance of Partridge) of his death "in full accordance with the prophecy." The ill-fated astrologer had to work hard to prove that he was alive.
Swift had two pupils: Esther Johnson and Esther Vanomrie. He met the first when she was only 8 years old (Swift called the girl Stella), and Swift himself was 22, the age difference with the second (Swift called her Vanessa) was 21 years. Swift's tender letters to both girls have reached us; it is reliably known that he was their teacher, and for some time he lived with Stella under the same roof. Biographers argue about what kind of relationship Swift had with his two students - some consider them platonic, others love. Some biographers, relying on the testimony of Swift's friends, suggest that he and Stella secretly got married around 1716, but no documentary evidence has been found for this.
Bibliography
Fiction
(1697)
(1704)
(1710-1714)
(1726)
The most famous pamphlets
Discourse on the inconvenience of the destruction of Christianity in England (1708)
Proposal for the correction, improvement and consolidation of the English language (1712)
Letters from a Clothmaker (1724)
(1729)
Film adaptations of works, theatrical performances
The book "Gulliver's Travels" (and especially its first part - "Gulliver in the Land of Lilliputians") has been filmed many times (see the list of film adaptations on Kinopoisk). The most famous film adaptations:
The New Gulliver (1935, USSR) dir. Alexander Ptushko
Gulliver's Travels (1939, USA) dir. Dave Fleischer
Gulliver's Travels (2010, USA) dir. Rob Letterman
SWIFT Jonathan(1667-1745), English writer, politician. In the pamphlet “The Tale of the Barrel” (1704), the struggle between the Catholic, Anglican and Puritan churches is depicted in the spirit of a parody “life”. The pamphlets Letters from a Clothmaker (1723-24) and A Modest Proposal (1729) condemned the oppression of the Irish people. "Gulliver's Travels" (vol. 1-2, 1726). Swift's bilious satire is inseparable from the humanistic pathos of his work, which developed in line with the Enlightenment, which affirmed the need to eradicate private and public vices. The traditions of Swiftian satire are among the most fruitful in world literature.
Childhood. At Trinity College
His grandfather, a prominent Church of England clergyman and staunch supporter of King Charles I, civil wars 1641-1648 was dispossessed by the revolutionary regime of Cromwell. Swift's father, having married a dowry-free woman, went to seek his fortune in semi-colonial Ireland, where he got a job as a judicial official and died six months before the birth of his son. The orphan was raised by wealthy relatives. With their support he received a decent school education and entered the prestigious Trinity College of the University of Dublin, where he studied in 1682-1688, by his own later admission, rather carelessly, that is, he enthusiastically read a wide variety of books to the detriment of the prescribed cramming of the rhetorical-theological-philosophical manuals of Burgersdicius, Kekkermannus and Smiglecius. However, apparently, even then he sensed a priestly calling and firmly decided to follow in the footsteps of his grandfather, which was in no way contradicted by his revealed penchant for literary writing.
The first compositions of the twenty-two-year-old Swift were, in the fashion of that time, sublime odes, and they clearly showed genuine and thorough religiosity, stern piety and deep aversion to all revolutionary changes and innovations, especially in the spiritual field.
At Temple Manor
The Irish unrest of 1688-1689 prevented him from completing his teaching: he had to move to England, and Swift accepted the priesthood only in 1695, and received a doctorate in theology from Oxford in 1701. But the 1690s were “interim” in his life. turned out to be decisive for the formation of his personality and gift of writing. These years mostly passed in the luxurious estate of Moor Park near London of a distant relative of Swift's mother, a retired diplomat and courtier, a prominent thinker and essayist of the 1660-1680s. Sir William Temple, who at first, out of mercy, took the poor young man as a librarian, then appreciated his talents and brought him closer to him as a secretary and confidant. Swift, a tireless reader, had at his disposal a rich collection of books, especially French; and Rabelais, Montaigne, La Rochefoucauld became his favorite authors. He appreciated Swift and his patron; He recognized him alone as his mentor, however, only in terms of sanity, outlook, balanced and thoughtful judgments. Their judgments could differ radically, for example, in religious terms: Temple was a more or less free-thinking deist, and Swift considered all religious inquisitiveness to be a product of thoughtlessness or pride. The difference in worldview and temperament, however, almost did not prevent them from getting along with each other. Swift called the decade spent at the Temple estate the happiest time of his life.
