A Tale of a Tub (Masterplots, Revised Second Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Jonathan Swift
- First Published: 1704
- Type of Work: Satire
- Principal Characters: Peter, Martin, Jack
- Genres: Long fiction, Satire, Parody
- Subjects: Religion, England or English people, Eighteenth century, Seventeenth century, Christianity, Wit or humor, Catholics or Catholic Church, Pretensions, Protestantism or Protestant churches, Sects
- Locales: England
The Story:
A Tale of a Tub has been called the greatest of English satires. The point is debatable, but the work is surely a most spirited, complex, and amusing contribution to this genre. Jonathan Swift was also to show his satirical genius in Gulliver’s Travels (1726) and in his famous essay, “A Modest Proposal” (1729), advocating the eating of infants.
Satire is written when an author wishes to attack something. Swift spent a lifetime attacking the pretensions and stupidity of the world around him. His main object in A Tale of a Tub, he...
[The entire page is 1970 words long]
Join eNotes
Over 3,500 study guides, question and answer forums, literature criticism, reference content, and much more!
Navigate
See Also
