英美文学选读课PPTLectureEight.pptVIP

Gulliver’s third voyage in visiting a flying island of Laputa and its neighboring continent. In this part the satire is directed against British misgovernment of Ireland. The Flying Island of Laputa In the fourth part, Gulliver visits a country called Houyhnhnms in which horses are masters while Yahoos, a create in shape of human, are beasts who are brutal and disgusting. The satire in this part is directly on human race. Gulliver visits Houyhnhnms to make a satire on the eighteenth-century England, including almost every aspect of the society. attacks the wickedness of the then English society, with its tyranny, corruption, its aggressive wars and colonialism, its religious disputes and persecution, and its ruthless oppression of the common people. the satire is not only on England but also true of all countries, and all ages. 1.What do you think the world of Houyhnhnms? Is that a perfect world? 2. What do you think the Houyhnhnms represent and what does the Yahoos represent? 3. By creating the horrible creature of the Yahoo, do you think Swift is anti-human beings? Teacher: Wang Xingwei Born in Dublin Attended Trinity College, Dublin After his graduation, he became a private secretary to a distant kinsman Sir William Temple Jonathan Swift at Trinity, Dublin A very powerful pamphleteer and became one of the most important figures in London After his popularity declined, he was given a position of dean of St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Dublin Jonathan Swift at the Deanery of St. Patricks, illus. from 1905 Temple Scott edition of Works Died in 1742 and was buried in St. Patrick’s Cathedral Epitaph in St. Patricks Cathedral, Dublin near his burial site. Although he was deeply involved into the political conflicts, he had always regarded himself as a defender of human freedom, and what he stood for was truth, justice, equality, and rights of man. Although he always thought himself an English and he never really liked Ireland, he beca