Talk:Jonathan Swift

message: Can anybody confirm my guess, that the word from Gulliver's Travels was used on purpose for the name of the www portal?
Thank you.
Erichkleibl (talk) 21:01, 20 July 2013 (UTC)
thread_title:  Yahoo 

message: I have significantly revised and expanded the Writings section.  This includes establishing categories (Major Prose, Essays etc., Poems, Sermons & Prayers, Miscellany), and greatly expanding the number of Swift's works listed, and providing external links to most of those works where possible.  I also corrected some of the dates.  The sheer breadth of links may be an issue--do you think there are too many?  Should we stick to Swift's most important works and provide links to general collections only?  I thought about doing this, but Swift texts are so scattered all over the internet one must do a great deal of textual sleuthing just to find a few different works.  I thought it would be apropos to offer a more centralized listing.  If someone disagrees please say so.  I plan to revise some parts of the biography in the future as well, focusing on documentation.  *Note: the revision is logged under 65.151.124.216 but it's mine: I forgot to log on prior to submitting it. TickleText 17:04, 17 November 2005 (UTC)
thread_title:  Changes to the Writings Section 

message: "He soon, however, obtained the living of Laracor, Agher, and Rathbeggan..." 
Might be good to clue readers what a "prebend" is too -- some specific kind of religious venue? Milo 08:03, 3 January 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  What's this mean? 

message: Was his satirical writing instrumental in obtaining legislation, social reform, or other change? I read somewhere an account answering this question, but couldn't find it again. Milo 08:03, 3 January 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Was Swift's political satire politically effective? 

message: some people think that he was just a good writer but he was even better than people think he had written alot of books,poems, prayers and things like that most people don't care about other than writers. Also his satirical writing instrumental in obtaining legislation, social reform, or other change? I read somewhere an account answering this question, but couldn't find it again.
 
-------------------
I think it would be hard to assess his actual impact on the political scene of his time...he was more of a
political pampleteer, supporting causes where others were the primary actors.  One case where he may
be generally credited for effecting a change in policy is his "Drapier's Letters".  Public opinion was already
against the contract for the new coinage, but Swift provided a rallying point that helped force the 
withdrawal of the proposal.   Here is one eminent opinion:
"Swift must be allowed for a time, to have dictated the political opinions of the English nation." Dr. Johnson [as quoted by Thackeray, The English Humourists]
As to his quality of his writing, here's a few good quotes:
"pray forgive an admirer of you, who ows to yr writings the love he bears to yr language..." Voltaire, letter to Swift, 14 December 1727
"One can only repeat what Scott says somewhere about Swift's style, perhaps the purest and strongest we have in the language. "Swift's style," said Scott, "seems so simple that one would think any child might write as he does, and yet if we try we find to our despair that it is impossible." XVI. Webster. ¤ 7. Webster's Developed Style. The Cambridge History of English and American Literature. 1907-21.  http://www.bartleby.com/226/0707.html
"Swift's style is, in its line, perfect; the manner is a complete expression of the matter, the terms appropriate, and the artifice concealed. It is simplicity in the true sense of the word." Samuel Coleridge, Lecture on Style, 1818
"No better style in English prose was ever written, or can be," William Dean Howells, "Preface," Gulliver's Travels, 1913. [quoted by Noel Perrin, Dr. Bowdler's Legacy. New York : Atheneum, 1969, p. 224.]
"... Swift, the greatest writer of English prose, and the greatest man who has ever written great English prose..." T.S. Eliot, Clark Lectures, 1926 in The Varieties of Metaphysical Poetry. Faber & Faber, 1993
Ldjaffe 22:02, 14 April 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Jon Swift 

message: Hi, I would like to add an external link to the World of Biography entry
*  probably the most famous portal of biography to this article. Does anybody have any objections?
-------------------
I took a look and it's a pretty poor biography... full of odd bits and pieces and badly in need of 
some copy editing ("Tripple Alliance").
There are plenty of better examples with some authority.  One I recommend is from his alma mater at Oxford:
http://alumniweb.hertford.ox.ac.uk/main/index.php?option=displaypage&Itemid=67&op=page&SubMenu=
Others include
Encyclopedia Britannica
http://www.britannica.com/ebc/article-9380006?query=jonathan%20swift&ct=
St. Patrick's Cathedral
http://www.stpatrickscathedral.ie/History_07_swift.htm
The History Channel
http://www.historychannel.com/thcsearch/thc_resourcedetail.do?encyc_id=223501
Ldjaffe 22:03, 14 April 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: please do not add this to the article, and please read the incident report before giving the go-ahead.  This is spam and not link-worthy under WP:EL; the articles contain many distortions, lack citations, and contain nothing that wouldn't fit directly in the wiki article.  a link to worldofbiography has been placed on over 70 talk pages by User:Jameswatt.  thanks.  --He:ah? 20:57, 15 April 2006 (UTC)
thread_title: link

