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A Tale of a Tub and Other Satires
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This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.
As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.
- GenresSatire
306 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 1975
About the author
Jonathan Swift
4,950 books2,246 followersJonathan Swift was an Anglo-Irish satirist, author, essayist, political pamphleteer (first for the Whigs, then for the Tories), poet, and Anglican cleric who became Dean of St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin, hence his common sobriquet, "Dean Swift".
Swift is remembered for works such as A Tale of a Tub (1704), An Argument Against Abolishing Christianity (1712), Gulliver's Travels (1726), and A Modest Proposal (1729). He is regarded by the Encyclopædia Britannica as the foremost prose satirist in the English language. He originally published all of his works under pseudonyms—such as Lemuel Gulliver, Isaac Bickerstaff, M.B. Drapier—or anonymously. He was a master of two styles of satire, the Horatian and Juvenalian styles.
His deadpan, ironic writing style, particularly in A Modest Proposal, has led to such satire being subsequently termed "Swiftian".
Swift is remembered for works such as A Tale of a Tub (1704), An Argument Against Abolishing Christianity (1712), Gulliver's Travels (1726), and A Modest Proposal (1729). He is regarded by the Encyclopædia Britannica as the foremost prose satirist in the English language. He originally published all of his works under pseudonyms—such as Lemuel Gulliver, Isaac Bickerstaff, M.B. Drapier—or anonymously. He was a master of two styles of satire, the Horatian and Juvenalian styles.
His deadpan, ironic writing style, particularly in A Modest Proposal, has led to such satire being subsequently termed "Swiftian".
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
March 10, 2019
Swift is a brilliant man. "Gulliver Travels" stands as one of the great books of all times. In "Gulliver", he uses his imagination and skill at using analogies to make his subtle social commentaries. The story is enjoyable for readers of all ages regardless if they understand Swift's underlying points or not.
This collection, featuring "A Tale of a Tub" is a cerebral and difficult read. Swift's handful of essays and satires are biting, sarcastic and cerebral. There are many references to modern and ancient books and authors. Even the most well-read will be challenged to keep up with all of Swift's inclusions.
There is a central theme of these satires. Swift was a religious man who followed the Anglican faith. He was born in 1667 which was a time of great discoveries in science led by the likes of Boyle and Hobbes. The time was also a period of tension between the Catholic and Anglican faiths in Great Britain.
"A Tale of a Tub" has nothing to do with bathtubs. From the reference notes, "a tale of a tub" is a phrase meaning a nonsensical story. Another double meaning explained in the reference notes states that "tub" is a term used to refer to a dissenters' pulpits on account of their shape.
"A Tale of a Tub" is a story of three brothers who are given magical clothing by their father in his will. The three brothers, Peter, Martin and Jack are representative of the three major Christian faiths of the time. Peter = Catholic, Martin = Lutheranism, Jack (John Calvin) = Protestant. He begins with Peter taking all the gifts and claiming them as his own. Swift pokes the most fun at Peter, who claims various pickled foods are delicious meats, a clear mocking of the Catholic transublimation rites. He then follows up with criticisms of Martin and Jack. In the end, he gives the nod to Jack being the most sensible, or lesser of the evils, of the three brothers.
The story is filled with intro after intro. Before the allegory begins, the reader is more than one third through the 100+ pages of the satire. Additionally, once the story does being, every other chapter is a digressions with little or sometimes no connection to the story of the three brothers. Long winded and challenging indeed. It is easy to read numerous pages and realize that not one word is sinking in. The curious format and complexity of the 17/18th century English make "A Tale of a Tub" a chore.
The other satires are shorter and less complex. In "The Battle of the Books", Swift dreams up an Iliad-like clash between classic writers including Homer, Plato and Aristotle against modern writers like Boyle and Descartes. The references are many and the points are hard to decipher 300 years later.
