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Jonathan Swift
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A Tale of a Tub (Penguin Great Ideas) New Ed Edition, Kindle Edition

by Jonathan Swift (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
3.4 3.4 out of 5 stars 101 ratings
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Throughout history, some books have changed the world. They have transformed the way we see ourselves - and each other. They have inspired debate, dissent, war and revolution. They have enlightened, outraged, provoked and comforted. They have enriched lives - and destroyed them. Now Penguin brings you the works of the great thinkers, pioneers, radicals and visionaries whose ideas shook civilization, and helped make us who we are.
Previous page
  1. ISBN-13
    978-0141018874
  2. Edition
    New Ed
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publisher
    Penguin
  5. Publication date
    September 2, 2004
  6. Language
    English
  7. File size
    1645 KB
  8. See all details
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Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B004CRSIVA
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Penguin; New Ed edition (September 2, 2004)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ September 2, 2004
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 1645 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 129 pages
  • Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ 1774413531
  • Customer Reviews:
    3.4 3.4 out of 5 stars 101 ratings

About the author

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Jonathan Swift

Jonathan Swift

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Born in 1667, Jonathan Swift was an Irish writer and cleric, best known for his works Gulliver s Travels, A Modest Proposal, and A Journal to Stella, amongst many others. Educated at Trinity College in Dublin, Swift received his Doctor of Divinity in February 1702, and eventually became Dean of St. Patrick s Cathedral in Dublin. Publishing under the names of Lemeul Gulliver, Isaac Bickerstaff, and M. B. Drapier, Swift was a prolific writer who, in addition to his prose works, composed poetry, essays, and political pamphlets for both the Whigs and the Tories, and is considered to be one of the foremost English-language satirists, mastering both the Horatian and Juvenalian styles. Swift died in 1745, leaving the bulk of his fortune to found St. Patrick s Hospital for Imbeciles, a hospital for the mentally ill, which continues to operate as a psychiatric hospital today.

Jonathan Swift(1667 1745), a poet, satirist, and clergyman, published many satirical works, among them A Modest Proposal. Robert DeMaria, Jr. is Henry Noble McCracken Professor of English at Vassar College. He has published widely on seventeenth- and eighteenth-century literature.

Customer reviews

3.4 out of 5 stars
3.4 out of 5
101 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Critical Me
5.0 out of 5 stars Almost the FInest Piece of English Language Prose
Reviewed in the United States on July 5, 2020
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Yes. The late distinguished professor Harold Bloom (Yale) told us that after Shakespeare's plays, THE TALE OF THE TUB is the top of the line in English prose writing. I've read it many times and on each reading discovered something that I had missed before. This satire is maddeningly difficult, but Spinoza had "it" right when he wrote that all noble things are as difficult as they are rare. I cannot name a single commentary or analysis that does justice to the nuances, digressions, plot and subplots that populate this relatively short book. If, however, any reader enjoys challenges and loves grand literature, read and re-read THE TALE OF THE TUB. And so enough.
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Julianne Quaine
3.0 out of 5 stars Perplexing and difficult, but well worth the read
Reviewed in the United States on January 2, 2014
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The Tale of a Tub, a short book, was written by Swift to satirise and parody the poor quality and standard of writing at the beginning of the eighteenth century, religion in its diverse forms, with particular criticism of the more extremist Protestant groups of the time. The book takes the form of a story of three brothers, representing three religions, the papists, the Church of England and puritans and other extreme forms of Protestantism and how each uses their father's inheritance. There are numerous introductions, prefaces, digressions and asides as well as the narrative of the three brothers. In fact the narrative is probably less than half the book. The book was also written as part of an intellectual argument on the worth of ancient knowledge and writing ie Greek, Roman classical compared to modern. While Swift was defending the classics, he has written a modern book which can be seen as a precursor to other modern literature. This is #14 in 1001 books you must read before you die.
2 people found this helpful
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TJC
4.0 out of 5 stars Swift's Satire of Christian Churches
Reviewed in the United States on December 18, 2013
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Like all of Swift's stories this one is built on a brilliant allegorical tale. It is the story of three bothers ( each representing a particular Christian church) receiving as a legacy from their father, a perfect but simple coat ( scripture) with instructions that they will be happy in life if they follow their father's will and leave their coat's unchanged. All three men Peter ( the Catholic Church), Jack ( Puritanism) and Martin ( the Anglican Church) begin in obedience but are eventually led to abandon the terms of the will in pursuit of Money, Pride and Ambition here portrayed as desirable women ( I'm sure modern feminists now see it as another myth from a "dead white guy")

Eventually the fall from grace is compounded by a desire to gain followers by adjusting doctrine to suit people's desires rather than God's, all the while hypocritically justifying each change through their authority as church leaders..

