Jonathan Swift: Satire, Politics, and Reason in 18th Century Britain
18th Century English Politics: Whigs and Tories
The two main political parties in England during the 18th century were the Whigs and the Tories:
- Tories: Represented the landed gentry, supported the monarch over Parliament, and upheld the Church of England.
- Whigs: Generally favoured Parliament over the monarch and were more associated with commercial interests and religious tolerance for non-Anglican Protestants.
William III and Mary II, who preceded Queen Anne, were associated with the Whigs. They had little choice, as the Whig party had largely orchestrated the Glorious Revolution (1688) that brought them to power.
William, a staunch Protestant, fought numerous wars often linked to religious conflicts. He established Presbyterianism as the national religion in Scotland. After defeating the forces supporting the deposed James II in Ireland in 1689, he reinforced the position of the Church of England as the state church of Ireland (also known as the Protestant Episcopal Church).
The Irish Context and Swift’s Motivation
The Irish population, predominantly Roman Catholic or Scottish Presbyterians, had largely supported the restoration of James II and resisted conforming to the Anglican Church. The English oppression of Ireland, deeply intertwined with the repression of Catholicism, became a powerful motivating force in Jonathan Swift’s writing. During William III’s reign, Swift identified as a moderate Whig.
Swift’s Political Shifts
After William’s death, Queen Anne ascended the throne, and the Tories gained control of the government. Swift, believing the Tories were more committed to preserving the position of the Church of England, shifted his allegiance and became a moderate Tory.
Swift became a writer for the new moderate Tory ministry. He ran The Examiner, the government’s influential weekly newspaper, effectively garnering public support for its policies. Despite his support for the Anglican Church of Ireland, Swift criticized what he saw as irrational disputes between different Christian factions.
In Ireland, the Roman Catholics, constituting the vast majority, faced oppression. They were forced to pay tithes (ten percent of their income) to support a church they did not attend. Furthermore, irreconcilable differences between Catholic and Protestant faiths served as a pretext for costly wars with Catholic France.
Reason vs. Passion in Swift’s Works
In his writings, particularly *Gulliver’s Travels*, Swift urged human beings to reconsider the importance of reason. He believed that passions and pride often control human beings, limiting the effective use of reason. However, he also suggested that humans could improve by exercising common sense.
Critique in *Gulliver’s Travels*
When Gulliver proudly describes gunpowder to the King of Brobdingnag—a scientific invention he believes could grant immense power—the horrified king dismisses him as a “grovelling insect.” The giant monarch is shocked that such a small, seemingly insignificant creature could delight in cruelty and destruction. Swift warns his readers that people are capable of profound evil, sometimes driven by a desire to feel important.
The Lilliputians exemplify a cold, mathematical logic devoid of human feeling, similar to the narrator’s detached tone in *A Modest Proposal*. They decide to dispose of Gulliver by first blinding him and then starving him, making his corpse easier to manage, completely disregarding compassion.
Religious Satire in *Gulliver’s Travels*
Swift satirizes religious extremism, targeting both radical Protestants and Catholics. The conflict between the Lilliputian Big-Endians and Little-Endians, who wish to exterminate each other over the correct way to break an egg, serves as an allegory for sectarian violence. Their mutually sacred text ambiguously states, “All true believers shall break their eggs at the convenient end,” highlighting the absurdity of their deadly dispute. This theme of extermination echoes the extreme ‘solution’ proposed in *A Modest Proposal* regarding the poor Irish.
(Note: The 18th century is also known as the Augustan Age or the Age of Johnson, reflecting a renewed interest in classical learning. Swift, knowledgeable in the classics, drew upon this tradition.)
Understanding Swift’s Satire
Defining Satire
Satire is a form of social criticism, often employing humour, exaggeration, and irony. Its purpose is typically to provoke change by exposing folly or vice. Reading satire, especially Swift’s, can be tricky. First, readers must identify what the author is mocking. Then, they need to discern the underlying message or the ideal standard being implicitly suggested. Good satire doesn’t merely criticize; it also presents an ideal against which the criticized reality can be measured.
Sarcasm as a Satirical Tool
Sarcasm, saying the opposite of what is meant, is a key tool for satirists, often used to criticize. Understanding sarcasm relies on context, tone (in speech), or exaggeration. When Swift suggests in *A Modest Proposal* that poverty in Ireland could be solved by selling poor infants as food for the rich, the sheer extremity of the proposal makes it clear he cannot possibly mean it literally; it’s a savage critique of indifference and exploitation.
Ironic Juxtaposition
Ironic Juxtaposition involves placing something significant next to something trivial, treating them with apparently equal weight. This technique highlights absurdity or misplaced values by creating a stark, often humorous or unsettling, contrast.