PRESENTS A FRESH ACCOUNT OF THE LIFE HISTORY AND CREATIVE IMAGINATION OF JONATHAN SWIFT Classic satires such as _Gulliver’s Travels, A Modest Proposal, _and _A Tale of a Tub _express radical positions, yet were written by the most conservative of men. Jonathan Swift was born in Dublin and spent most of his life in Ireland, never traveling outside the British Isles. An Anglo-Irish Protestant clergyman, he was a major political and religious figure whose career was primarily clerical, not literary. Although much is known about Swift, in many ways he remains an enigma. He was admired as an Irish patriot yet was contemptuous of the Irish. He was both secretive and self-dramatizing. His talent for friendship was matched by his skill for making enemies. He hated the English but yearned to live in England. _The Life of Jonathan Swift_ explores the writing life and personal history of the foremost satirist in the English language. Accessible and engaging, this critical biography brings Swift’s writing and creative sensibility into the narrative of his life. Author Thomas Lockwood provides the historical and modern critical context of Swift’s prose satires and poetry, as well as his political journalism, essays, manuscripts, and personal correspondence. Throughout the book, biographically contextualized descriptions of Swift’s most famous works help readers better understand both the writing and the writer. * Provides critical profiles of _Gulliver’s Travels_, _An Argument Against Abolishing Christianity, Drapier’s Letters, _and Swift’s other famous works * Offers insights into Swift’s relationships with Esther Johnson, “Stella,” and Esther Vanhomrigh, “Vanessa” * Highlights Swift’s poetry and how verse writing was a vital part of his creative being * Summarizes and contextualizes lesser-known works such as _The Conduct of the Allies_ * Addresses the historic critical bias against comedy or satire as inferior forms of art, both in Swift’s lifetime and the present _The Life of Jonathan Swift_ is an essential resource for general readers of literature and literary biography, university instructors and researchers, and undergraduate students taking courses in English literature.
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ISBN
9781118957189
Publisert
2023
Utgave
1. utgave
Utgiver
Vendor
John Wiley & Sons P&T
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Digital bok

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