Contextualization (J.S) Copy

JONATHAN SWIFT (1667-1745)

HISTORY

Puritan and Restauration Ages (1625-1702)

  • The Civil War (1642-1651) – Oliver Cromwell’s puritans win and establish the Republic (they abolish the monarchy and the House of Lords);
  • The Restauration – the country returns to monarchy.

The Augustan Age (1702-1776)

  • The two-party political system is established;
  • The American Declaration of Independence (1776) disrupts the British colonial expansion system.

ECONOMY AND SOCIETY

Economic boom and mercantilism;

Puritans banned all forms of entertainment;

The Restauration brought things back to normal;

The start of the Industrial Revolution.

IDEOLOGY AND CULTURE:

  • The Enlightenment period is known as The Age of Reason;
  • The extravagance of Renaissance is replaced by Puritan Pragmatism and Morality;
  • Scientific and social revolutions lead to research and innovation and the development of Mathematics, Physics, Medicine, and Astronomy;
  • Philosophers (Th. Hobbes, R. Descartes, J. Locke) spread the idea that reason is the key to understanding the world;
  • The desire for order, clarity, and stability.

THE AUTHOR AND HIS WORK

  • Irish born from English parents;
  • Involved in politics – at first, he supports the Whigs, then joins the Tories, as he is disappointed with the Whigs’ actions;
  • Writes satires on the political and religious corruption surrounding him;
  • Best remembered for his satirical works:

                         “The Battle of Books”

                         “A tale of a Tub”

                         “Gulliver’s Travels”.

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