A Tale of Tub by Johnathan Swift

1. A TALE OF A TUB
By Jonathan Swift
Manshi (A50610318010)
Chestha (A50610318012)
Shruti Pandey (A50610318008)
M.A (H) ENGLISH

2. Jonathan Swift: 1667-1745
• Born in Dublin, Ireland.
• At 19, he was employed by Sir William Temple, a powerful English statesman.
• Tutored 8-year-old Esther “Stella” Johnson.
• Developed Ménière’s Syndrome, a disturbance of the inner ear.; aphasia
• 1694: Became Deacon and later Priest in Dublin
• 1696: Returned to Temple’s service. Temple died in1699. Swift held series of clerical jobs in Ireland.
• 1704: Wrote Tale of the Tub: satire on corruptions in religion and learning. Also Battle of the Books, a mock-
epic on the debate between Ancients and Moderns.
• 1696: Returned to Temple’s service. Temple died in1699. Swift held series of clerical jobs in Ireland.
• 1704: Wrote Tale of the Tub: satire on corruptions in religion and learning. Also Battle of the Books, a
mock-epic on the debate between Ancients and Moderns.
• 1707: Involved with The Tatler. Uses pseudonym Issac Bickerstaff.
• 1720: Involved with Irish causes.
• 1729: Wrote “A Modest Proposal.”
• 1726: Wrote Gulliver’s Travels.
• 1742: Established site for insane asylum (St. Patrick’s Hospital).
• Never married, despite lifelong affair w/ ‘Stella’.

3. Literary Style
• Was considered Britain’s greatest satirist
• Famous as Irish poet, pamphleteer, satirist and wit
• Educated at Trinity College
• Achieved literary fame and high standing in the Church
• Wanted a political career but never achieved it
• Was Dean of St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Dublin for 30yrs
• Considered master of Horatian & Juvenalian satire
• Favorite literary weapon was IRONY
• Considered a master of clear and simple writing
• Buried in Ireland as an Irish patriot St. Patrick’s Cathedral
in Dublin

4. Other Traits
• He’s also
• highly scatological
• misogynist
• which I think is less a hatred of women
and more his general dislike of
stupidity and grossness, though he
probably had some sexual hang-ups,
as we’d say today
• Representative of his works.
• Scatological
• Poking fun at people
• Sees the darker side
• He’s certainly not a cheerful writer

5. A Tale of a Tub
• First major work written by Jonathan Swift.
• Swift's least classifiable work and most difficult satire.
• Published anonymously.
• It drives readers a little mad.
• And it’s a perfect example of Swift's devastating intellect at work.
• By its end, little seems worth believing in.

6. From 1710, the
cover of the 5th
edition of Tale of a
Tub. This is a very
typical pamphlet
cover page.

7. Significance of the title
• Jonathan Swift explained that it derived
from a maritime tradition in which sailors,
when threaten by a whale, would throw an
empty tub to divert it from attacking their
ship.
• Symbolically, the whale was Thomas
Hobbes's Leviathan.
• Swift's tub is intended to distract Hobbes
and other critics of the church and
government from picking holes in their
weak points.

8. Seamen meet a
whale to throw out
an empty tub to
divert it from
attacking their ship.

9. Introduction
• The Tale is a prose parody, which is divided up into sections of "digression" and
"tale.“
• The sections of the “Tale” alternate between the main allegory about Christian
history and ironic “Digressions” on modern scholarship.
• “Tale” - satirizes religious excess.
• “Digressions” - series of parodies of contemporary writing in literature, politics,
theology, Biblical exegesis, and medicine.
• The overarching parody is of enthusiasm, pride, and credulity.”

10. Tale’s Allegory
• Concerns three brothers.
• Each represents one of the primary
branches of Christianity in the west.
• Peter (oldest) represents for the Roman
Catholic Church.
• Martyn (middle born) represent the Church of
England and Lutherans.
• Jack (youngest) represents Protestant
churches or Dissenters.

11. More Symbols
• The brothers have inherited three
coats
• representing religious practice
• From their father
• representing God
• They have his will to guide them.
• representing the Bible

12. Lack of Unity
• 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.
• Peter upgrades his garments with gold lace, shoulder
knots, and such trappings. Martin removes the false
ornamentation from his without tearing the cloth. Jack
zealously rips his garment to shreds to get rid of all
ornament.
• The allegory of the narrative is supposed to be an
apology for the British church’s (MARTYN) refusal to alter
its practice in accordance with Puritan (JACK) demands
and its continued resistance to alliance with the Roman
church (PETER).

13. Satire
• 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.
• “A Tale” - more obvious satire is that on abuses in religion.
• Religious satire works through the allegory of the three brothers: Martin, Peter, and Jack.
• ‘Digressions’ -a satire on modern learning and print culture
• Tub 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.
• One of the attacks in the tale was on those who believe that being readers of works makes
them the equals of the creators of works.

14. Novel Work (But Not a Novel!)
• Swift more or less invents prose parody.
• the definition he offers is arguably a parody of John Dryden (a cousin)
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.
• The 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.

15. THANK YOU