Pamphlet “Battle of the Books”
After Temple's death, Swift had to rely only on himself for the first time; He had his own life and ideological position, developed with the assistance of an older friend and mentor. In addition, the nature of his literary talent was clearly determined: having taken the side of Temple in a literary polemic about the comparative merits of ancient and modern literature with the pamphlet “The Battle of the Books” (1697), Swift showed himself to be a devastating polemicist, a master of parodic style and deadly irony. The pamphlet is a caustic denunciation of the then (mainly French) literary modernism and the spiritual innovation hated by Swift.
Satirical encyclopedia
In 1700, Swift received a parish in Ireland, but all his calculations and expectations were connected with big politics, to which Temple, an expert on political life, introduced him, and with the literary activities of London's masters of minds. To their captious and demanding court, he was going to present not only the not yet published “Battle of the Books”, but also a kind of satirical encyclopedia of English mental life of the late 17th century - “The Tale of a Barrel”, on which, however, it was still worth working on and for which it was necessary to prepare soil, to acquire at least some name and reputation. Events were favorable: the Tories defeated the Whigs, achieving a majority in the House of Commons and making full use of populist demagoguery. Conservative principles were much closer to Swift than liberal ones, but he was deeply suspicious of any populism. He noticed with alarm that ancient times“in the same way freedom was exterminated,” and immediately wrote a treatise “Discourse on discord and disagreement between the nobility and communities in Athens and Rome” (1701), where he strictly and clearly analyzed party quarrel as a symptom of the coming of democratic tyranny, which is no better than tyranny aristocratic. The treatise greatly influenced public opinion and greatly contributed to the victory of the Whigs in the next parliamentary elections; Swift thus became the favorite of the ruling party, its “golden pen,” and in 1705 he finally considered it appropriate to publish “The Tale of a Barrel” together with the “Battle of the Books.”
Recognized master
The book was noticed by everyone and determined the further reputation of Swift's doctor of divinity, causing deep admiration among some for its merciless and inexhaustible wit, and among others (including the pious Queen Anne, who took the English throne) - horror and anger for its irreverent approach to matters of religion. For the plot basis of the “Tale” was a parable-like fable about three brothers, more or less personifying Catholicism, Anglicanism and extreme Protestantism, who were unable to preserve intact the kaftans bequeathed to them, suitable for all occasions, that is, the Christian faith. The allegory is deliberately stupid, suitable for clownish games with dressing up. It makes up barely a quarter of the “Tale” and is used as an illustration for other chapters, together with them representing a kind of English analogue of Erasmus of Rotterdam’s “Praise of Folly,” so beloved by Swift. In Swift, the embodiment of omnipotent Stupidity is the fake “Author” of the “Fairy Tale,” a corrupt scribbler who contracted to create something like a program for the coming general madness, designed to replace true reality with an illusory and partly utopian one. The 18th century was the age of utopias, turning dreams into projects for social reconstruction, and Swift mockingly anticipates the ideology of the Enlightenment with its “social contract,” social projectism and the cult of mechanistic materialism.
Contemporaries appreciated Swift's wit more than the content of his "Tale". A special kind of primacy in literature was recognized for him, and he consolidated it with such anti-ideological works adjacent to “The Tale of the Barrel” as “Tritical treatise on mental abilities"(1707) and "Objection to the Abolition of Christianity" (1708). Salon fame was brought to him by the parody and preaching “Reflections on a Broom Stick” (1707), where he warns “the great transformers of the world,” “correctors of evil” and “eliminators of all grievances” against arrogant reformism, which can only defile the world.
