This article is about the satire by Jonathan Swift. For the 1633 play by Ben Jonson, see A Tale of a Tub (play).

Title page of the first edition

A Tale of a Tub was the first major work written by Jonathan Swift, having been composed between 1694 and 1697 and published in 1704. It is likely his most difficult satire, and possibly his most masterful. The Tale is a prose parody which is divided up into sections of "digression" and "tale." The "tale" presents a consistent satire of religious excess, while the digressions are a series of parodies of contemporary writing in literature, politics, theology, Biblical exegesis, and medicine. The overarching parody is of enthusiasm, pride, and credulity. Title page of the 1704 Tale of a Tub The page was set and produced by [[John Nutt]], 1704, and is in public domain. ... Title page of the 1704 Tale of a Tub The page was set and produced by [[John Nutt]], 1704, and is in public domain. ... Jump to: navigation, search Jonathan Swift Jonathan Swift (November 30, 1667 – October 19, 1745) was an Anglo-Irish writer who is famous for works like Gullivers Travels and A Tale of a Tub. ... Events February 6 - The colony Quilombo dos Palmares is destroyed. ... Events September 20 - The Treaty of Ryswick December 2 – St Pauls Cathedral opened in London Peter the Great travels in Europe officially incognito as artilleryman Pjotr Mikhailov Use of palanquins increases in Europe Christopher Polhem starts Swedens first technical school. ... Events Building of the Students Monument in Aiud, Romania. ... Satire is a literary technique of writing or art which exposes the follies of its subject (for example, individuals, organizations, or states) to ridicule, often as an intended means of provoking or preventing change. ... Prose is writing distinguished from poetry by its greater variety of rhythm and its closer resemblance to the patterns of everyday speech. ... Jump to: navigation, search In contemporary usage, parody is a form of satire that imitates another work of art in order to ridicule it. ... Digression in literature is a section of a composition or speech that is an intentional change of subject. ... This article is being considered for deletion in accordance with Wikipedias deletion policy. ... Contemporary is an adjective which in its basic form merely means that two individuals, events or movements overlapped in time. ... Open Directory Project: Literature World Literature Electronic Text Archives Magazines and E-zines Online Writing Writers Resources Libraries, Digital Cataloguing, Metadata Distance Learning Dictionary of the History of Ideas: Classicism in Literature The Universal Library, by Carnegie Mellon University Project Gutenberg Online Library Abacci - Project Gutenberg texts matched with Amazon... Look up Politics on Wiktionary, the free dictionary Politics (disambiguation) Democracy History of democracy List of democracy and elections-related topics List of years in politics List of politics by country articles Political corruption Political economy Political movement Political parties of the world Political party Political psychology Political sociology Political... Theology is reasoned discourse concerning God (Greek θεος, theos, God, + λογος, logos, word or reason). It also refers to the study of other religious topics. ... Jump to: navigation, search Biblical exegesis (from the Greek ἐξηγεῖσθαι to lead out) is an extensive and critical interpretation of the Bible. ... Medicine on the Web NLM (National Library of Medicine, contains resources for patients and healthcare professionals) Virtual Hospital (digital health sciences library by the University of Iowa) Online Medical Dictionary Collection of links to free medical resources Categories: Medicine | Health ... Enthusiasm (Greek: enthousiasmos) originally meant inspiration or possession by a divine afflatus or by the presence of a god. ... Jump to: navigation, search Pride logo PRIDE or PRIDE Fighting Championships is a mixed martial arts organization based in Japan. ...

