10我的Jonathan Swift.pptVIP

Jonathan Swift (1667-1745) Writer’s Background I He was a posthumous child, born in Dublin, Ireland, of a poor English parentage. The family had little money but important connections. He was educated at Kilkenny Grammar School and with Trinity College,Dublin. Between 1689 and 1699 he worked as a private secretary to a distant kinsman Sir William Temple, a retired diplomat. Writer’s Background II There he received a first-rate education in politics through contact with Temple and many other well-known politicians He was an editor of the official Tory organ, “The Examiner”. In 1713, He was appointed dean of St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Dublin, where he was a clergyman and leader in the Irish resistance to the English oppression. Works A Tale of a Tub (1704) The Battle of the Books The Drapier’s letters (1724-1725) Gulliver’s Travels A Modest Proposal (1729) Literary Ideas He had a deep hatred for all the rich oppressors and a deep sympathy for all the poor and oppressed. His understanding of human nature is profound.In his opinion, human nature is seriously and permanently flawed. To better human life, enlightenment is needed, but to redress it is very hard. In his writings, although he intends not to condemn but to reform and improve human nature and human institutions, there is often an under-or overtone of helpless and indignation. His life experience closely related to his works. Irishman Clegyman A Neoclasscist Satirical novelist By suggesting that poor Irish parents sell their one-year-old babies to the rich English lords and ladies as food, Swift is making the most devastating protest against the inhuman exploitation and oppression of the Irish people by the English ruling class. The apparent eagerness, sincerity and detachment of the author adds force to the bitter irony and biting sarcasm. I PROFESS, in the Sincerity of my Heart, that I have not the least personal Interest, in endeavouring to promote this ne