Book description
Shipwrecked and cast adrift, Lemuel Gulliver wakes to find himself on
Lilliput, an island inhabited by little people, whose height makes their
quarrels over fashion and fame seem ridiculous. His subsequent
encounters - with the crude giants of Brobdingnag, the philosophical
Houyhnhnms and brutish Yahoos - give Gulliver new, bitter insights into
human behaviour. Swift's savage satire views mankind in a distorted hall
of mirrors as a diminished, magnified and finally bestial species,
presenting us with an uncompromising reflection of ourselves.
Anglo-Irish poet, satirist and clergyman, Jonathan Swift (1667-1745),
was born in Dublin to English parents. He embarked on a career as
diplomatic secretary and became increasingly involved in politics. He
published many satirical works of verse and prose, including 'A Tale
of a Tub', 'A Modest Proposal', and 'Gulliver's Travels'.
Robert DeMaria, Jr. is Henry Noble MacCracken Professor of English
at Vassar College, New York. He has published widely on 17th and 18th
century literature.