Summary

A Tale of a Tub is divided between various forms of digression and sections of a "tale." The "tale," or narrative, is an allegory that concerns the adventures of three brothers, Peter, Martin, and Jack, as they attempt to make their way in the world. Each of the brothers represents one of the primary branches of Christianity in the west. This part of the book is a pun on "tub," which Alexander Pope says was a common term for a pulpit, and a reference to Swift's own position as a clergyman. Peter (named for Saint Peter) stands in for the Roman Catholic Church. Jack (named for John Calvin, but whom Swift also connects to "Jack of Leyden") represents the various dissenting Protestant churches whose modern descendants would include the Baptists, Presbyterians, Quakers, Mennonites, and the assorted Charismatic churches. The third brother, middle born and middle standing, is Martin (named for Martin Luther), who Swift uses to represent the 'via media' of the Church of England. The brothers have inherited three wonderfully satisfactory coats (representing religious practice) by their father (representing God), and they have his will (representing the Bible) to guide them. Although the will says that the brothers are forbidden from making any changes to their coats, they do nearly nothing but alter their coats from the start. Inasmuch as the will represents the Bible and the coat represents the practice of Christianity, the allegory of the narrative is supposed to be an apology for the British church's refusal to alter its practice in accordance with Puritan demands and its continued resistance to alliance with the Roman church. Digression in literature is a section of a composition or speech that is an intentional change of subject. ... Jump to: navigation, search An allegory (from Greek αλλος, allos, other, and αγορευειν, agoreuein, to speak in public) is a figurative mode of representation conveying a meaning other than and in addition to the literal. ... Jump to: navigation, search Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as presented in the New Testament writings of his early followers. ... Jump to: navigation, search Alexander Pope (May 22, 1688 – May 30, 1744) is considered one of the greatest English poets of the eighteenth century. ... Jump to: navigation, search Saint Peter, also known as Peter, Simon ben Jonah/BarJonah, Simon Peter, Cephas and Kepha—original name Simon or Simeon (Acts 15:14)—was one of the twelve original disciples or apostles of Jesus. ... The Roman Catholic Church, most often spoken of simply as the Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with over one billion members. ... Jump to: navigation, search John Calvin (July 10, 1509 – May 27, 1564) was a prominent Christian theologian during the Protestant Reformation and is the namesake of the system of Christian theology called Calvinism. ... This article is about the satire by Jonathan Swift. ... Protestantism is a general grouping of denominations within Christianity. ... Baptist churches are part of a Christian movement often regarded as an evangelical, protestant denomination. ... Presbyterianism is part of the Reformed churches family of denominations of Christian Protestantism based on the teachings of John Calvin which traces its institutional roots to the Scottish Reformation, especially as led by John Knox. ... Jump to: navigation, search The Religious Society of Friends, commonly known as Quakers, or Friends, is a religious community founded in England in the 17th century. ... The Mennonites are a group of Christian Anabaptist denominations based on the teachings and tradition of Menno Simons. ... Charismatic is an umbrella term used to describe those Christians who believe that the manifestations of the Holy Spirit seen in the first century Christian Church, such as speaking in tongues, healing and miracles, are available to contemporary Christians and ought to be experienced and practiced today. ... Jump to: navigation, search Luther at age 46 (Lucas Cranach the Elder, 1529) The Luther seal Martin Luther (November 10, 1483–February 18, 1546) was a German theologian, an Augustinian monk, and an ecclesiastical reformer whose teachings inspired the Reformation and deeply influenced the doctrines and culture of the Lutheran... Jump to: navigation, search The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and acts as the mother and senior branch of the worldwide Anglican Communion as well as a founding member of the Porvoo Communion. ... Jump to: navigation, search The Bible (sometimes The Book, Good Book, Word of God, or Scripture), from Greek (τα) βιβλια, (ta) biblia, (the) books, plural of βιβλιον, biblion, book, originally a diminutive of βιβλος, biblos, which in turn is derived from βυβλος—byblos, meaning papyrus, from the ancient Phoenician city of Byblos which exported this... Jump to: navigation, search An allegory (from Greek αλλος, allos, other, and αγορευειν, agoreuein, to speak in public) is a figurative mode of representation conveying a meaning other than and in addition to the literal. ...

From its opening (once past the prolegomena, which comprises the first three sections), the book is constructed like a layer cake, with Digression and Tale alternating. However, the digressions overwhelm the narrative, both in terms of the forcefulness and imaginativeness of writing and in terms of volume. Furthermore, after Chapter X (the commonly anthologized "Digression on Madness"), the labels for the sections are incorrect. Sections then called "Tale" are Digressions, and those called "Digression" are also Digressions.

A Tale of a Tub is an enormous parody with a number of smaller parodies within it. Many critics have followed Swift's biographer Irvin Ehrenpreis in arguing that there is no single, consistent narrator in the work. One difficulty with this position, however, is that if there is no single character posing as the author, then it is at least clear that nearly all of the "personae" employed by Swift for the parodies are so much alike that they function as a single identity. In general, whether we view the book as comprised of dozens of impersonations or a single one, Swift writes the Tale through the pose of a Modern or New Man. See the abridged discussion of the "Ancients and Moderns," below, for more on the nature of the "modern man" in Swift's day. Jump to: navigation, search In contemporary usage, parody is a form of satire that imitates another work of art in order to ridicule it. ...

Swift's explanation for the title of the book is that the Ship of State was threatened by a whale (specifically, the Leviathan of Thomas Hobbes) and the new political societies (the Rota Club is mentioned), and his book is intended to be a tub that the sailors of state (the nobles and ministers of state) might toss over the side to divert the attention of the beast (those who questioned the government and its right to rule). Hobbes was highly controversial in the Restoration, and emblematic of the modern philosophy for which Swift held such a disdain. Frontispiece of Leviathan Leviathan (1651) by Thomas Hobbes, is one of the most famous and influential books of political philosophy. ... Thomas Hobbes portrait by John Michael Wright (National Portrait Gallery, London) Thomas Hobbes (April 5, 1588–December 4, 1679) was a noted English political philosopher, most famous for his book Leviathan (1651). ...

