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Gowher Ahmad Naik, Lovely Professional University Unit 28: Swift: Thoughts on Various Subjects...

Unit 28: Swift: Thoughts on Various Subjects: Critical Notes
Appreciation cum Analysis

CONTENTS
Objectives
Introduction
28.1 Critical Appreciation
28.2 Summary
28.3 Key-Words
28.4 Review Questions
28.5 Further Readings

Objectives

After reading this Unit students will be able to
• Analyse Swift's Major Works
• Make a critical appreciation on Thoughts on various Subjects

Introduction

Jonathan Swift engages scholars and students a like with the outstanding range of his writing.
Whether one reads his political pamphlets, journalistic pieces, allusive satires on religious and
political topics, intimate and direct letters, or entertaining and pungently ironic poetry, his
intelligence, wit, and creativity shine clearly through. The memorable prose pieces of Gulliver’s
Travels,
“A Tale of a Tub, “ Battle of the Books,” and “A Modest Proposal” remain at the forefront of any
discussion concerning satire, irony, the mock-epic, the errors of human nature, the value of classical
traditions, and literary portraits of starvation and poverty. While his works provide important
insights on the events, persons, and society of his own day, they also offer artful commentaries on
enduring issues. During the 19th century, many readers believed Swift crossed over into
uncontrolled anger for the sake of being outrageous, embraced a rebelliousness that was dangerous
to the common good, and exhibited “an incipient disorder of the mind” (as Sir Walter Scott
described it) in writing his so-called scatological poems. But in our time, readers and critics alike
have come to realize and accept that Swift’s powerful imagination places him in the ranks of
Rabelais, Sterne, Joyce, and even Borges. His allusiveness and inventiveness remain the hall-
marks of his work and must be interpreted in the fullest range possible.
Critical Companion to Jonathan Swift is a guide to Swift’s works and to the images, events, and
people surrounding them, as well as to the critics and biographers who have commented on his
writing..

28.1 Critical Appreciation
Thoughts on Various Subjects, Moral and Diverting is the title of a satirical essay by Jonathan
Swift. It also has appeared under the title Thoughts on Various Subjects. It consists of a series of
short epigrams or apothegms with no particular connections between them.

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