Swift; a Collection of Critical Essays, Volume 8

Twentieth century critics have rediscovered in Jonathan Swift an outspoken commentary on the complex and ultimately unsolvable mystery of human nature. The essays collected here document the process of the reversal which has rescued Swift from the disgust and near-hatred of earlier readers. Several paths to re-evaluation are followed by these critics. Through careful research they uncover the facts of Swift's political and social involvement and his part in the philosophical battles of his age. Their efforts reveal and artist who transcended the ordinary, who recast the moral climate of an age into the allegorical voyages of Lemuel Gulliver. The second part is an analysis of Swift's method. A third approach considers each part of Swift's masterpiece in the context of the whole oeuvre and the whole man. Is Gulliver Swift? Do the Yahoos really represent mankind? Is Houyhnhnmland really the perfect society? The critical reinstatement of a great author is a dramatic process and one that illuminates modern criticism at its creative best. -- From publisher's description.