The digressions individually frustrate readers who expect a clear purpose. Each digression has its own topic, and each is an essay on its particular sidelight. In his biography of Swift, Ehrenpreis argued that each digression is an impersonation of a different contemporary author. This is the "persona theory," which holds that the Tale is not one parody, but rather a series of parodies, arising out of chamber performance in the Temple household. Prior to Ehrenpreis, some critics had argued that the narrator of the Tale is a character, just as the narrator of a novel would be. Given the evidence of A. C. Elias about the acrimony of Swift's departure from the Temple household, evidence from Swift's Journal to Stella about how uninvolved in the Temple household Swift had been, and the number of repeated observations about himself by the Tale's author, it seems reasonable to propose that the digressions reflect a single type of man, if not a particular character. Digression in literature is a section of a composition or speech that is an intentional change of subject. ... Sir William Temple (1628 - 1699), statesman and essayist, son of Sir John Temple, was born in London, and educated at Cambridge. ...

In any case, the digressions are each readerly tests; each tests whether or not the reader is intelligent and skeptical enough to detect nonsense. Some, such as the discussion of ears or of wisdom being like a nut, a cream sherry, a cackling hen, etc., are outlandish and require a militantly aware and thoughtful reader. Each is a trick, and together they train the reader to sniff out bunk and to reject the unacceptable.

Cultural setting

During the Restoration period in England, the print revolution began to change every aspect of society. It became possible for anyone to spend a small amount of money and have his or her opinions published as a broadsheet. It also became possible for nearly anyone to gain access to the latest discoveries in science, literature, and political theory, as books became less expensive and digests and "indexes" of the sciences grew more numerous. The change in British society brought about by the print revolution was roughly analogous to our own experiences with the Internet. Just as now a silly person may spend a small amount of money and publish silly opinions, so it was then. Just as now we are confronted with a staggering array of conspiracy theories, "secret" histories, signs of the apocalypse, "secrets" of politicians, "revelations" of prophets, alarms about household products, hoaxes, and outright fraud, so it was then. The problem for them, as for us, was telling true from false, credible from impossible. Swift writes A Tale of a Tub in the guise of someone who is excited and gullible about all the things the new world has to offer. This narrator is in love with the modern age and feels that he is quite the equal (or superior) of any author who ever lived because he, unlike them, possesses 'technology' and opinions that are just plain newer. Swift seemingly asks the question of what a person with no discernment but with a thirst for knowledge would be like, and the answer is the narrator of Tale of a Tub. The English Restoration or simply Restoration was an episode in the history of Great Britain beginning in 1660 when the monarchy was restored under King Charles II after the English Civil War. ...

Swift was annoyed by people who were so eager to possess the newest knowledge that they failed to pose skeptical questions. If he was not a particular fan of the aristocracy, he was a sincere opponent of democracy (which was often viewed then as the sort of "mob rule" that led to the worst abuses of the Interregnum.) The cultural stakes were high, and Swift's satire was intended to provide a genuine service by painting the portrait of conspiracy minded and injudicious writers. Ochlocracy (Greek: οχλοκρατια; Latin: ochlocratia) is government by mob or a disorganized mass of people. ... An interregnum is a period between kings, between popes of the Roman Catholic Church, or between consuls of the Roman Republic. ...

At that time in England, politics, religion and education were unified in a way that they are not now. The monarch was the head of the state church. Each school (secondary and university) had a political tradition. (Officially, there was no such thing as "Whig and Tory" at the time, but the labels are useful and were certainly employed by writers themselves.) The two major parties were associated with religious and economic groups. The implications of this unification of politics, class, and religion are important. Although it is somewhat extreme and simplistic to put it this way, failing to be for the Church was failing to be for the monarch; having an interest in physics and trade was to be associated with dissenting religion and the Whig Party. When Swift attacks the lovers of all things modern, he is thereby attacking the new world of trade, of dissenting religious believers, and, to some degree, an emergent portion of the Whig Party. This article is about the British Whig party. ... The term Tory applied to the Tory Party, the ancestor of the modern UK Conservative Party. ...