message: The Works section is a mess.  Whoever wrote it seems very disrespectful of his subject, whom he insists on referring to as "Jonathan" rather than the more appropriate "Swift".  I've deleted the redundant and sloppy biographical material that was there, but it requires a thorough going-over before it can be considered worthwhile.  Ldjaffe 06:20, 16 April 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: I've taken a pass at cleaning up the Works section...I incorporated the "second version" into the first, since it's confusing to have two different Works sections.  I think it's more encyclopedic to have one section that we can fix than to try to maintain two parallel and competing sections. Fumblebruschi 23:00, 29 November 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Works 

message: Why is everything so ridiculously confused here? Even the talk page is screwy. Fearwig 14:16, 1 May 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: Welcome to Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit. Jump in, Fearwig. Rizzleboffin 15:55, 1 May 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Absolute mess 

message: As it says in the main body of the text. Printed in 1720'sm, there was at such a time no such thing as a 'children's book', it is a fairly recent (i.e. 19th or 20th C) construction. 'Confusion' may arise because there is an 'edited' children's edition that is largely divorced from Swift's original work. 
Tsop 00:26, 27 July 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: The edited version is fairly recent, and I believe it removes the latter half of the book (along with some adult-themed events, such as Gulliver's encounters with the maids of honor... but I shan't go into that.) I daresay that Gulliver's Travels is absolutely not a childrens' book. 12.157.120.212 (talk) 23:19, 4 December 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  Gulliver's Travels NOT a children's book (or considered one) 

message: Their is a road named after him in Dublin , i feel this should be mentioned but couldnt really find a suitible place to add it (Gnevin 18:00, 27 September 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Road 

message: The term "Anglo-" is being abused in a lot of introductions. Given that the term can be confusing, it is not a nationality and is basically obsolete in this sense, it's not needed as an intro..he is shown to be of English origin later in the text. Furthermore, if we are to put "Anglo" in front of every person who has English origin in the intro, we should have balance and equality and use "British-Irish" in the intros of millions of people born in Britain with Irish blood or origin, which I think is also unnecessary.
Well said maybe the Beatles and Oasis should be cited as Hiberno-Saxon if people continue to use the term Anglo-Irish.
: Is there any proof that any of the members of the Beatles actually had any Saxon ancestry at all? After all, while the Saxons had a huge cultural impact on England, they apparently had comparatively little genetic influence on the English (5% at most?). --98.122.20.56 (talk) 17:04, 30 October 2016 (UTC)
thread_title:  Anglo- 

message: This may not be following the "Be Bold" theory of Wikipedia, but a question:
The link to Modern satire in the style of Jonathan Swift (at http://www.swiftonia.com/) shows a website with a forum on it.  In this forum are all of nine posts across nine topics.. and a sum total of, you guessed it, nine members.  Since very little of the website even relates to Swift - more than half being forum rules, one being a verbatim copy of A Modest Proposal, another a copy of this Wikipedia article - I don't think it has much use in this article.  Only two items on the forums even vaguely fit the category of "modern satire in the style of Swift."  Thus, I'd suggest removing it.  Barring anyone else bolder than I or a cogent argument for keeping it, I'll probably do so in the future.
Shigernafy 06:36, 16 April 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: I'd go ahead and remove it. Guliolopez 10:11, 16 April 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  External Links question 

message: I've only read his poetry so am no expert, but I got the impression Swift was also a novelist who wrote novels. The word novel does not appear in the text of the article, neither does novelist. If I am right, I think someone should add such terms where appropriate, eg in the very first sentence. Tommy-Chivs 14:51, 15 July 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Novel, novelist? 

message: Did Swift actually publish ALL of his works under pseudonyms? Even Modest Proposal? This is a question, not a point of Error.  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 132.206.33.27 (talk) 21:45, 19 November 2007 (UTC)
thread_title: Pseudonyms?

message: Just as an addition, it has been found that Swift had what is known today as Meniere's Syndrome, a disease of the inner ear which causes nausea, dizziness, temporary deafness, and extreme pain. This is what was thought to be insanity for a long time. In 1740 he suffered a paralytic stroke that caused aphasia and loss of memory. In 1742 he was declared incapable of caring for himself and was appointed guardians, he died 3 years later. I realize some of that is in the article, but I'm expounding upon most of it.Gotmesomepants (talk) 02:26, 5 December 2007 (UTC)
thread_title: His supposed insanity

