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Chapter 36 - Science

from Part VI - Social and Intellectual Topics

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 May 2024

By
Gregory Lynall
Edited by
Joseph Hone  and
Pat Rogers
Joseph Hone
Affiliation:
University of Newcastle upon Tyne
Pat Rogers
Affiliation:
University of South Florida
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Summary

Swift was not the first satirist and parodist to explore science and its texts and technologies, but his works demonstrated an acute sophistication in how they assimilated and imaginatively transformed natural knowledge, as often a vehicle as a target of satire, and with a recognition of science’s increasing cultural power. The first section of this chapter reconstructs the sources and systems that influenced Swift’s allusions to contemporary science, and how they shaped his early prose. The second section looks at the influence of the Royal Society’s Philosophical Transactions and other scientific and ethnographic writings on the third voyage of Gulliver’s Travels.

Keywords

Jonathan Swiftsciencesatire
Type
Chapter
Information
Jonathan Swift in Context , pp. 287 - 294
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2024

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  • Science
  • Edited by Joseph Hone, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, Pat Rogers, University of South Florida
  • Book: Jonathan Swift in Context
  • Online publication: 02 May 2024
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108917254.044
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  • Science
  • Edited by Joseph Hone, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, Pat Rogers, University of South Florida
  • Book: Jonathan Swift in Context
  • Online publication: 02 May 2024
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108917254.044
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Science
  • Edited by Joseph Hone, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, Pat Rogers, University of South Florida
  • Book: Jonathan Swift in Context
  • Online publication: 02 May 2024
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108917254.044
Available formats
×