Authorial background

Born of English parents in Ireland, Jonathan Swift was working as Sir William Temple's secretary at the time he composed A Tale of a Tub (1694-1697). The publication of the work coincided with Swift's striking out on his own, having despaired of getting a good "living" from Temple or Temple's influence. There is speculation about what caused the rift between Swift and his employer, but it seems that the final straw came with Swift's work on Temple's Letters. Swift had been engaged to translate Temple's French correspondence, but Temple, or someone close to Temple, edited the French text to make Temple seem both prescient and more fluent. Consequently, the letters and the translations Swift provided did not gibe, and, since Swift could not accuse Temple of falsifying his letters, and because the public would never believe that the retired state minister had lied, Swift came across as incompetent. Notable William Temples include: William Temple, 17th century British politician, employer of Jonathan Swift William Temple, Acting Governor of Delaware (1846-1847) William Temple, Archbishop of York (1929-1942) and Archbishop of Canterbury (1942-1944) William Temple, VC, recipient of the Victoria Cross Rev. ...

Jonathan Swift

Even though Swift published the "Tale" as he left Temple's service, it was conceived earlier, and the book is a salvo in one of Temple's battles. Swift's general polemic concerns an argument (the "Quarrel of the Ancients and the Moderns") that had been over for nearly ten years by the time the book was published. The "Quarrel of the Ancients and Moderns" was generally a French academic brouhaha of the early 1690's, occasioned by Fontenelle arguing that modern scholarship had allowed modern man to surpass the ancients in knowledge. Temple argued against this position in his "On Ancient and Modern Learning" (where he provided the first English formulation of the commonplace that we see more only because we are dwarves standing on the shoulders of giants), and Temple's somewhat naive essay prompted a small flurry of responses. Among others, two men who took the side opposing Temple were Richard Bently (classicist and editor) and William Wotton (critic). Dean Jonathan Swift This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... The quarrel of the Ancients and the Moderns (French: querelle des Anciens et des Modernes) was a literary and artistic quarrel which shook the Académie française at the end of the 17th century. ... Bernard le Bovier de Fontenelle, also referred to as Bernard le Bouyer de Fontenelle (February 11, 1657 _ January 9, 1757) was a French author. ... Richard Bentley (January 27, 1662 - July 14, 1742) was an English scholar and critic. ... William Wotton (August 13, 1666 - February 13, 1727), was an English scholar, chiefly remembered for his involvement in The Battle of the Books. ...

The entire discussion in England was over by 1696, and yet it seems to have fired Swift's imagination. Swift saw in the opposing camps of Ancients and Moderns a shorthand of two general ways of looking at the world (see the historical background, below, for some of the senses in which "new men" and "ancients" might be understood). The Tale of a Tub attacks all who praise modernity over classical learning. Temple had done as much, but Swift, unlike Temple, has no praise for the classical world, either. There is no normative value in Rome, no lost English glen, no hearth ember to be invoked against the hubris of modern scientism. Some critics have seen in Swift's reluctance to praise mankind in any age proof of his misanthropy, and others have detected in it an overarching hatred of pride. At the same time, the Tale revived the Quarrel of Ancients and Moderns at least enough to prompt Wotton to come out with a new edition of his pamphlet attacking Temple, and he appended to it an essay against the author of A Tale of a Tub. Swift was able to cut pieces from Wotton's "Answer" to include in the fifth edition of the Tale as "Notes" at the bottom of the page. Swift's satire also gave something of a framework for other satirists in the Scribblerian circle, and Modern vs. Ancient is picked up as one distinction between political and cultural forces.

If Swift hoped that the Tale of a Tub would win him a living, he was disappointed. Swift himself believed that the book cost him any chance of high position within the church. It is most likely, though, that Swift was not seeking a clerical position with the Tale. Instead, it was probably meant to establish him as a literary and political figure and to strike out a set of positions that would win the notice of influential men. This it did. As a consequence of this work, and Swift's activity in Church causes, Swift became a familiar of Robert Harley (future Earl of Oxford) and Henry St. John (the future Viscount Bolingbroke). When the Tories gained the government in 1710, Swift was rewarded for his work. By 1713-14, however, the Tory government had fallen, and Swift was "rewarded" with the Deanery of St. Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin — a reward he considered an exile. Robert Harley, 1st Earl of Oxford and Mortimer (5 December 1661 - 21 May 1724), was an English statesman of the Stuart and early Georgian periods. ... Earl of Oxford - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... Henry St John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke (1678 - December 12, 1751) was an English statesman and writer. ... The title Viscount Bolingbroke was created in 1712 the Peerage of Great Britain for Henry St John. ... Several cathedrals are named after Saint Patrick. ... Jump to: navigation, search Dublin (Irish: Baile Átha Cliath), is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Ireland, located near the midpoint of Irelands east coast, at the mouth of the River Liffey and at the centre of the Dublin region. ...

Nature of the satire

Title page of the fifth edition, 1705, with the added Notes and Apology for the &c.

