Comedy and Madness in Swift: The Idiosyncrasies of Lemuel Gulliver

Emelia Hamilton-Russell

Abstract


Jonathan Swift has gone down in popular and theoretical history as both a visionary satirist and a confirmed misanthrope. This paper will revisit and challenge the latter assignation by questioning whether the protagonist in Swifts seminal workGullivers Travelsis, as is often supposed, a human instrument used to further Swifts own misanthropic agenda.

By engaging withtheories of humour, comedy, and affect, the paper argues thatGulliver is neither wholly psychologically real nora mere vehicle for misanthropy. He is, instead, a caricature; an exaggeration of an English coloniser endowed with considerable flaws. Seen in this light, it becomes clear that Gullivers misanthropy is used for comedic effect, and not with the intention of infecting the reader with the same disdain for humanity.

Through this close analysis of the character of Lumuel Gulliver, the paper reemphasises what critics often lose in a reading which presupposes that Gulliver is a mouthpiece or spokesperson for Swift; namely thatGullivers Travelsis hilarious, and can be read as a light-hearted, joyful, and, in some ways, affectionate ridicule of the human condition.


Keywords


Comedy; Swift; Madness; Dramatis Persona; Gulliver; Satire; Humour; Travel; Misanthropy; Caricature

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References


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