Gomez 1 Matthew Gomez Mrs. Mendoza A.P.

English 12 25 November 2012 Poetic Justice: Jonathan Swift One of the greatest satirists of the 18th century, Jonathan Swift, was an utter genius having an extremely complex and mysterious personality. His persona, one might say, was that of a "supersensitive" temperament. He maintained a firm sense of justice, an acuteness of vision, a liberal disposition, sincere involvement to moral and social practices, a fondness for meaningless practical jokes, disapproval for science, displays of excessive pride, arrogance, cynicism, and violent fits of temper and strains of insanity (Murry). One can say his personality creates an amalgamation described by his own words; "At best, I have an ill-head and an aching heart." All these varied attributes epitomize what a complex and mysterious man Swift was. Contrary to popular belief, Swift was not crazy, he was simply too intelligent and ahead of his time, it simply drove him mad. This diverse mans life began in Dublin, Ireland, on November 30th, 1667. Swifts father died before he was born, and his mother died when he was at an early age; this left Swift in the care of his Uncles (Murry). Even though Swift was struck with such tragedies, he was financially sound; his family also had many ties to many literary geniuses of his time. This would shape and craft Swifts future career in literature. His vast intellect and altered upbringing would determine the specific topics and ideals that would be reflected through his works. Swift was not known for his poetry in particular, but none-the-less it epitomizes his stylistic attributes and topics. In his poetry, Jonathan Swift wrote about social injustice, political injustice, and theoretical solutions to these same injustices. Swifts purpose for writing about

Gomez 2 these topics includes the following reasons: he was a political satirist, he was affiliated with enlightened colleagues, and was influenced by those very colleagues thinking as well. Jonathan Swift is most famous for his satires, specifically A Modest Proposal. Swift became a satirist because he had a natural talent to write and felt the need to contribute to the English and Irish governments. Swift would have loved to have been an official in parliament but was not deemed sane enough (to some standards) to withhold that position, so he settled to contributed in the area of his expertise, satire. Jonathan Swift often wrote about social injustices in England and Ireland in a satirical manner to shed light on the topics currently at hand. In Ricardo Quintanas book, Swift: An Introduction, he theorizes, [that Swift] felt about the human situation, and how [people] judged based on observation which highlights his sympathy for the injustices that occur in England on a day to day basis. This theory posed by Quintana gives the reader of Swifts work insight on his true intentions as a satirist, directly revealing his liberal dispositions and high esteem for moral and social values. Swift believed in equality (in the sense of what it was in early 18th century England), and wanted justice for all. These ideas were not only written in his essays and periodicals, but are also directly written in his poems. For example, in Swifts poem, A Receipt to Restore Stellas Youth, Swift states: The Scottish hinds, too poor to house In frosty nights their starving cows, While not a blade of grass or hay Appears from Michaelmas to May, Must let their cattle range in vain For food along the barrel plain: (lines 1-6)

Gomez 3 These six lines create the images of suffering crops and livestock, which enhance ones understanding of the poverty a Scottish farmer would endure. The mere fact that the farmers would carry on to supply food for the people (line 5-6), knowing that it would be in vain, not only echoes the poverty they had to deal with, but reveals their integral position in the community. The farmers needed money to be able to continue farming, which would help supply food to the people. The system itself was flawed, if the bottom of the chain did not have the resources to complete its job, then one could not expect the others to be able either? These were the sort of social injustices Swift wrote about through the expression of poetry. This serious problem expressed in his poem may not seem satirical in a literal sense, but with the harnessing of poetic devices, such as rhythm, rhyme, and imagery, Swift lightens the severity of the situation at hand, by being able to playfully craft a rhyme upon the matter (Nokes). But at the same time, he reaches out to the people, by creating these harsh images of the suffering of the farmers, revealing this serious social issue. At times a playful satire can be the only way to get a across a serious problem. Alongside the satires Swift wrote on social injustices and issues, he also wrote similar satires on political issues. Jonathan Swift often wrote about political injustices in England and Ireland in a satirical manner to shed light on the topic in a safe and approachable way, so the few who could actually affect the outcome could possibly realize the wrong in the situations they created. In Ricardo Quintanas book, Swift: An Introduction, he states, The Modest Proposal is a parody of countless pamphlets dealing with population and poverty. It burlesques the manner and the methods of the early 18th-century political arithmeticians, which was an essay that satirically revealed the problems of society through a political perspective, but also satirized the very people who tried to come up with the solutions themselves. Swift wrote about issues in the

