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A Tale of a Tub

Jonathan Swift

3.58 · Rating details · 2,431 ratings · 152 reviews

'A Tale of a Tub' was the first big work written by Jonathan Swift. It is arguably his most difficult satire, and perhaps his most masterly. The Tale is a prose parody which is divided into sections of "digression" and a "tale" of three brothers, each representing one of the main branches of western Christianity. Composed between 1694 and 1697, it was eventually published ...more

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Paperback, 208 pages

Published November 1st 2009 by Penguin Books, Limited (UK) (first published 1704)

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Jul 07, 2011 Bill Kerwin rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: proto-novels, 18th-c-brit

"A Tale of a Tub" is a strange work, and certainly not to everyone's taste. The heart of it is a satirical religious allegory demonstrating that, of the three sons of the Father (God), Martin (the representative of the mainstream protestant Lutheran/Anglican tradition) is by far the most reasonable. His attempt to carry out his Father's Will (the message of scripture) by pruning the absurdly lavish alterations his older brother Peter (Roman Catholicism) has made to the Coat his Father gave him ( ...more

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Aug 21, 2012 Melanie rated it it was ok

Shelves: kindle, 1001-books-to-read-before-you-die, freebies

You know those moments when you, who learned English as a foreign language since you were young, think that you understand the language perfectly fine, and then you decide to read a book and realize that you know nothing? Well, this is basically how this book made me feel: utterly stupid, ignorant, humiliated and disappointed with myself. I'm pretty sure this is a darn good book and an intelligent critique once you're given the context and the political situation that serves as a background for You know those moments when you, who learned English as a foreign language since you were young, think that you understand the language perfectly fine, and then you decide to read a book and realize that you know nothing? Well, this is basically how this book made me feel: utterly stupid, ignorant, humiliated and disappointed with myself. I'm pretty sure this is a darn good book and an intelligent critique once you're given the context and the political situation that serves as a background for it. The thing is that I didn't understand a word of what was being said. Or better saying: I did understand all the words in the book, but put together they did not. make. any. sense.

You see, this is the problem with literature (or people like me trying to get the habit of reading more often) nowadays: the books are easy to understand. They are simple, they don't have "hidden meanings", most of them don't have metaphors or whatever you want to call it. This book is basically composed by them. Implicit things. Implicit things EVERYWHERE. And the writing style is not just plain phrases that make up a meaning. They just look like random thoughts thrown all together to form an idea of something so deep I couldn't understand after re-reading them three or four times. In the tenth page, I pretty much gave up and just ran my eyes through the words. The mini-stories in the middle of the book (the three brothers and the suits) did make sense for a while, but then Swift is lovely enough to abruptly interrupt the story to say more things that I could not understand. By the time he goes back to this story, I no longer know what the hell is going on here. And notice that I'm not even mentioning the classic English language used to write this book, which I never learned in school (remember, "English as a foreign language") and had to struggle to understand. Unlike in other books, deducing words' meanings by the context does not work here. You HAVE to run to a dictionary to find yourself in this one. Either that, or just abandon the book. My pride never allowed me to do that, so that wasn't an option for me, but I must say that after reading this book, I'm NEVER saying that I know English. Ever again. ...more

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Sep 22, 2019 W.D. Clarke rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2020, 18c, 2019

The Tub itself: a challenging 5*
Battle of the Books: 3*
Mechanical OPeration of The Spirits: 2*
Appendices: Negative 666*

Four Months Earlier:
Pausing at halfway through the book, but (at the risk of giving all of my selves about three heart attacks apiece) I somehow finished the Tub proper, which at only 103pp somehow still manages to make Tristram Shandy seem like Raymond Carver-style minimalism by comparison...

I have one word to say upon the subject of profound writers, who are grown very nume
The Tub itself: a challenging 5*
Battle of the Books: 3*
Mechanical OPeration of The Spirits: 2*
Appendices: Negative 666*

Four Months Earlier:
Pausing at halfway through the book, but (at the risk of giving all of my selves about three heart attacks apiece) I somehow finished the Tub proper, which at only 103pp somehow still manages to make Tristram Shandy seem like Raymond Carver-style minimalism by comparison...

I have one word to say upon the subject of profound writers, who are grown very numerous of late; and I know very well the judicious world is resolved to list me in that number. I conceive therefore, as to the business of being profound, that it is with writers as with wells – a person with good eyes may see to the bottom of the deepest, provided any water be there: and often when there is nothing in the world at the bottom besides dryness and dirt, though it be but a yard and a-half under-ground, it shall pass, however, for wondrous deep, upon no wiser a reason than because it is wondrous dark.

