Author and the Book

Author

Jonathan Swift (30 November 1667 – 19 October 1745), born in Dublin, is one of the most well known satirist, essayist, and political pamphleteer of the eighteenth century England. He studied at Kilkenny College and graduated from the Trinity College, Dublin.

He began his career by working as a diplomat and writer to William Temple at Moor Park. From 1696 to 1699, Swift came up with his two major works, A Tale of a Tub and The Battle of the Books. He also wrote several essays, poetry and pamphlets.

Published in 1726, Gulliver’s Travels is a satire. In this book, Swift satirises politics and human nature of the people in the English society in the eighteenth century. His work is a classic and still remains the most widely discussed work of his times.

At its first reading, Gulliver’s Travels may seem to be a simple travelogue amalgamated with fantastical events, but it is an acute satire on the lust of power of the English to acquire unknown lands. Set in the 1700s, it attacks the politics, religion, morality and human nature of the English. It presents a parody of travel tales and satirises human nature and colonialism with its witty use of slapstick and humour.

In the novel, Gulliver is a learned surgeon who gives an acco…