Jonathan Swift | |
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![]() Portrait by Charles Jervas, 1710 | |
Born | Dublin, Ireland | 30 November 1667
Died | 19 October 1745 Dublin, Ireland | (aged 77)
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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] 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,[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]