I am now trying an experiment very frequent among modern authors, which is to write upon nothing...

Yikes, the holding of the breath whilst underwater during my overlong bath in this Tub pretty darn near did me in! It's certainly a work of monstrous genius, ostensibly about religion but really about sweet FA, yet to avoid being trapped in these deep underwater caverms measureless to man you gotta be prepared to risk the bends going repeatedly back to the surface and thence to the Endnotes after you catch your breath, cos the allusions get poured on pretty relentlessly, amounting to a case of reader's rights violating water-board/bored-ing, I'm sure.

In short, this five-fathoms-deep watery tomb/tome is something greatly to admire, sure, but enjoy? The GR 5* enjoyment-meter does not even remotely apply, I'm afraid. Too much laughing leads to crying, sonny-boy , as my Scots Presbyterian great-grandmother is as likely to have said with as much veracity as anything Swift's crazy narrator utters within the confines of these damp, damnèd pages....

So: gonna open the drain here and enter the comparatively convivial hot tub time machine of Gulliver's Travels for a spell before returning to finish these spiritual ablutions with Battle of the Books and The Mechanical Operation of the Spirits

To Be Continued... ...more

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Mar 21, 2013 Alex Laser rated it really liked it

A book about the vanity of books. Funny and perhaps more relevant than ever in the age of self-publishing via Twitter and Facebook. Swift was living through the advent of mass literacy. Although books and book audiences were proliferating rapidly in his time, Swift recognized that human ideas and sophistication were not developing apace. Mass literacy did not mean mass intelligence. So many writers in Swifts time, through their numerous nauseating preludes, digressions, and postludes, endeavored ...more

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Jan 30, 2015 Alan rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I'd say Gulliver's Travels is Swift's second-best book, behind Battle of the Books and a Tale of a Tub ( I think they were published together, but do not recall.) These are brilliant and learned--two qualities he did his best to suppress as he invented the novel, along with Defoe and Fielding. Tale contains a series of parodies, which of course I admired fifty years ago though I only published my own Parodies Lost recently, a biography of my brilliant parodist friend who especially parodied acad I'd say Gulliver's Travels is Swift's second-best book, behind Battle of the Books and a Tale of a Tub ( I think they were published together, but do not recall.) These are brilliant and learned--two qualities he did his best to suppress as he invented the novel, along with Defoe and Fielding. Tale contains a series of parodies, which of course I admired fifty years ago though I only published my own Parodies Lost recently, a biography of my brilliant parodist friend who especially parodied academic prose, as does Swift along with religious prose. His Tale is divided into three, the principal currents of Christianity in England in the late 17C, Peter (R.C.), Jack (for Baptists, Congregationalists, Presbytereans, and Quakers) and Martin for the author's own Anglicans. His satire here was seriously misconstrued, especially by the Queen, so that Swift's own advancement in his church was thwarted.
I have found my paperback from decades ago to quote a bit of Swift's brilliant parodies, a word he himself uses in introducing them. Of critics, he mentions Rymer and Dennis as well as Dryden's translation of Vergil, saying he himself was "plentifully instructed ...by a long course of useful study in prefaces and prologues"(331). Since my doctoral thesis was "This Critical Age," on criticism in verse, predominantly before Dryden, I find Swift very astute and amusing. On Lord Peter (Catholicism) he writes, "if Peter sent them abroad,...they would roar, spit and belch, and piss, and fart...till you flung them a bit of gold"; also, Peter would pardon Newgate prisoners for some coin, "whether he stand condemned for murder, sodomy, rape, incest, treason..." signed Emperor Peter (340). Note the priority of sodomy, pederasty, a centuries-old accusation of the Roman priesthood, though other religious, like modern American TV Southern Baptist preachers (say, Jimmy Swaggart or Jerry Folwell Jr.) are comparably hypocritical.
In Swift's ceremonious Conclusion to his Tale of (standing on) a Tub, he reflects on the "current relish of courteous readers" by observing "that a fly, driven from a honey-pot, will immediately, with very good appetite alight and finish his meal on excrement."(392) So much for good writing, as I have advised elsewhere on this site, "Avoid writing well. Too much work, and no-one notices."
Battle of the Books casts wonderful aspersions on Criticism (who is a goddess, daughter of Ignorance and Pride), in the battle of the Ancients and Moderns--Wotton, a modern, as is D'Avenant's modern epic Gondibert, which I read for my Ph. D. in 17C lit. but he also includes a grand three pages on the Spider and the Bee, Aesop- derived. "Upon the highest corner of a certain window, there dwelt a certain spider, swollen up to the first magnitude by the destruction of infinite numbers of flies, whose spoils lay scattered before the gates of his palace, like human bones before the cave of some giant"(404).
In the usu edition of Gulliver, Swift's elegy on himself witty and self-assessing, "Verses on the Death of Dr Swift" which starts with how we can stand enemies' success better than friends' (LaRouchefoucault, adversity of friends). Swift, "In Pope, I cannot read a line,/ But with a sigh, I wish it mine.../ It gives me such jealous fit, / I cry, pox take him, and his wit." Pox take puns on Pax tecum, the Latin mass, since Pope was a Roman Catholic, had to live ten miles from London. Later Swift's self-elegy, "My female friends, whose tender hearts,/ Have better learned to act their parts,/ Receive the news in doleful dumps,/ The Dean is dead, (And what is trumps?)/ Then Lord have mercy on his soul./ (Ladies, I'll venture for the vole [all the tricks].)/ Six deans they say must bear the pall./ (I wish I knew what king to call.)"
"On Poetry: A Rhapsody" records Swift against Dryden's Prefaces (which I thought superior), Rhymer, Dennis, and weak poets. "Say, Britain, could you ever boast,/ Three poets in an Age at most" (age= century?). "Remains a diffculty still,/ To purchase fame by writing ill." Many weak poets became lords, like Sir Richard Blackmore and Viscount William Grimston. "For, though in Nature depth and height / Are equally held infinite,/ In Potry the height we know;/ 'Tis only infinite below." ...more

