Swift wrote many satires and allegories throughout his lifetime, but the most popular was Gulliver’s Travels. Although in its abridged form the book is popular as a classic children’s adventure story, it is actually a biting work of political and social satire by an Anglican priest, historian, and political commentator. Structurally, the book is divided into four separate adventures; or travels, which Dr. Lemuel Gulliver undertakes by accident when his vessel is shipwrecked or taken over by pirates. In these fantastic tales, Swift satirizes the political events in England and Ireland in his day, as well as English values and institutions. He ridicules academics, scientists, and Enlightenment thinkers who value rationalism above all else, and finally, he targets the human condition itself.

Historical Background of Gulliver’s Travels:

The age in which Swift lived is sometimes called the Augustan Age. The period experienced a growing admiration for classical Rome, particularly the reign of Emperor Augustus, among the writers and artists of the time. Satire emerged as a popular literary genre. Writers were satirising the weaknesses of society and politics. This dominant trend of the age influenced Swift too.

The history of Ireland is full of British invasion and oppression. During the reign of Elizabeth, about a hundred years before Swift’s birth, Ireland came completely under English control. But, the difference continued. The religious difference was remarkable. Most of the Irish had remained Roman Catholics after the English went over to Anglican Protestantism in the sixteenth century. Swift’s family was Anglican, and they were part of the elite living in Dublin that was known as “the Ascendancy”, because it included the most powerful people in Ireland.

During the English Civil War, radical English Protestants oppressed the Irish Catholics, depriving them of property and civil rights. The oppression continued even in Swift’s time. Though King James II granted religious freedom to Catholics, Catholics were again deprived of many of their rights when Britain became a limited monarchy under the control of the British Parliament. In England, religious freedom for Protestants who were not Anglicans was limited. Swift protested against many of these limitations of freedom and against commercial restrictions on Ireland.

Two political parties were dominant during Swift’s time – the Whigs, who represented merchants and non-Anglican Protestants called “Dissenters; and the Tories, who wanted to strengthen Parliament represented wealthy landowners, and also wanted to strengthen the Anglican Church and make the King more powerful. Swift, an Anglican dean, was a Tory.

In the eighteenth century, England was fast flourishing economically. The Bank of England was established, trading in stocks and bonds became important, the cities grew, international commerce increased, and the Royal Society was established to conduct scientific research. Swift satirized many of these tendencies in Gulliver’s Travels and elsewhere.

In the field of literature, prose writings, especially travel and adventure stories, were gaining popularity. Novels were often the more fanciful form of literature. Satires were also very popular. Swift, as a writer, was not immune from the dominant trends of his age.