I recommend reading this old tale for its sheer wit and invention while, at the same time, cautioning readers that it is a times tough going. Swift liked to go off on lengthy tangents to satirize practices the modern reader just doesn't recognize. In that sense, it can be frustrating. My advice is to skim those parts until you can return to the basic story. Better yet, if you can find an abridged version, go with that.
8 people found this helpful
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william a Koeber
2.0 out of 5 stars Pontification
Reviewed in the United States on April 29, 2022
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Words, words, words...as though we had nothing better to do than treck through a Forrest of them. Some English humor of which I did not voice much more than a giggle. It seems to be a code for religious practices of the time of which I am not that familiar. It was, however, interesting to experience his style of writing with digressions.
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Phred
1.0 out of 5 stars This is early Johnathan Swift- he did get better
Reviewed in the United States on January 31, 2015
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There is something empowering about panning an official classic author. I tend to buy into the `western canon" but this is substandard writing. The young Swift is given to very long build ups, and weak delivery. The satire lacks bite instead giving rather stock jabs and it appears that Swift got bored with his own major plot.

The tub of the title refers to a tradition I suspect invented by Swift, that whalers would toss a tub into the water in an effort to distract the whale and keep it from attacking the larger ship. The meaning of this invention would seem to be that writers, or at least Swift will toss in various distractions intended to misdirect the reader. It is unclear if this is a condemnation of the reader or a salute to the writer, or as Swift will tend to refer the "wit' of the writer.

The basic structure of the book is actuating sections reading as or labels as introductions and then the main plot story. There are more than one introductions to the story including a rather clever appeal for royal patronage. It is deliberately exaggerated and includes some hope for a satirical book. One of the better arguments for the particular value of the patronage he is petitioning is that the author has surveyed many artists, all of home place themselves as the best judge of art and the unnamed patron as th second best. Swift concludes that being second must mean that you are first. Least you cast this method of analysis aside, it was a very similar argument , made long after Swift, that would clinch the 1860 Republican Presidential nomination for a relatively unknown candidate, Abraham Lincoln.

The story inserted between the upcoming parades of introductions is a relatively flat satire based on a father who leaves as his legacy a fine coat to each of his three sons. The father is clearly meant to be read as God and the Sons the original Catholic Church, the Lutheran Protestants and the Church of England. There is a great deal of talk about salves and treatments and exclusive rights to sell such. By the end of the satire, Swift is merely listing the various religious wars and court intrigues over which would be the favored religion in England. Clearly Swift is too bored with his own invention or in a rush to publish.

Among the chapter introduction is at least one almost clever theory that uses the medical language of the day to indicate that those folks we would label as being `Full of S**T" as suffering from an unrelieved quantity of vapors originating from the lower areas. So not just gas bags, but melodious ones.

Getting to the rare punch lines involves shoveling through a particularly ponderous writing style. I want to believe this is deliberate, meaning another satirical jab directed at the style of his time. Mostly it is just words to no purpose and with no humor.

If you read A Tale of a Tub, perhaps as assigned reading the foot notes will aid comprehension. If you goal is to read Swift books from many parts of his career, that is about the only reason to voluntarily read this book. For the rest, please do not judge Johnathan Swift by A Tale of the Tub.
5 people found this helpful
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Alan M Vanneman
5.0 out of 5 stars Funny stuff!
Reviewed in the United States on June 30, 2017
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Jonathan Swift rocks my world! There's little scholarly apparatus here, just Swift trying to make a name for himself. "When I was a young man, whenever I read a book or saw a play, I thought the whole world was dying to know what I thought of it."
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Marcial Lewin
3.0 out of 5 stars Reading the editor's explanations and foot Notes first make the ...
Reviewed in the United States on October 1, 2014
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Reading the editor's explanations and foot
Notes first make the satire more clear.
Unfortunately they are lumped together at
the end of the Kindle version, not at the.

bottom of each page,making it cumbersome.
One person found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Madhumita
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in India on July 28, 2017
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good read
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Martin Gilloway
5.0 out of 5 stars No comment. Why do I need to fill this out when I have already rated the goods above? The rating should speak for itself.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 24, 2013
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No comment. Why do I need to fill this out when I have already rated the goods above? The rating should speak for itself. Would I buy some more? Yes. There, that should fill up the space.
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1001obsessive
4.0 out of 5 stars Absurdly interesting
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 21, 2019
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Once you have stumbled through the apologies, dedications, addresses and preface, you get to read a very biting satire on organised religion and enjoy the very entertaining 'A Digression in Praise of Digressions'.
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Mukul
4.0 out of 5 stars Four Stars
Reviewed in India on March 10, 2016
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a satire on many issues. Swift being Swift as usual!
One person found this helpful
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Steve G
4.0 out of 5 stars Tough but good
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 24, 2013
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If you're not into 17th/18th century writing this is very tough reading. If you are really interested in the period, then it's worth the effort.
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