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Feb 17, 2020 David Sarkies rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: comedy

Holy Satire
16 February 2020 - Wallaroo

All I can say is that this publication certainly caused a lot of stir, to the point that Swift was denied a bishopric due to having upset the monarch at the time. Yet, a part of me wonders why this was the case, especially since he clearly points out that the preferred church in his mind was the Church of England. Then again, as Swift is prone to do, he does write in a way that requires a lot of digging, and understanding of the events at the time, though I Holy Satire
16 February 2020 - Wallaroo

All I can say is that this publication certainly caused a lot of stir, to the point that Swift was denied a bishopric due to having upset the monarch at the time. Yet, a part of me wonders why this was the case, especially since he clearly points out that the preferred church in his mind was the Church of England. Then again, as Swift is prone to do, he does write in a way that requires a lot of digging, and understanding of the events at the time, though I do have to admit that Gulliver’s Travels is quite a lot easier to follow than this particular work, even if a lot of the political commentary in said book will be lost to us modern readers.

The story is about three boys, Peter, Martin, and Jack. These three boys represent the founders of three of the branches of the churches in England – Peter is the Roman Catholic church (or as was referred to at the time, the Popish church), Martin being Martin Luther, who represents the church of England as established by Henry VIII, and finally, Jack, who represents John Calvin, and in turn represents the dissenting church, or the ones that didn’t think that the Church of England went far enough, so rebelled against its rule and set up their own congregations.

Now, Swift happened to be a pastor of the Church of England, so you could say that he happens to have a bit of a bias here, but then again you probably also need to understand that Swift was never afraid to criticise any of the institutions of the day, including his employer, however from what this work suggests, there are problems that he sees as being the extremes of Christianity, namely with the Roman Catholic church being steeped in tradition, whereas the dissenters going so far in the other direction that if one were to look at them then they would be considered, well, insane. What Swift saw was that the Church of England threw off all the trappings that the Roman church took on board, but was not willing to move as far as the dissenters were.

Actually, we probably get a lot of them running around today, and in that direction I feel that the church has drifted way too far over into the insane spectrum. These guys pretty much reject anything and everything for fear that to add anything to the gospel will condemn them to the fires of hell. In fact, doing anything that is not explicitly allowed by scripture is considered sinful, though a lot of these people shun alcohol as well, despite the fact that it is actually allowed.

What Swift is attempting to advocate here is attempting to move the church back to the middle of the road, where we aren’t running around condemning people because they don’t do things the way we want them to, nor forcing people to accept our specific religion because we believe that the way we do things is the only correct way of doing things. In fact, baptism is one of those really controversial topics that a number of these churches have taken on board, particularly rejecting infant baptism.