Upon its publication, the public realized both that there was an allegory in the story of the brothers and that there were particular political references in the Digressions. A number of "Keys" appeared soon thereafter. For a contemporary analogy, think of services like Cliffs Notes or, on the web, Spark Notes. "Keys" offered the reader a commentary on the Tale and explanations of its references. Edmund Curll rushed out a Key to the work, and William Wotton offered up an "Answer" to the author of the work. Title page to the 5th edition of Tale of a Tub, 1705. ... Title page to the 5th edition of Tale of a Tub, 1705. ... CliffsNotes are a series of student study guides in the United States and all over the world. ... Edmund Curll (1675 - December 11, 1747) was an English bookseller and publisher. ...

Swift's targets in the Tale included indexers, note-makers, and, above all, people who saw "dark matter" in books. He attacks criticism generally, and he appeared to be delighted by the fact that one of his enemies, William Wotton, had offered to explain the Tale in an "answer" to the book and that one of the men he had explicitly attacked, Curll, had offered to explain the book to the public. In the fifth edition of the book in 1705, Swift provided an apparatus to the work that incorporated Wotton's explanations and Swift's narrator's own notes as well. The notes appear to occasionally provide genuine information and just as often to mislead, and William Wotton's name, a defender of the Moderns, was appended to a number of notes. This allows Swift to make the commentary part of the satire itself, as well as to elevate his narrator to the level of self-critic. William Wotton (August 13, 1666 - February 13, 1727), was an English scholar, chiefly remembered for his involvement in The Battle of the Books. ...

It is hard to say what the Tale's satire is about, since it is about any number of things. It is most consistent in attacking misreading of all sorts. Both in the narrative sections and the digressions, the single human flaw that underlies all the follies Swift attacks is over-figurative and over-literal reading, both of the Bible and of poetry and political prose. The narrator is seeking hidden knowledge, mechanical operations of things spiritual, spiritual qualities to things physical, and alternate readings of everything.

Within the "tale" sections of the book, Peter, Martin, and Jack fall into bad company (becoming the official religion of the Roman empire) and begin altering their coats (faith) by adding ornaments. They then begin relying on Peter to be the arbitrator of the will, and he begins to rule by authority (he remembered the handyman saying that he once heard the father say that it was alright to put on more ornaments), until such a time that Jack rebels against the rule of Peter. Jack begins to read the will (the Bible) overly literally. He rips the coat to shreds to try to restore the original state of the garment (equivalent of the "primitive Christianity" sought by dissenters). He begins to rely only upon "inner illumination" for guidance and thus walks around with his eyes closed, after swallowing candle snuffs. Eventually, Peter and Jack begin to resemble one another, and only Martin is left with a coat that is at all like the original.

An important factor in the reception of Swift's work is that the narrator of the work is an extremist in every direction. Consequently, he can no more construct a sound allegory than he can finish his digressions without losing control (eventually confessing that he is insane). For a Church of England reader, the allegory of the brothers provides small comfort. Martin has a corrupted faith, one full of holes and still with ornaments on it. His only virtue is that he avoids the excesses of his brothers, but the original faith is lost to him. Readers of the Tale have picked up on this unsatisfactory resolution to both "parts" of the book, and A Tale of a Tub has often been offered up as evidence of Swift's misanthropy. Misanthropy is a general dislike of the human race. ...

As has recently been argued by Michael McKeon, Swift might best be described as a severe skeptic, rather than a Whig, Tory, empiricist, or religious writer. He supported the Classics in the Quarrel of the Ancients and the Moderns, and he supported the established church and the aristocracy, because he felt the alternatives were worse. He argued elsewhere that there is nothing inherently virtuous about a noble birth, but its advantages of wealth and education made the aristocrat a better ruler than the equally virtuous but unprivileged commoner. A Tale of a Tub is a perfect example of Swift's devastating intellect at work. By its end, little seems worth believing in.

Formally, the satire in the Tale is historically novel for several reasons. First, Swift more or less invented prose parody. In the "Apology for the &c." (which was added in 1705), Swift explains that his work is, in several places, a "parody," which is where he imitates the style of persons he wishes to expose. What is interesting is that the word "parody" had not been used for prose before, and the definition he offers is arguably a parody of John Dryden defining "parody" in the "Preface to the Satires." Prior to Swift, parodies were imitations designed to bring mirth, but not primarily in the form of mockery. (For example, Dryden himself imitated the Aeneid in "MacFlecknoe" to describe the apotheosis of a dull poet, but the imitation made fun of the poet, and not of Virgil.) John Dryden John Dryden (August 19, 1631 – May 12, 1700) was an influential English poet, literary critic, and playwright. ... The Aeneid is a Latin epic written by Virgil in the 1st century BC that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Trojan who traveled to Italy where he became the ancestor of the Romans. ...

