英國文學(xué)Jonathan-swift介紹

JonathanSwift(30November1667–19October1745)柯晨唐思雨邢維敏金晶LifeExperienceContribution:Gulliver’sTravels

AModestProposalLeading

Earlylife

JonathanSwiftwasborninDublin,Ireland,ofapoorfamily,secondchildandonlyson.Hisfatherwasdeadbeforehewasborn,sohewascompelledtoacceptaidfromrelativeswhogaveitgrudgingly.

Earlylife

Throughthegenerosityofununcle,hewaseducatedatKilkennygrammarschoolandthentrinitycollegeinDublin,receivinghisB.A.in1686andM.A.in1692.

Atschoolhewasnotaverygoodstudentandhisteachersnotedhisheadstrongbehavior.

Whentheanti-CatholicRevolutionoftheyear1688arousedreactioninIreland,SwiftmovedtoEnglandtothehouseholdofSirWilliamTempleandworkedasaprivatesecretaryofhimuntil1699SirWilliamTemplepassedaway.

Earlylife

In1699,SwiftreturnedtoIrelandinDublinandbecameapriestnearbyDublin,buthehadtooftengotoLondonbecauseofthechurchaffairs,theninvolvedinthestrugglebetweenWhigsandtheTories.ThoughthighlybytheToriesleaders,heservedaseditorfortheirnewspaperInvestigation.Earlylife

Later

years

Swiftwasverylonely,onlycontactedwithafewfriendsduringhislateryears.Hedonatedonethirdofhissavingsforcharity,anotheronethirdofincomeforthementallydisabled,bulidingaSaintPatrickhospital.

Swiftwastorturedbyillness,however,hestillinsistedonwriting(untildeath),manypeopleeventhoughthehadcompletelycrazy.

In1714Toriesrecededintothebackground,hereturnedtoDublin,Ireland,asadeaninStPatrick'schurch,andbegantostudythecurrentsituationofIreland.

ActivelysupportinganddevotingintothestruggleforIrelandindependenceandfreedombutallhisdreamswereshattered.Earlylife

Later

years

OnOctober19,1745,Swiftdiedattheageof78,buriedinStPatrick'sCathedral.

JonathanSwiftwasanAnglo-Irish

satirist,essayist,politicalpamphleteer,poetandpriest.

SwiftisprobablytheforemostprosesatiristintheEnglishlanguage,andislesswellknownforhispoetry.ContributionGulliver’sTravels

Gulliver’s

Travels,four-partsatiricalnovelbyJonathanSwift,publishedanonymouslyin1726asTravelsintoSeveralRemoteNationsoftheWorld.ThenovelisostensiblythestoryofLemuelGulliver,asurgeonandseacaptainwhovisitsremoteregionsoftheworld.InthebeginningGulliverisshipwreckedonLilliput,wherepeoplearesixinchestall.TheLilliputians’utterlyseriouswars,civilstrife,andvanitiesarehumanfolliessoreducedinscaleastoberenderedridiculous.Gulliver’sTravelsHissecondvoyagetakeshimtoBrobdingnag,wheretherelivesaraceofgiantsofgreatpracticalitywhodonotunderstandabstractions.Gulliver’sthirdvoyagetakeshimtotheflyingislandofLaputaandthenearbycontinentandcapitalofLagado.Therehefindspedantsobsessedwiththeirownspecializedareasofspeculationandutterlyignorantoftherestoflife.AtGlubdubdrib,theIslandofSorcerers,hespeakswithgreatmenofthepastandlearnsfromthemtheliesofhistory.Gulliver’sTravelsHealsomeetstheStruldbrugs,whoareimmortaland,asaresult,utterlymiserable.Intheextremelybitterfourthpart,GullivervisitsthelandoftheHouyhnhnms,araceofintelligent,virtuoushorsesservedbybrutal,filthy,anddegeneratehumanlikecreaturescalledYahoos.Gulliver’sTravelsGulliver’sTravelsGulliver'sTravelshasbeentherecipientofseveraldesignations:fromMenippeansatiretoachildren'sstory,fromproto-ScienceFictiontoaforerunnerofthemodernnovel.MajorThemeMajorThemeOfequalinterestisthecharacterofGulliverhimself—heprogressesfromacheeryoptimistatthestartofthefirstparttothepompousmisanthrope(厭惡人類者)

ofthebook'sconclusionandwemaywellhavetofilterourunderstandingoftheworkifwearetobelievethefinalmisanthropewrotethewholework.InthissenseGulliver'sTravelsisaverymodernandcomplexnovel.Despitethedepthandsubtletyofthebook,itisoftenclassifiedasachildren'sstorybecauseofthepopularityoftheLilliputsectionasabookforchildren.“AModestProposal”isthebestandmostfamouspoliticalsatireofJonathanSwift,writtenin1929whenhewasDeanofSt.Patrick’sCathedral,Dublin.SelectedReading—“AModestProposal”Backgroundinformation:UnderthecrueloppressionofEnglishgovernmentandIrishlandlords,theIrishpoorthenlivedinextrememisery:beggars,thieves,andstarvingpeoplecouldbefoundeverywhereinthecountry.Backgroundinformation:Inthissituation,variousproposalsweremadebythe“projectors”oftherulingclass,aboutoverpopulation,unemployment,andotherproblems,onlytomakepoorpeople’slifeevenmoremiserable.Inindignation,Swift,intheguiseofaneconomic“projectors”wrotethispamphlet,quietlyrecommendingthatitwouldbemorehumanetobreedupthepoor’schildrenasfoodfortherich.ThepamphletshowedSwift’sstrongsympathyforthepoor,hiscondemnationontherulingclassandthelandlords,aswellashismaster-handinwritingsatires.Question:

Whatisthemelancholyobject,accordingtoSwift,whenpeoplewentthroughthecountry?"Itisamelancholyobjecttothosewhowalkthroughthisgreattownortravelinthecountrywhentheyseethestreets,roads,andcabindoorscrowdedwithbeggarsofthefemalesex,followedbythree,four,orsixchildren,allinrags,andimportuningeverypassengerforanalms."Inviewoftheproblemthatparentscouldn’taffordtoraisetheirchildren,JonathanSwiftpresentsinaveryseriousmannerwithfactsandfiguresandveryrefineddictionafair,cheapandeasymethodofmakingthesechildrensoundusefulmembersofthecommonwealth.twohundredthousandcouplethirtythousandcouple:abletomaintaintheirchildrenfiftythousand:miscarry;diebyaccidentordiseasetwentythousand:reservedforbreed-theremaininghundredthousandTheremaininghundredthousandmay,atayearold,beofferedinthesaletothepersonsofqualityandfortunethroughthekingdom.Sixadvantages:

First,itwilldecreasethenumberofdangerousCatholics.Second,itwillgivethepoorsomeproperty.Third,itwillincreasethenation’soverallwealth,sincepeoplewillnothavetopayfortheupkeepofthechildren.Question:

Whatistheproposal?Whattodowiththeremaininghundredthousand?Fourth,themotherswillbefreeoftheburdenofbringingupchildren.Fifth,thenewfoodw