The concern I have these days (or one of the many concerns that I have) is a lot of these people are attempting to create a theocratic state. We can actually see the beginnings of that here in Australia where non-citizens who have criminal records are being kicked out of the country. Sure, I can fully understand where they are coming from, but we are ending up in the position where people who have only ever lived in Australia, but don’t have citizenship, are being kicked out, retrospectively, because of something they did years ago.

However, it is the religious discrimination laws that are a concern as what that seems to be doing is legalising hate speech. In fact, hearing some of the rhetoric blasted against the LGBTI community is quite concerning. It isn’t just in that direction as well but against single mothers. In fact, some of the things I have heard people say about single mothers, without actually knowing their background, is horrifying. Yet, the scary thing is that many Christians are slowly drifting over to these extremes because, well, they are being convinced, from scripture, that they will be going to hell otherwise – yeah, it is amazing how a little bit of fire and brimstone really gets people moving.

Anyway, moving back to the story, which I have to admit becomes weirder and weirder as we move through it, we have the three brothers who are given coats that represent the practice of Christianity, and are also given a will, which represents the Bible. Peter then starts adding things to the robe, and ignoring the will, and pressuring his brothers to do the same. However, this sort of gets to a head when the concept of the indulgences come to light, that is where people pay money to the church to either escape from purgatory themselves, or get somebody who they want released (though interestingly, people don’t seem to go to hell, though the possibility certainly did exist).

Yeah, it is all the problem with adding stuff to the scriptures, and even arguments over how the scriptures are interpreted. Ironically, it just always seems to happen – as if things continue to evolve. Yet, there are also movements that arise every so often that want to move back to the culture of the primitive church, namely because they consider what the church has become to be unacceptable. Sure, I do accept that at the time the Catholic Church had pretty much become an empire in and of itself that dominated Western Europe, but the Reformation, otherwise known as the Great Schism, has resulted in such a fractured landscape, that while it works well, they still, unfortunately, wield way too much power.

Anyway, I could probably go on and on for quite a while more, though I think I will leave it here, except for one minor point – the tub is actually a reference to the pulpit that dissenters would use to speak from, though of course Swift also makes reference to it being a lifeboat as well. ...more

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Mar 06, 2014 Fionnuala added it

Shelves: 1700s, review-just-for-the-record, satire, joyce-and-related, swift

Superb satire on the three main religions.

Also this on critics and reviewers:
These reasonings will furnish us with an adequate definition of a true critic: that he is a discoverer and collector of writers’ faults. Which may be farther put beyond dispute by the following demonstration: that whoever will examine the writings in all kinds, wherewith this ancient sect has honoured the world, shall immediately find, from the whole thread and tenor of them, that the ideas of the authors have been alt ...more

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Mar 31, 2020 Kathleen rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: history, philosophical, humor

I loved the idea of this book.

The tale of a tub (from the custom of throwing a tub out to sea to divert a whale threatening the ship), was meant to divert the “wits of the age” (we might call them pundits) threatening the commonwealth. It’s about Peter (Catholicism), Jack (John Calvin-Protestantism) and Martin (Luther’s reformation which led to Angicanism), brothers who each put their own interpretation on the strict “word” of their father’s “will,” about how to take care of the “coats” they we ...more

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Mar 14, 2014 Nathan "N.R." Gaddis marked it as i-want-money · review of another edition

Shelves: eighteen-centuries

This Cambridge edition edited by Marcus Walsh is the critical edition of A Tale of the Tub recommended by Steven Moore. The Cambridge edition of Swift’s work is in 18 volumes. Moore discusses The Tub in The Novel: An Alternative History, 1600-1800, pages 634-642. “The most inventive, profound, and mindblowing novel of this time.”

In keeping with my Moore-lists of generation ::

The Tub’s predecessors ;;
Petronius
Rabelais
Cervantes
Dunton [ie, Voyage round the World]

Following in the wake of The Tub ;; ...more

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Feb 18, 2013 Jake rated it it was ok

To quote the late great Roger Ebert "I hated hated hated hated hated this" book. I give it two stars instead of one for the very simple but important issue: I didn't understand I word of it. So maybe it ain't Swift's fault.
Now, first of all, I consider myself an intelligent person. I have read "hard to understand" novels and treasties. I have understood forms of dry philosophy. I got through George Elliot.
But this... well this is a creature onto itself. Secondly, many people have stated that th ...more

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Jun 15, 2018 Matty-Swytla rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: beat-backlist-2018, classics-uk, 1001-books, audiobook-2018

For such a short book it requires so much mental work to make sense of it that I doubt it is worth the effort. It is a good satire, but please don't ask me for a summary because I'm pretty sure I've already forgotten most of it since the author makes a point of writing about nothing and everything in the most ridiculous tone possible.

