Jonathan Swift

The Very Reverend Jonathan Swift
Portrait by Charles Jervas, 1710
Born	(1667-11-30)30 November 1667 Dublin, Ireland
Died	19 October 1745(1745-10-19) (aged 77) Dublin, Ireland
Pen name	Isaac Bickerstaff M. B. Drapier Lemuel Gulliver Simon Wagstaff Esq.
Occupation	Writer poet political pamphleteer priest
Language	Modern English
Education	B.A.
Alma mater	Trinity College, Dublin
Period	18th century
Genres	Satire parable polemic novel essay poetry correspondence other
Subjects	Religion politics other
Literary movement	Classicism Enlightenment
Years active	From 1696
Notable works	A Tale of a Tub Drapier's Letters Gulliver's Travels A Modest Proposal
Partner	Esther Johnson (?)
Signature

Jonathan Swift (30 November 1667 – 19 October 1745) was an Anglo-Irish^[1] writer who became Dean of St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin,^[2] hence his common sobriquet, "Dean Swift".

Swift is remembered for works such as A Tale of a Tub (1704), An Argument Against Abolishing Christianity (1712), Gulliver's Travels (1726), and A Modest Proposal (1729). He is regarded by the Encyclopædia Britannica as the foremost prose satirist in the English language.^[1] He originally published all of his works under pseudonyms—including Lemuel Gulliver, Isaac Bickerstaff, M. B. Drapier—or anonymously. He was a master of two styles of satire, the Horatian and Juvenalian styles.

His deadpan, ironic writing style, particularly in A Modest Proposal, has led to such satire being subsequently termed "Swiftian".^[3]