The Satire of Jonathan Swift

Paper Summary:

The writer discusses the way in which Swift used a variety of satirical techniques, such as incongruity, sarcasm and exaggeration, in order to capture the deception of almanac-makers and astrologists who pretended to make accurate predictions of the forthcoming year in their annual publications. The paper brings examples from Swift's works to illustrate how his satire was successful through the use of realism.

From the Paper:

"A versatile satirist, Swift considered it his duty to attack signs of "sin and folly" (qtd. in Mayhew 271). In "Predictions," under the guise of his creation, Mr. Bickerstaff, Swift pinpointed the vagueness and ambivalence of the almanac-makers' predictions that could be interpreted as accurate in any circumstance. For example, according to Bickerstaff, a prediction such as "This Month a certain great Person will be threatened with Death, or Sickness," did not require any astrological skills since there were many old distinguished people who were bound to die during the "sickliest Season of the Year" (Swift 427). Furthermore, it is also likely that Swift targeted the almanac-makers because of their important position in the eyes of rich and prominent Gentlemen in the country. These gentlemen who held the reins of power in Parliament actually anticipated the occurrences of public events by using these almanacs. Others allowed their engagements to be dictated by the predictions (Swift 427)."

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