Swift created another verbal mask of an ideologist and figure of modern times in the person of the learned gentleman astrologer Isaac Bickerstaff, who, in the name of science and in the name of the public good, abolishes the present and disposes of the future, clearly demonstrating the power of propaganda over reality. His only scientific “Predictions for 1708” were published; these predictions were then verified by the printed word and became irrefutable facts of social life. Later ideologists liked to call this kind of fact “a stubborn thing.” It was no coincidence that Bickerstaff fell in love with Swift's then friends and the pioneers of European journalism, J. Addison and R. Steele. One of the first English magazines was called "Tatler" ("Chatterbox") and was published on behalf of "Mr. Isaac Bickerstaff, Esquire", who soon acquired a biography and became a parody character English literature.
Politician and publicist
Soon Swift himself was to brilliantly demonstrate in various ways the power of the printed word as an instrument of politics and its powerlessness as a means of explanation or admonition. Relations with the Whigs completely fell apart after Swift directly expressed his moderate-protective views in the pamphlet “Considerations of an English Churchman Concerning Religion and Government” (1709). And when the Tory government in 1710-1714 met the demands of church circles and, moreover, intended to honorably lead England out of the protracted and senseless, albeit victorious, War of the Spanish Succession, Swift became close and even became friends with leading conservatives. He became their main publicist, and all the political successes of the Conservative government were achieved thanks to Swift's pamphlets and the Examiner magazine (1710-1711) led by him, which formed public opinion favorable to the conclusion of peace. In this regard, Swift lived in London from 1710-1713, and his daily letters and reports to Ireland to former Temple pupil Esther Johnson compiled the “Diary for Stella”, published half a century later and having enormous success as an epistolary novel.
Ireland's Inventive Patriot
In 1714, the patron saint of the Conservatives, Queen Anne Stuart, died, and the Tory leaders, Swift's friends, were accused of high treason, and they managed to appoint him as rector (dean) of St. Cathedral in advance. Patrick's in Dublin, so that he found himself in a kind of honorable exile, in one of the most prominent ecclesiastical positions in Ireland. Having quickly and thoroughly understood Irish affairs, Swift publicly declared Ireland a land of slavery and poverty; he considered the slavish condition and especially the slavish obedience of the local inhabitants incompatible with human dignity; they offended his pastoral conscience. Already in 1720, in the pamphlet “A Proposal for the General Use of Irish Manufacture,” he called for a boycott of all English “wearable things.” His appeal was not heard, and the pamphlet (anonymous, of course) was declared “outrageous, schismatic and dangerous,” and the printer was put on trial. The jury, however, acquitted him, and Swift took note. He reasoned that the most effective way would be to boycott English money by declaring it fake; and the opportunity for this soon presented itself. A patent was issued in England for the minting of small copper coins for Ireland. The patent was profitable, although not at all fraudulent, but the researcher of propaganda demagoguery Swift understood perfectly well that it was in fact impossible to prove the absence of fraud in such a sensitive matter, affecting all pockets. All that remained was to choose a mask suitable for campaigning; and in February 1724 the first letter from “M.B., Clothmaker” appeared, where “merchants, shopkeepers, farmers and all ordinary people kingdoms of Ireland" mobilized en masse to fight the English copper coin, but essentially with England. Over the next year and a half, five more letters appeared, and their tone was more and more outrageous, and their calls more and more menacing; To enhance their effectiveness, Swift did not step out of the role of a commoner. All Ireland was seething; a popular uprising was about to break out, and the usually submissive Irish Parliament was ready to lead it, and Swift was preparing a program for it. But at the decisive moment, the English Prime Minister considered it best to give in: he simply revoked the patent, and the tension subsided. The "draper" won; Swift was defeated.
Probably, the bitterness of this defeat fed his most bitter pamphlet “A Modest Proposal” (1729), filled with unbearable contempt for human slavery, where “for the good of the fatherland, the development of trade and alleviation of the lot of the poor,” a beneficial, economically and gastronomically developed project of eating Irish children is put forward. the poor; It is precisely this method of solving Irish social problems that the good-natured author considers to be the most practical, feasible and in keeping with the spirit of the times.
