Swift's Parody (Cambridge Studies in Eighteenth-Century English Literature and Thought) [Hardcover]

Robert Phiddian (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 24, 1995 | ISBN-10: 052147437X | ISBN-13: 978-0521474375

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.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The historical and literary contexts of Swift's early writing are freshly and expertly delineated, and Phiddian has a shrewd eye for illuminating parallel passages in parodic or quasi-parodic relationship." Norman Vance, Times Literary Supplement

"We agree that there is something determinate about the textual conditions of Swift's early prose works that demands analysis....[Phiddian's] attempt to do so is elegant, inventive, and well informed." Eighteenth Century Fiction

Book Description

Jonathan Swift's prose has been discussed extensively as satire, but its major structural element, parody, has not received the attention it deserves. Robert Phiddian employs modern theory, and close attention to cultural context, in order to explore the parody in Swift's early texts, especially A Tale of a Tub. Through this exploration Phiddian throws new light on the development of Swift as a writer, and offers a major contribution both to the theory of parody and to our understanding of late seventeenth and early eighteenth century British culture.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 236 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press (November 24, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 052147437X
• ISBN-13: 978-0521474375
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,439,897 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.