Jonathan Swift, A Tale of a Tub

Liam Lenihan (Independent Scholar - Europe)

Ed. by Ian Campbell Ross, Trinity College Dublin
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.05: English Writing and Culture from the Glorious Revolution to the French Revolution, 1689-1789.
Vol. editors: Paul Baines (University of Liverpool), Daniel Cook (University of Dundee), Pat Rogers (University of South Florida), Nicholas Seager (University of Keele)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1704

Places

Ireland, Republic of (Eire) (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Satire

Resources

Jonathan Swift’s A Tale of a Tub is an exuberant satire on modern reading and writing, an allegory about political and religious fanaticism, and a witty play on classical and Renaissance sources, notably Irenaeus’ Adversus Haereses (Against Heresies c. 180) and Erasmus’ In Praise of Folly (1509). Irenaeus was an early Christian bishop who challenged the mysticism of the Gnostics who willfully perverted the canonical texts of the faith, notably the Old and New Testament.

Using the persona of an unnamed Grub Street hack, Swift narrates a tale but continually interrupts it with digressions about the mechanics of the story itself. The main subject of the work appears to be an allegorical tale a…

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4014 words

Citation: Lenihan, Liam. "A Tale of a Tub". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 20 September 2010 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=6945, accessed 19 April 2024.]

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