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Foreshadowing
Genre
Explanation and Analysis:
Gulliver's Travels was published during the Augustan literary period, which began in Britain during the reign of Queen Anne and ended during the reign of King George II. The term "Augustan" is drawn from the essay Epistle to Augustus by the great British poet and satirist Alexander Pope. In this essay, which is an imitation of a work by the Ancient Roman poet and satirist Horace, Pope compares his own age to that of Augustus, during which poetry became more political and satirical than it had been during the reign of Julius Caesar. The Augustan era in Britain, by contrast, featured the development of the novel as well as the evolution of drama and poetry, but it is mainly remembered as a golden age of prose satire. Although several British writers, including Pope, produced satire during this period, many scholars agree that Jonathan Swift was the era's most influential satirist. His ironic, superficially calm style and biting criticism of human society set the standard for all other satire produced during this era.
Gulliver's Travels, which utilizes humor, irony, and sarcasm to ridicule and criticize its targets, is a quintessential example of the satirical genre, which is often divided into two main categories: Horatian satire and Juvenalian satire. Horatian satire, which is named for Horace, is a gentler and more comic form of satire that pokes fun at common flaws in human beings in order to provide readers with entertainment and insight. Juvenalian satire, named for renowned Roman satirist Juvenal, uses irony to criticize public figures, and its tone is more hostile and less comic than than of Horatian satire.
Gulliver's Travels shares characteristics with both forms. The novel's humorous tone is reminiscent of Horatian satire, but its biting critique of specific figures and events in European politics makes it similar to Juvenalian satire. The novel likely falls into the lesser known category of Menippean satire, which critiques mental attitudes rather than specific individuals or entities. Although Swift does frequently poke fun at specific people, most notably his own political enemies, the novel ultimately serves as a broader critique of human vanity. Like most classical satire, Swift's novel also contains no clearly-defined moral or lesson.
In terms of genre, Gulliver's Travels can also be categorized as a parody: a work that mimics the style of another work, artist, or genre in an exaggerated, comedic fashion. The novel's style skillfully imitates that of the travel narrative, a literary subgenre made popular in 18th-century Britain by diaries and personal accounts by explorers like Captain James Cook and William Dampier. Gulliver's Travels contains numerous explicit references to these works, which, despite being presented as truthful accounts, were often seriously embellished or exaggerated. In his novel, which combines the style of a maritime diary with outrageous fiction, Swift satirizes the dishonesty of travel writers as well as the gullibility of English readers.