So, it was frustrating? I'll leave it at that. ...more

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Nov 17, 2011 Ian rated it it was ok

Shelves: 1001-books

Can't say I enjoyed this terribly much. As with other Swiftian satires, I felt as if there was much that I was not getting, that a good deal would have meant so much more to a contemporary audience.
The story itself is simple, an allegory of religious excess, with three prodigal sons disrespecting their father's will, each representing a part of the Christian faith. Much more interesting is the amount of prefaces, analysis, forewords and digressions that actually make up much of the work. The dig ...more

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Apr 03, 2013 Aaron Brame rated it liked it

I read A Tale of a Tub. Written for the Universal Improvement of Mankind for grad school, and it is one of the most unusual texts I have ever read. Swift published it anonymously in 1704--it was his first major work--and it is a rambling, disjointed, unintelligible book that challenges even the most careful reader. My professor said it was the most difficult work of the 18th century, and I believe him.

What's difficult about it? Well, the first indication that you're in for a rough few nights of I read A Tale of a Tub. Written for the Universal Improvement of Mankind for grad school, and it is one of the most unusual texts I have ever read. Swift published it anonymously in 1704--it was his first major work--and it is a rambling, disjointed, unintelligible book that challenges even the most careful reader. My professor said it was the most difficult work of the 18th century, and I believe him.

What's difficult about it? Well, the first indication that you're in for a rough few nights of reading is the Latin epigraph at the beginning of the work, which is attributed to Irenaeus:

Basima eacabasa irraurista, diarba da caeotaba fobor camelanthi.

What does that mean in English? Nothing. It's complete faux-Latin nonsense.

After the epigraph, Tub proceeds with an introductory letter from the bookseller, then a letter to the reader, then a dedication, then a preface, and finally an introduction. By the time the reader gets to the section entitled "A Tale of a Tub, &C.", he is utterly graspingfor what this book is about.

But there's more. Soon, the narrator of A Tale of a Tub makes his first of four digressions. First he has a digression about the purpose of critics, then, after a brief return to his "tale" (which is not a tale at all), he digresses again. This digression is called "A Digression in the Modern Kind." His third digression is entitled, what else?, "A Digression in Praise of Digressions," and his final digression is on the subject of madness.

There are also sections of the text that are entirely missing, and are replaced with asterisks.

What is the point of The Tale of a Tub? What is it satirizing? Well, it's in part a comment on the freedom of the press in 18th century London (which Swift opposed), the proliferation of disposable writing by hack writers, and the flooding of the market with pamphlets and newspapers that were little more than propaganda for the politicians of the day. It's also an argument against the "moderns" who felt that the "Augustans" 18th century England had a better understanding of the world than the ancient Greeks and Romans. Finally, it's also an elaborate distraction that stymies every reader who tries to interpret it.

In the last pages of the book, Swift's narrator states "I am now trying an Experiment very frequent among Modern Authors; which is to write upon Nothing." This is a fitting ending to a frustrating and confusing book.

See more at mrbramesblog.org ...more

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Nov 22, 2018 Richard Thompson rated it liked it

Shelves: english-literature

Sometimes Swift turns an unbelievably great phrase, like when he says that knavery is as epidemic as the pox or when he says that those with teeth too rotten to bite are best of all others qualified to revenge the defect with their breath. There are many other points in this book that are well observed and cleverly phrased. For a book that was written in 1697, it is surprisingly easy to read. Swift was a writer of great clarity.

So there is much to admire here, but in the end I did not feel that ...more

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Dec 17, 2019 Savonarola rated it it was amazing

Shelves: religion, philosophy, experimental, pre-1800s

An absolute delight. Battle of the Books is gorgeous, too, and is usually printed together with the Tub.

Very much of the same British dryly priestly satirical lineage as Robert Burton, Laurence Sterne, and Thomas Carlyle. A book of pure play, armed with strong wit and a love of convoluted (or, convulsive) talk.

Dr. Johnson was so fond of it that he doubted that Swift wrote it!

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Jul 30, 2012 Ellinor rated it liked it

Shelves: 1001-books, 1001-books-2006, guardian1000, guardian1000_comedy

I think I mentioned before that satire and parody aren't my favourite genres. I try to be fair when rating these books and to take into consideration the effect the books had or must have had when they were published.
This book was VERY hard for me to read. It was my second book by Jonathan Swift. My first was A Modest Proposal which was quite funny at some points but the ca. 10 pages of it were already definitely enough for me. I thought that A Tale of a Tub would be another quick read I would r ...more

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Apr 09, 2008 kasia rated it really liked it · review of another edition

A dazzling display of wit, but so dry as to stick in the throat a bit, despite occasional flights of whimsy. Having been removed from its immediate context by the passage of centuries, its ironies are to be appreciated rather than enjoyed.