Gomez 4 economy and the famine, not only to shed light on the topic, but he also believed he had the solutions to the problems themselves (Nokes). This altered the way he wrote his personal poetry, because Swift always wanted to be an official, with actual power to make these solutions happen. In an example, pulled from one of his poetry journals, Swift discusses the situations between the church and the state, a major problem of the 18th century. In his poem Maypole, Swift wrote: And once a weaver in town, A damned Cromwellian, knocked me down. I lay a prisoner twenty years, And then the jovial cavaliers To their old post restored all three I mean the church, the king, and me. (lines 19-24) In this sestet, Swift alludes to the pseudo-caste system that existed in 18th century England, by including varied titles such as a weaver, cavalier, and king. This feudal hierarchical system limited many people, halting them from any sort of progression in society (Edgecombe). Politically speaking, one can infer Swift is alluding to his situation, in not being able to progress (wanting to be a government official), but it can also be argued that Swift is actually alluding to the corruption that was King James, then the Shift to martial law, and then the revert back to a Monarchy led by a King, and of course the awkward amalgamation that is the marriage of the church and state and its own shifts. These personal, as well as national issues directly influenced Swifts poetic theme of discussing political injustices. Jonathan Swift devoted much of his work to satire and revealing/stating social and political injustices, but he also wanted to find the solutions as well. Jonathan Swift often wrote about possible solutions to the social and political injustices in England and Ireland, which

Gomez 5 derive from his enlightened thinking as well as the thinking of his colleagues (Edgecombe). Even though Swift was known to be extremely arrogant, he learned a lot from his fellow colleagues during his youth. In Ricardo Quintanas article, Swift, Jonathan, in the 2012 edition of Britannica Biographies, he states, His satire on societies themselves are influenced by the corruption of daily life. His best work lies between the vision of humanitys ambitious positions, which finds the course of corruption itself, being a possible theory of how to alter it to begin with. Swift being the genius that he was sought the solution to every problem sprung. He often wrote poems that allude to possible solutions, or at least theories to this solution. Being an ambitious human, it was only in his nature to reveal his best work. Swift, although being a cynic, also believed that the people themselves, once brought together could mend things on their own. In this feudal society, a social gathering of that magnitude would require force to even occur (Napier). In his poem A Description of a City Shower Swift discusses this situation in the following lines: To Shops in Crouds the dagled Females fly, Pretend to cheapen Goods, but nothing buy. The Templer spruce, while ev'ry Spout's a-broach, Stays till 'tis fair, yet seems to call a Coach. The tuck'd-up Sempstress walks with hasty Strides, While Streams run down her oil'd Umbrella's Sides. (lines 34-39) Swift describes the conflict of the classes in this poem, and further alludes to the true corruption among the people. All the different classes describe in this section are all doing different things, and dont really acknowledge one another, it is not until the harsh rains that they will actually come together. Swift, even though he was well off, was a supporter of the everyday man. He

Gomez 6 knew that many of the problems could be solved at a social level. He tried to reveal this through his poetry in a satiric manner, but it was too ahead of his time. People do not want change, and most that do typically do not do a thing to seek it. In Swifts later life, he was said to have gone insane, but ultimately the intelligence he had to solve the problems of his society, yet not being able to, caused him to go mad. This knowledge greatly influenced all of his poetry. He wanted to be that change. Swift was a very intelligent man who wrote about the many problems that existed in England and Ireland during his time. He was greatly influenced by society itself and the injustices he observed on a day to day basis. He used his poetry and other works to express what he believed to be the solutions to the problems themselves, or at least reveal the seriousness of what was going on at the time. Swift tried to find the solutions, but he mainly just wanted justice. Not much ever changed, and people are the same way to this day. Did he ever get the justice he wanted? Was there any justice at all? Was his poetry, by revealing the hardships and issues justice itself? If so, Swift would be remembered by his poetic justice.

Gomez 7 Works Consulted Edgecomb, Rodney Stenning. Lesage, Swift, and DOMBEY AND SON. Explicator 69.1 (2011) : 1. MAS Ultra- School Edition. EBSCO. Web. 1 Nov. 2012. Murry, John Middleton. Jonathan Swift: A Critical Biography. New York: Farrer, Strans and Giroux, 1995. Print. Napier, Elizabeth R. Raining Cats and Dogs: Swifts A DESCRIPTION OF A CITY SHOWER. Explicator 65.4 (2007) : 208. MAS Ultra- School Edition. EBSCO. Web. 1 Nov. 2012. Nokes, David. Jonathan Swift: A Hypocrite Reversed A Critical Biography. New York: Oxford University Press, 1985. Print. Quintana, Ricardo. Swift: An Introduction. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1979. Print. Quintana, Ricardo : Swift, Jonathan. Britannica Biographies (2012) : 1. MAS Ultra- School Edition. EBSCO. Web. 1 Nov. 2012.