Additionally, Swift's satire is relatively unique in that he offers no resolutions. While he ridicules any number of foolish habits, he never offers the reader a positive set of values to embrace. While this type of satire became more common as people imitated Swift, later, Swift is quite unusual in offering the readers no way out. He does not persuade to any position, but he does persuade readers from an assortment of positions. This is one of the qualities that has made the Tale Swift's least-read major work.

Historical background

In the historical background to the period of 1696-1705, the most important political events might be the Restoration of Charles II in 1660, the Test Act, and the English Settlement or Glorious Revolution of 1688-1689. Politically, the English had suffered a Civil War that had culminated with the beheading of the king, years of Interregnum under the Puritan Oliver Cromwell, and then Parliament inviting the king back to rule in 1660. Upon Charles II's death, his brother, James II of England took the throne. However, when it was alleged that James was Roman Catholic and married to a Roman Catholic, James fled the country, and Parliament decided on the way in which all future English monarchs would be chosen. This method would always favor Protestantism over sanguinity. The year 1696 had the earliest equinoxes and solstices for 400 years in the Gregorian calendar, because this year is a leap year and the Gregorian calendar would have behaved like the Julian calendar since March 1500 had it have been in use that long. ... Events Construction begins on Blenheim Palace, in Oxfordshire, England. ... Jump to: navigation, search Charles II (29 May 1630–6 February 1685) was the King of England, King of Scots, and King of Ireland from 30 January 1649 (retrospectively de jure) or 29 May 1660 (de facto) until his death. ... Events Expulsion of the Carib indigenous people from Martinique by French occupying forces. ... Jump to: navigation, search The several Test Acts were a series of English penal laws that imposed various civil disabilities on Roman Catholics and nonconformists. ... The term Glorious Revolution refers to the generally popular overthrow of James II of England in 1688. ... Jump to: navigation, search The term Glorious Revolution refers to the generally popular overthrow of James II of England in 1688. ... // Events A high-powered conspiracy of notables, the Immortal Seven, invite William and Mary to depose James II of England. ... Events Louis XIV of France passed the Code Noir, allowing the full use of slaves in the French colonies. ... Jump to: navigation, search The term English Civil War (or Wars) refers to the series of armed conflicts and political machinations which took place between Parliamentarians and Royalists from 1642 until 1651. ... An interregnum is a period between kings, between popes of the Roman Catholic Church, or between consuls of the Roman Republic. ... Jump to: navigation, search Unfinished portrait miniature of Oliver Cromwell by Samuel Cooper, 1657. ... Events Expulsion of the Carib indigenous people from Martinique by French occupying forces. ... Prince James Francis Edward Stuart or Stewart (June 10, 1688 – January 1, 1766) was a claimant of the thrones of Scotland and England (September 16, 1701 – January 1, 1766) who is more commonly referred to as The Old Pretender. ...

Woodcut from the Tale demonstrating the three stages of human endeavor: the gallows, the theater, and the pulpit. Click for enlargement.

From the point of view of the politically aware Englishman, Parliament had essentially elected a king. Although officially the king was supreme, there could be no doubt that the Commons had picked the king and could pick another instead. Also, although there was now a law demanding that all swear allegiance to the monarch as head of the church, it became less and less clear why the nation was to be so intolerant. Download high resolution version (705x1192, 78 KB)Woodcut from the Tale of a Tub illustrating the Three Stages of Humanity, which are the theater, the gallows, and the pulpit. ... Download high resolution version (705x1192, 78 KB)Woodcut from the Tale of a Tub illustrating the Three Stages of Humanity, which are the theater, the gallows, and the pulpit. ...

Religious struggles at the time were primarily between the Church of England and the dissenting churches. The threat posed by these dissenters was keenly felt by Establishment clerics like Jonathan Swift. While contemporary Great Britain praises and practices tolerance and contemporary Britons may find tolerance inherently virtuous, the dissenters of the late 17th and early 18th centuries were themselves quite intolerant. It was common enough for Puritans and other dissenters to disrupt church services, to accuse political leaders of being the anti-Christ, and to move the people toward violent schism, riots, and peculiar behaviors (including attempts to set up miniature theocracies). Protestant dissenters had led the English Civil War. The pressure of dissenters was felt on all levels of British politics and could be seen in the change of the British economy. Jump to: navigation, search The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and acts as the mother and senior branch of the worldwide Anglican Communion as well as a founding member of the Porvoo Communion. ... In Christian eschatology, the Antichrist is a person or other entity that is the embodiment of evil and utterly opposed to truth. ... Jump to: navigation, search The term English Civil War (or Wars) refers to the series of armed conflicts and political machinations which took place between Parliamentarians and Royalists from 1642 until 1651. ...

