Jonathan Swift | |
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 Portrait by Charles Jervas, 1710 | |
| Born | 30 November 1667 Dublin, Ireland |
| Died | 19 October 1745 (aged 77) Dublin, Ireland |
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| Language | Modern English |
| Education | B.A. |
| Alma mater | Trinity College, Dublin |
| Period | 18th century |
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| Years active | From 1696 |
| Notable works | |
| Partner | Esther Johnson (?) |
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Jonathan Swift (30 November 1667 – 19 October 1745) was an Anglo-Irish[1] writer who became Dean of St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin,[2] 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.[1] He originally published all of his works under pseudonyms—including 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".[3]
- ^ a b Jonathan Swift at the Encyclopædia Britannica
- ^ "Swift", Online literature, archived from the original on 3 August 2019, retrieved 17 December 2011
- ^ "What higher accolade can a reviewer pay to a contemporary satirist than to call his or her work Swiftian Archived 23 October 2017 at the Wayback Machine?" Frank Boyle, "Johnathan Swift", Ch 11 in A Companion to Satire: Ancient and Modern (2008), edited by Ruben Quintero, John Wiley & Sons, ISBN 0470657952.