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Jan 12, 2009 Tracey Wilde rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Eh ? If I hadn't picked a copy with explanatory notes I wouldn't have understood this at all.
I can see what Swift is getting at and I'm sure it was hilarious at the time.
Clever but not for me. ...more

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Feb 08, 2016 Laura rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: 2016-reading-challenge, boxall-s-1001

a religious satrical allegory. very hard to follow.

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Sep 22, 2020 Nemanja rated it liked it

Shelves: books, uk-ireland

Swift's rather layered and hermetic satire "Tale of a Tub" is made up of several parts. In the first part Swift ridicules the customs of writers and publishers at the time, primarily through a list of chapters hilariously titled; then through the bookseller's recommendation to the readers - poking fun at publishers who take a large amount of credit for publishing someone else’s work; followed by the dedication to a distinguished member of the society - a common practice at the time that served t Swift's rather layered and hermetic satire "Tale of a Tub" is made up of several parts. In the first part Swift ridicules the customs of writers and publishers at the time, primarily through a list of chapters hilariously titled; then through the bookseller's recommendation to the readers - poking fun at publishers who take a large amount of credit for publishing someone else’s work; followed by the dedication to a distinguished member of the society - a common practice at the time that served the purpose of recommending a book to the masses (in this instance, part jokingly, part in all seriousness because it is dedicated to Swift's good friend, honorable Lord Somers, who could save him from trouble if Swift exaggerates in his remarks); followed by a special dedication, to the prince posterity - in which he points out that he is not one of the contemporary writers whom, with some exceptions, no one will remember, and that his work will only become better understood over time. He ends the first part with yet another introduction in which he states what he will write about in his Tale of a Tub, and explains the reasons behind writing it. According to him it serves the same purpose as with fishermen who throw tubs into the sea, to divert whales, so he throws this difficult-to-understand story, so that people could divert their thoughts from difficult topics such as the problems caused to the state by the pro-republican groups; and at the same time it refers to the tub, which is a kind of pulpit for priests, indicating that in his work he will also address the matter of religion. He begins the second part with yet another introduction - alluding to the extremely extensive and unnecessary introductions writers tend to make in which they state what they will write about, and yet accomplish not to say anything. And all that before the actual Tale of the Tub, a story about three brothers Peter, Jack and Martin begins, who serve as the representatives of the Catholic church, Protestant churches and the Church of England. They inherit from their father a will, that should guide them through life like the Bible, and three coats (representing their religious practice), which they alter depending on their individual views of their father's will. After each brief account of their lives, during which Swift ridicules various religious practices (such as inconsistencies in the holy texts, richness of the clergy etc.) follows a digression that is a new allegory to various aspects of society from his time, from the ridicule of critics, philosophers, contemporary writers, readers... He finally concludes the work with the brief history of Martin, describing the constant tumults between the influential Protestant church in the time of Queen Anne and the Church of England. ...more

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Feb 17, 2019 Kristel rated it it was ok

Shelves: 1001-books, 1001-challenge, satire, religion

When I put this on my TBR pile for 2019 I did not realize what a chore this would be. I loved A Modest Proposal for wit and humor but this early and most intense satire by Jonathan Swift was a real drag. The author is writing a satire and from what I can decern, is about Catholic, Lutheran, and Calvinism. It is also intermixed with satire of critics and modernism. Yes, modernism of the 1600s. I am sure this is included in 1001 Books you must Read because Swift is surely a pioneer and probably th ...more

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Apr 03, 2019 Melissa (ladybug) rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: books-i-own, fiction, yearly-challenge, classics, 1001-adult

I guess I just don't get Satire. :( This was confusing reading. I had to go online and look up summaries to figure out what was going on. Then it made sense. ...more

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Aug 18, 2018 Vicky Hunt rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: classics-read-2018

Hoodwinking Your Religion

Jonathan Swift has a sharp wit, which can be very cutting in the best of moments. A Tale of a Tub is quite allegorical. Much of this may be spoilers if you plan to read the book, so use your own discretion in continuing to read here. The three men are called Peter, Martin, and Jack so you quickly get the idea that Peter signifies first St. Peter specifically, and soon the Catholic Church in general. He interprets the Father's will very astutely to their own designs, and Hoodwinking Your Religion

Jonathan Swift has a sharp wit, which can be very cutting in the best of moments. A Tale of a Tub is quite allegorical. Much of this may be spoilers if you plan to read the book, so use your own discretion in continuing to read here. The three men are called Peter, Martin, and Jack so you quickly get the idea that Peter signifies first St. Peter specifically, and soon the Catholic Church in general. He interprets the Father's will very astutely to their own designs, and proves so adept at picking apart the letter of the will... literally... that eventually he is very good at swindling others in other areas of life because of his practice at hoodwinking his religion.