Main work
“The Letters of M.B., a Clothmaker” did not become a manifesto of Irish freedom, but were preserved in the history of English literature as a speech portrait of an Anglo-Irish commoner of the early 18th century - all the more masterful since Dean Swift had nothing in common with his character, as, indeed, , and with the hero of his main work, Lemuel Gulliver, who emerged from oblivion, “first a ship’s doctor, and then the captain of several ships.” From the beginning of the 1720s. references to “my Travels” appear in Swift’s letters; in November 1726 a volume containing a “concise description” of the first two of them was published in London. The second volume describing the third and fourth voyages was published in February 1727.
Descriptions of real and imaginary journeys and accompanying discoveries have been one of the leading genres since the beginning of the 16th century. European literatures new genres. Using it, Swift placed his work on a par with Thomas More's Utopia, with F. Rabelais's Gargantua and Pantagruel, with the most popular and most intensely religious book of the 17th century, John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress, as well as with the published in 1719 by “Robinson Crusoe” by D. Defoe, the most optimistic work of modern times, in meaning and pathos directly opposite to “Gulliver’s Travels”.
Their plot, as in “The Tale of a Barrel,” was a fake, parody: Swift, unlike a great many utopians, dreamers and inventors, did not discover new countries, but returned the reader to the amazing reality of his everyday existence, forcing him to look at himself and the world around him with new eyes and make a sober moral (that is, primarily religious) self-assessment.
Monstrous and normal
"Gulliver's Travels" is Swift's final book, where his rich life and creative experience- so that almost every episode of the story looks like a parable. This is facilitated by Swift’s favorite method of depiction - the everyday grotesque, that is, the identification of the strangeness and monstrosity of everyday life and ordinary consciousness. The normal and the monstrous constantly change places: in the kingdoms of Lilliputians and giants this is achieved by playing with a perception scale of 12:1:12. This ratio of sizes makes it possible to show in the first two parts the insignificance of big politics and the grandeur of human life as clearly as possible. The third part is entirely phantasmagoric - a compendium of the realized dreams of humanity, armed with science, the triumph of insane projectism that the Author of “The Tale of a Barrel” dreamed of. This is the first technocratic dystopia in the history of European literature.
The main idea of the fourth part
Finally, in the fourth part, in the Land of Horses, a “natural man” appears, whom Rousseau will glorify half a century later - and in his natural state, devoid of faith and grace, he turns out to be the most disgusting of cattle, who should only be in slavery to horses; Along the way, it is discovered that an ideal social structure is possible only apart from man. Imbued with the idea of such improvement, Lemuel Gulliver renounces humanity and becomes a hanger-on in a stable. This slightly convoluted sermon against the mortal sin of human pride was taken for granted by contemporaries; but during the period of the triumph of enlightenment humanism, it caused many criticisms.
"A persistent defender of courageous freedom"
“Gulliver’s Travels” made Swift famous throughout Europe, but until the end of his days he remained an Irish exile, about whom the governor there said: “I rule Ireland with the permission of Dean Swift.” Among him latest works, basically repeating previous themes and motifs, the unfinished “Instructions to Servants” stand out, using everyday material to parody Machiavelli’s “The Prince”, and “Serious and useful project construction of a shelter for the incurable" (1733) - an essay in the spirit of "A Modest Proposal". He wrote “Poems on the Death of Doctor Swift” in advance, in 1731; in his epitaph, he wished to remain in the memory of posterity as a “stubborn defender of courageous freedom” and spoke about the “cruel indignation” that “torn his heart.” This indignation was not sufficiently tempered by mercy; but it was not directed against people, but mainly against the violation of human freedom. A deeply and firmly religious clergyman, a champion of militant common sense, overshadowed by the Christian religion, Swift opposed the idealization of man, which foreshadowed his new enslavement, and especially the plans for universal social improvement, which, as he foresaw, could only lead to the omnipotence of madness and universal slavery. The pathos of his life and work is fully conveyed by the words of the Apostle Paul from the Epistle to the Ephesians (6:12), which Swift loved to repeat: “Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against the spiritual forces of wickedness.” under heaven."