The Industrial Revolution was beginning in the period between the writing and publication of A Tale of a Tub, though no one at the time would have known this. What Englishmen did know, however, was that what they called "trade" was on the rise. Merchants, importers/exporters, and "stock jobbers" were growing very wealthy. It was becoming more common to find members of the aristocracy with less money than members of the trading class. Those on the rise in the middle class professions were perceived as being more likely to be dissenters than members of the other classes were, and such institutions as the stock exchange and Lloyd's of London were founded by Puritan traders. Members of these classes were also widely ridiculed as attempting to pretend to learning and manners that they had no right to. Further, these "new men" were not, by and large, the product of the universities nor the traditional secondary schools. Consequently, these now wealthy individuals were not conversant in Latin, were not enamored of the classics, and were not inclined to put much value on these things. Jump to: navigation, search The Industrial Revolution was the major technological, socioeconomic and cultural change in the late 18th and early 19th century resulting from the replacement of an economy based on manual labor to one dominated by industry and machine manufacture. ... Lloyd’s Building, London (with the blue cranes) Lloyds of London is a British insurance market. ...

Between 1688 and 1705, England was politically quite unstable. With the ascension of Queen Anne, political Establishment figures felt themselves particularly vulnerable. Anne was rumored to be immoderately stupid, and she was supposedly governed by her friend, Sarah Churchill, wife of the Duke of Marlborough. Although Swift was a Whig for much of this period, he was allied most nearly with the Ancients camp (which is to say Establishment, Church of England, aristocracy, traditional education), and he was politically active in the service of the Church. He claims, both in "The Apology for the &c." and in a reference in Book I of Gulliver's Travels, to have written the Tale to defend the crown from the troubles of the monsters besetting it. These monsters were numerous. At this time, political clubs and societies were proliferating. The print revolution had meant that people were gathering under dozens of banners, and political and religious sentiments previously unspoken were now rallying supporters. As the general dissenting position became the monied position, and as Parliament increasingly held power, historically novel degrees of freedom had brought an historically tenuous equipoise of change and stability. Jump to: navigation, search Anne ( 6 February 1665 – 1 August 1714 ) became Queen of England, Queen of Scotland and Queen of Ireland on 8 March 1702. ... Sarah Churchill, née Jennings, Duchess of Marlborough (May 29, 1660 - October 18, 1744), rose to be one of the most influential women in British history, largely as a result of her close friendship with Queen Anne. ...

Publication history

The Tale was originally published in 1704, by John Nutt. Swift had used Benjamin Tooke previously when publishing for Sir William Temple, he would use Tooke for both the fifth edition of the Tale (1705) and later works, and it was Tooke's successor, Benjamin Motte, who published Swift's Gulliver's Travels. This difference in printer is only one of the things that led to debate over authorship of the work.

The first, second, and third editions of the Tale appeared in 1704, and the fifth edition came out the next year. In "The Apology for the &c.," Swift indicates that he originally gave his publisher a preliminary copy of the work, while he kept a blotted copy at his own hand and lent other copies (including one to Thomas Swift, Jonathan's "parson cousin"). As a consequence, the first edition appeared with many errors. The second edition was a resetting of the type. The third edition was a reprint of the second, with corrections, and the fourth edition contained corrections of the third.

The first substantially new edition of the work is the fifth edition of 1705. This is largely the text modern editors will use. It was in this edition that the Notes and the "Apology for the &c." ("&c." was Swift's shorthand for Tale of a Tub: Nutt was supposed to expand the abbreviation out to the book's title but did not do so; the mistake was left) were added, which many contemporary readers (and authors) found a heating up of an already savage satire. In 1710, Swift had the 5th edition reprinted by Benjamin Tooke, but it is substantively the same as the 1705 printing, only with a new setting of the type. // Events April 10 - The worlds first copyright legislation became effective, Britains Statute of Anne Ongoing events Great Northern War (1700-1721) War of the Spanish Succession (1702-1713) Births January 4 - Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, Italian composer (d. ...

Authorship debate

Although today very little of this debate remains, questions of the authorship of the Tale occupied many notable critics both in the 18th and 19th centuries. Famously, Samuel Johnson claimed that A Tale of a Tub was a work of true genius (in contrast to Gulliver's Travels where once one imagines "big people and little people" the rest is easy) and too good to be Jonathan Swift's. In the 19th century, many critics who saw in Jonathan Swift's later work misanthropy and madness wished to reject the Tale as his. In a way, a critic's view on who wrote the Tale reflected that critic's politics. Swift was such a powerful champion of Tory, or anti-Whig, causes that fans of the Tale were eager to attribute the book to another author from nearly the day of its publication. Jump to: navigation, search Samuel Johnson circa 1772, painted by Sir Joshua Reynolds. ... Jump to: navigation, search Gullivers Travels (1726, amended 1735) is a work of fiction by Jonathan Swift that is both a satire on human nature and a parody of the travellers tales literary sub-genre. ... Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... Misanthropy is a general dislike of the human race. ...