Eventually, Martin and Jack tire of Peter's dominance over their religion, which has been throughout the story thus far cloaked as a ... coat. Yes, all three were left a coat by their Father. They want to embellish the coats and that was where Peter had come in so handy with helping them learn to obey the will by letters only. All of it is really quite so humorous that you could die laughing, or maybe crying with a big hiccup in conclusion.

You soon see Martin embodying the Reformation, as in Martin Luther specifically, and the Protestant Church generally. Martin carefully begins to peel away things that have been added to his coat by Peter. Jack, specifically representing James Calvin, gets carried away in his zeal and shreds his coat trying to take off everything that doesn't belong. Martin had been rather sensible about it and just tried to make a few adjustments here and there, so his coat still looked quite good. Of course, Jack then grows to hate Martin because Martin actually still has a coat.

The author gives Jack quite a few nick-names to signify the Quakers and other non mainstream groups, and several other branches that split off the 'normal' denominational ladder, but he also takes him in the direction of some groups that call themselves 'non-religions.' They say religion is broke and they don't want to be anything like the bad Christians. So, where some wear suits while breaking all the morals of the Bible, the others are going barefoot with jeans to church and their religion does not even resemble the coat it once was. But, either way, the Father had wanted the three sons to stay together above all else. They had already messed up big.

The Tub in the title refers to the idea of tossing an empty tub out to a whale to keep him occupied to prevent him from tearing your ship apart. Yeah, so swift Jonathan here is doing the same with us, and he's having a laugh at our expense at times. Often he is talking 'just to hear his head roar,' as the saying goes. For example, he describes in very erudite terms how humans are composed of divine wind, and ends up comparing us to a bag of wind in so many words... and worse. It really is quite funny in moments, as I've said before.

He admits to this 'talking about nothing' with many words near the end when he says:

I am now trying an experiment very frequent among modern authors which is to write upon nothing, when the subject is utterly exhausted to let the pen still move on; by some called the ghost of wit, delighting to walk after the death of its body.

But, the thing about it is, in talking to hear the lovely sound of his words, he always ends up bringing it around to something that is a huge cut against some common fault of man. So, he was heading there all along, riding on this gust of seemingly nothing.

The book is a classic work, and as such, is in the common domain. I read it from the free Kindle version, using whisper-sync with the Audible narrated by Peter Wickham. It is very well done in a voice that sounds so much like it could be Jonathan Swift. It is an enjoyable book. At times his ideas can get lost in a first reading and the language can be a bit dated. Either way, it's not likely a reader will catch everything packed into each sentence anyways because the writer is storing quite a bit of hidden innuendos and it really can pack a punch. You are guaranteed to pick up new points in a second and third reading. ...more

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Sep 28, 2018 Jack rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: ireland, brit-lit, 18th-century

Men would be more cautious of losing their time in such an undertaking, if they did but consider that to answer a book effectually requires more pains and skill, more wit, learning and judgment than were employed in the writing it.
-Jonathan Swift on critics

This is one of the books assigned to me during my English undergrad, back when I thought that the best way to develop my intellectual soul was to get drunk in the afternoon, skip all my lectures and read only the texts that suited me. I regret Men would be more cautious of losing their time in such an undertaking, if they did but consider that to answer a book effectually requires more pains and skill, more wit, learning and judgment than were employed in the writing it.
-Jonathan Swift on critics

This is one of the books assigned to me during my English undergrad, back when I thought that the best way to develop my intellectual soul was to get drunk in the afternoon, skip all my lectures and read only the texts that suited me. I regret not reading this then, but considering my general lack-of-control over my own being alive and the creeping dread that overshadowed that period, I don't think I would've had the patience to read it. Swift is very funny, and not in that detached, historically-situated droll way where one can figure out the author is joking without really being amused. I was chuckling to myself throughout, and laughed aloud alone in my room. His subject might be firmly situated in his own time, but comic timing resonates regardless of the era. If you've ever thought yourself funny for some reason, or worse still, consider yourself a 'comedy fan', I recommend Swift, if you're willing to put in a bit of work looking up his weird archaisms and subvocalise in a snooty RP English accent (which is fun anyway).

