Jonathan Swift's prose has been discussed extensively as satire, but its major structural element, parody, has not received the attention it deserves. Focusing mainly on works before 1714, and especially on A Tale of a Tub, this study explores Swift's writing primarily as parody. Robert Phiddian follows the constructions and deconstructions of textual authority through the texts on cultural-historical, biographical, and literary-theoretical levels. The historical interest lies in the occasions of the parodies: in their relations with the texts and discourses which they quote and distort, and in the way this process reflects on the generation of cultural authority in late Stuart England. The biographical interest lies in a new way of viewing Swift's early career as a potentially Whiggish intellectual. The theoretical and interpretative interest lies in tracing the play of language and irony through parody.

An exploration of parody in Swift's early prose, and in textual and cultural developments in Swift's Britain.
Reviews
'Robert Phiddian's ferociously intelligent book ... is based on a strenuous, witty, and good-tempered engagement with a very wide range not only of primary but also of secondary writings.' The Review of English Studies



Book Information
ISBN 9780521474375
Author Robert Phiddian
Format Hardback
Page Count 236
Imprint Cambridge University Press
Publisher Cambridge University Press
Weight(grams) 535g
Dimensions(mm) 236mm * 158mm * 22mm