The work appeared anonymously in 1704. It was Swift's habit to publish anonymously throughout his career. This anonymity was partially a way of protecting his career, and partially his person. (Swift's publisher for the "Drapier Letters" was thrown in jail, and other authors had found themselves beaten by thugs hired by their satirical targets.) As a struggling churchman, Swift needed the support of nobles to gain a living. Additionally, nobles were still responsible for Church affairs in the House of Lords, so his political effectiveness in church affairs depended upon the lords. Swift needed to be at some distance from the sometimes bawdy and scatological work that he wrote.

The Tale was immediately popular and controversial. Consequently, there were rumors of various people as the author of the work -- Jonathan Swift then being not largely known except for his work in the House of Lords for the passage of the First Fruits and Fifths bill for tithing. Some people thought that William Temple wrote it. Francis Atterbury said people at Oxford thought it had been written by Edmund Smith and John Philips, though he thought it was by Jonathan Swift. Some people thought it belonged to Lord Somers. Francis Atterbury (March 6, 1663 - February 22, 1732), was an English man of letters, politician and bishop. ...

However, Jonathan Swift had a cousin, also in the church, named Thomas Swift. Thomas and Jonathan were in correspondence during the time of the composition of the Tale, and Thomas Swift later claimed to have written the work. Jonathan responded to this allegation by saying that Thomas had no hand in anything but the smallest of passages, and he would welcome hearing Thomas 'explain' the work, if he had written it.

The controversy over authorship is aggravated by the choice of publisher. Not only did Swift use Tooke after the publication of the Tale, he had used Tooke before its publication as well, so the appearance of the work in John Nutt's shop was atypical.

Stylistically and in sentiment, the Tale is undeniably Jonathan's. Most important in this regard is the narrative pose and the creation of narrative parody. (Previously, parody had referred only to poetic compositions.) The dramatic (and we would now say novelistic) pretense of writing as a character is in keeping with Jonathan Swift's lifelong practice. Furthermore, Thomas Swift has left few literary remains. Jump to: navigation, search In contemporary usage, parody is a form of satire that imitates another work of art in order to ridicule it. ...

Those wishing to pursue the evidence for Thomas Swift may see the summary in A. C. Guthkelch and D. Nichol Smith's authoritative edition of A Tale of a Tub (1920 and 1958) for Oxford University Press, where they say, "all the evidence for Thomas Swift's participation in the Tale (is) nothing but rumour and (Edmund) Curll's Key." Indeed, in 1710 Swift had the fifth edition republished by Tooke, and he explained in a letter how the rumor had been started. He said that, when the publication initially took place, Swift was abroad in Ireland and "that little Parson-cousin of mine" "affected to talk suspiciously, as if he had some share in it." In other words, anonymity conspired with Thomas Swift's desire for fame to create the confusion. Afterward, only critical preference seems to account for anyone holding Thomas Swift the author. Jump to: navigation, search 1920 is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar) // Events January January 7 - Forces of Russian White admiral Kolchak surrender in Krasnoyarsk. ... Jump to: navigation, search 1958 was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Oxford University Press (OUP) is a highly-respected publishing house and a department of the University of Oxford in England. ...

Robert Hendrickson notes in his book British Literary Anecdotes that "Swift was always partial to his strikingly original The Tale of a Tub (1704). On reading the work again in later years, he exclaimed 'Good God! What a genius I had when I wrote that book!'"

References

Text

• Swift, Jonathan. Tale of a Tub, to which is added The battle of the books, and the Mechanical operation of the spirit. By Jonathan Swift. Together with The history of Martin, Wotton's Observations upon the Tale of a tub, Curll's Complete key, &c. A. C. Guthkelch and D. Nichol Smith, editors. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1920. ISBN 02680010

Secondary sources

• Ehrenpreis, Irvin. Swift: the Man, his Works, and the Age. London: Methuen Press, 1962. ISBN
• Elias, A. C., Jr. Swift at Moor Park: Problems in Biography and Criticism. Philadelphia: U. Penn. Press, 1982. ISBN 0812278224
• Guilhamet, Leon. Satire and the Transformation of Genre. Philadelphia: U. Penn. Press, 1981. ISBN 0812280539
• Landa, Louis A. Essays in Eighteenth-century Literature. Princeton: Princeton U. Press, 1980. ISBN 0691064490
• McKeon, Michael. The Origins of the English Novel 1600 - 1740. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins Press, 1987. ISBN 0801832918
• Rawson, Claude. The Character of Swift's Satire: A Revised Focus. Newark: U. Delaware Press, 1983. ISBN 0874132096

External links

• Free eBook of A Tale of a Tub at Project Gutenberg