The most enjoyable of the satires is the last. "A Modest Proposal" is the most shocking of the essays. In it, Swift discusses the problem of the poor and overly large families in Ireland. His proposal is to cook and eat little Irish children. In this way, important food sources are increased while the over population problem is addressed. He is joking. He uses this shocking proposal to make a point. His main objective is to support legislation to protect and favor home grown products and foods and curb the uninhibited export and import rules that were in place at the time. The inaction of the British politicians to enact such protectionism solutions to address the problems of the British Empire were frustrating to the politically active Swift. "A Modest Proposal" was targeted to sharply criticize what he believed to be a dereliction of duty by the politicians. He concludes the essay by saying since previously more modest solutions were being ignored, this more radical idea of cooking Irish children may better gain favor as a fresh, new and effective approach. As an added bonus, he states that the nation could benefit from the approach as it would also reduce the number of Catholic follower.
Swift shows his brilliance many times, but this book is not for the faint of heart. If you are expecting another "Gulliver's Travels", you have come to wrong place. Somewhat interesting to see how a witty and intelligent man like Swift uses satire to drive his points home. He provides insight into the raging battle between science against religion, Protestantism versus Catholicism, and the concept of free-will as antireligious during this divisive period in Great Britain's history.
This collection, featuring "A Tale of a Tub" is a cerebral and difficult read. Swift's handful of essays and satires are biting, sarcastic and cerebral. There are many references to modern and ancient books and authors. Even the most well-read will be challenged to keep up with all of Swift's inclusions.
There is a central theme of these satires. Swift was a religious man who followed the Anglican faith. He was born in 1667 which was a time of great discoveries in science led by the likes of Boyle and Hobbes. The time was also a period of tension between the Catholic and Anglican faiths in Great Britain.
"A Tale of a Tub" has nothing to do with bathtubs. From the reference notes, "a tale of a tub" is a phrase meaning a nonsensical story. Another double meaning explained in the reference notes states that "tub" is a term used to refer to a dissenters' pulpits on account of their shape.
"A Tale of a Tub" is a story of three brothers who are given magical clothing by their father in his will. The three brothers, Peter, Martin and Jack are representative of the three major Christian faiths of the time. Peter = Catholic, Martin = Lutheranism, Jack (John Calvin) = Protestant. He begins with Peter taking all the gifts and claiming them as his own. Swift pokes the most fun at Peter, who claims various pickled foods are delicious meats, a clear mocking of the Catholic transublimation rites. He then follows up with criticisms of Martin and Jack. In the end, he gives the nod to Jack being the most sensible, or lesser of the evils, of the three brothers.
The story is filled with intro after intro. Before the allegory begins, the reader is more than one third through the 100+ pages of the satire. Additionally, once the story does being, every other chapter is a digressions with little or sometimes no connection to the story of the three brothers. Long winded and challenging indeed. It is easy to read numerous pages and realize that not one word is sinking in. The curious format and complexity of the 17/18th century English make "A Tale of a Tub" a chore.
The other satires are shorter and less complex. In "The Battle of the Books", Swift dreams up an Iliad-like clash between classic writers including Homer, Plato and Aristotle against modern writers like Boyle and Descartes. The references are many and the points are hard to decipher 300 years later.
The most enjoyable of the satires is the last. "A Modest Proposal" is the most shocking of the essays. In it, Swift discusses the problem of the poor and overly large families in Ireland. His proposal is to cook and eat little Irish children. In this way, important food sources are increased while the over population problem is addressed. He is joking. He uses this shocking proposal to make a point. His main objective is to support legislation to protect and favor home grown products and foods and curb the uninhibited export and import rules that were in place at the time. The inaction of the British politicians to enact such protectionism solutions to address the problems of the British Empire were frustrating to the politically active Swift. "A Modest Proposal" was targeted to sharply criticize what he believed to be a dereliction of duty by the politicians. He concludes the essay by saying since previously more modest solutions were being ignored, this more radical idea of cooking Irish children may better gain favor as a fresh, new and effective approach. As an added bonus, he states that the nation could benefit from the approach as it would also reduce the number of Catholic follower.
Swift shows his brilliance many times, but this book is not for the faint of heart. If you are expecting another "Gulliver's Travels", you have come to wrong place. Somewhat interesting to see how a witty and intelligent man like Swift uses satire to drive his points home. He provides insight into the raging battle between science against religion, Protestantism versus Catholicism, and the concept of free-will as antireligious during this divisive period in Great Britain's history.
Displaying 1 of 1 review