I've heard it said that Comedy (well, American comedy but to most people that's just 'Comedy', isn't it? Disgusting.) has become more about being preachy and moralistic than being funny. Swift is interesting because he is kind of being preachy and moralistic, attacking the corruption of Catholicism and any non-Lutheran Protestant branch, but he does so in such a way that seems to satirise that very intent. Some critics of his time thought his writing was downright atheistic, and I can honestly see that in the text. Despite whimsical elements involving fart jokes, A Tale of a Tub is a searing critique of Swift's England. There's a brutal anger to his style, yet he ironizes his own self-righteousness. When the book opens with a lengthy preface on how people that didn't like his writing just don't get it, and thirty pages into the book there's a digression on how too many writers put prefaces into their books, the didactic aspect of satire takes a backseat to the comic mischief of it all, as it likely should. A short, dense and wonderfully weird book. ...more

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May 15, 2013 Lesliemae rated it it was amazing

Shelves: course-list-favourites

It is said that Swift, when he was rich and years and his powers of criticism were distinctly failing, was overheard saying with regards to Tale of a Tub, "Good God, what a genius I had when I wrote that book."

Agreed.

This book was f.a.n.t.a.s.t.i.c! I find myself overrun with self-reflexive ponderings that equally confirm and satirize my position as a scholar/critic. I love this book and will read it for the rest of my life (which conveniently Swift proclaims that learned people are inclined to ...more

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Jan 17, 2015 Monty Milne rated it liked it

There were plenty of times I laughed out loud reading this, delighted at Swift's idiosyncratic genius. If you like lengthy quotations from Horace interlarded with fart jokes, then this is for you....but there is a problem with this text. It is almost impossible for anyone to read it today without possessing EITHER an intimate familiarity with the literary, theological, cultural and historical context of 300 years ago OR being forced to wade through so many explanatory footnotes that the pleasure ...more

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Dec 19, 2014 Jocelyn rated it liked it

Shelves: read-before-i-died

Difficult read if you don't know much about the history of Catholicism, Christianity or its main sects. I only understood certain portions of it here and there, and especially when it got to Henry VIII and onward, but with a more in-depth reading and a plethora of footnotes, I think I could've been able to understand the whole thing.

The book is separated into eleven parts and the actual A Tale of a Tub parts are every even-numbered part, with the exception of X (which is a further digression fro ...more

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May 29, 2013 Ryon Shepard rated it really liked it

Books are organisms. They are living, breathing things made of consciousness. Sometimes the meaning of a book is not in what is explicitly written. Sometimes it is in the movement, it is the flow itself. It's music, it is sound, and it affects consciousness at a level that few of us are conscious of. This is one of those books. Along with Ulysses, Finnegans Wake, Cantos of Ezra Pound, Beckett, etc . . . this book is a living thing. ...more

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Sep 02, 2012 Lucy rated it it was ok

A fine insomnia cure. This really needs to be read with copious explanations and footnotes. It shows that satire does not always wear well. If this had been Swift's only work, I think he would have been forgotten by now. ...more

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May 28, 2013 Carmen rated it liked it

A simple, allegoric story about three prodigal sons disrespecting their father's will, each representing a part of the Christian faith. I found an interesting comment that the learning of books cannot be measured by the production or consumption of words. ...more

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About Jonathan Swift

Jonathan Swift

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Jonathan Swift was an Anglo-Irish satirist, essayist, political pamphleteer (first for Whigs then for Tories), and poet, famous for works like Gulliver's Travels, A Modest Proposal, A Journal to Stella, The Drapier's Letters, The Battle of the Books, and A Tale of a Tub. Swift is probably the foremost prose satirist in the English language, and is less well known for his poetry. Swift published al ...more

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Quotes from A Tale of a Tub

“Books, the children of the brain.” — 207 likes

“I have one word to say upon the subject of profound writers, who are grown very numerous of late; and I know very well the judicious world is resolved to list me in that number. I conceive therefore, as to the business of being profound, that it is with writers as with wells; a person with good eyes may see to the bottom of the deepest, provided any water be there; and often, when there is nothing in the world at the bottom, besides dryness and dirt, though it be but a yard and half under ground, it shall pass however for wondrous deep, upon no wiser a reason than because it is wondrous dark.” — 12 likes

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