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thread_title:  FAR notice 

message: Recently the file :File:Jonathan Swift by Francis Bindon.jpg (right) was uploaded and it appears to be relevant to this article and not currently used by it. If you're interested and think it would be a useful addition, please feel free to include it. I also placed a new lead image. Dcoetzee 02:55, 24 April 2009 (UTC)
replies: text: That's a really awful painting. Best not use it, we have enough. --Nutthida (talk) 21:30, 17 December 2011 (UTC)
thread_title:  New file [[:File:Jonathan Swift by Francis Bindon.jpg]] 

message: The Esther Vanhomrigh article describes her as Swift's lover. This article is less forthright. -- Beardo (talk) 15:37, 23 August 2009 (UTC)
thread_title:  Esther Vanhomrigh 

message: I have heard that Swift was an agelast, one who has no sense of humour, (greek for inability to laugh). This is perhaps trivial but interesting due to Swift's satire (which shows he had empathy). Is this true? Can someone who is knowledgeable of Swift please confirm or deny this, and if it is true it should be added to the article with a reliable source.
Thank you ````  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 203.214.35.144 (talk) 14:13, 1 June 2010 (UTC)
thread_title:  Swift sense of Humour? 

message: Link at bottom under "E-texts of works" includes a link "jeffebros" which was probably legit but obviously sold out to commercial interests, Remove?  —Preceding unsigned comment added by Dcalvitti (talk • contribs) 12:43, 2 July 2010 (UTC)
thread_title:  Commercial link 

message: Could you add in that Abigail Herrick was born in Wigston Magna, Leicestershire?
MrAvoncroft (talk) 20:46, 13 July 2010 (UTC)
thread_title:  Edit request from MrAvoncroft, 13 July 2010 

message: Please change: "Inserted into this story, in alternating chapters, Swift includes a series of whimsical "digressions" on various subjects." to "Inserted into this story, in alternating chapters, the narrator (or if you prefer, author) includes a series of whimsical "digressions" on various subjects.":  It seems unsupportable, given Swift's career of communicating through satirical personae, to assume that a Tale of a Tub, with its strange diversions from the 'parable', can really be associated with Swift. It would probably be both safer and more accurate to treat the work as another satire and attribute the words to one of his characters?
Taj2108 (talk) 00:44, 23 July 2010 (UTC)
replies: text: Done Dabomb87 (talk) 01:20, 23 July 2010 (UTC)
thread_title:  Edit request from Taj2108, 23 July 2010 

message: The links to Swift's biography that lead to JaffeBros are dead; the domain seems to be vacated entirely.  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 149.161.9.97 (talk) 18:25, 14 April 2011 (UTC)
thread_title:  Biography link 

message: Anglo-Irish was the term for a social class, it is not a nationality, so why is being used in the lede instead of his nationality? Sheodred (talk) 22:52, 17 November 2011 (UTC)
replies: text: Because it's an accurate descriptor of his cultural identity. Ivor Stoughton (talk) 23:42, 17 November 2011 (UTC)
replies: text: Cultural identity is not nationality. It lists him as Irish here under the same site http://www.britannica.com/bps/search?query=Jonathan+Swift</ref> Sheodred (talk) 23:51, 17 November 2011 (UTC)
replies: text: Indeed, cultural identity is much more complex than nationality and tells us rather more about an individual. Ivor Stoughton (talk) 23:58, 17 November 2011 (UTC)
replies: text: Swift had a deep love of Ireland and most certainly saw it as his homeland. I have no problem with this, however, I have changed the source, the EB search query lists him as Irish but the main article lists him as Anglo-Irish. Weird. --Nutthida (talk) 21:10, 17 December 2011 (UTC)
thread_title: Anglo-Irish

message: I currently have an 1872 copy of Gulliver's travels which, at the end of a long and illustrated memoir to Swift, claims he died in 1744, not 1745. It still has his birth-date as 1667. Is this just a matter of date formatting, or a simple error in my lovely old copy? OR is the article wrong? :( --Nutthida (talk) 21:55, 3 January 2012 (UTC)
thread_title:  1744 OS? Error? My copies fault? 

message: Section Works, sub-section "Essays, tracts, pamphlets, periodicals". The link on the second from last bullet point is said to lead to Swift's essay "An Essay on the Fates of Clergymen", when it actually leads to a SCAM website. Please remove or replace this misleading link.
Now I have just noticed that the article has about 6 commercial links, they all go by the name "JaffeBros". Remove anyone?  — Preceding unsigned comment added by Victor N. (talk • contribs) 11:38, 4 April 2012 (UTC)
thread_title: Misleading link(s)

message: The modest proposal link provided in the reference section is broken. It can be replaced with this: http://www.gutenberg.org/files/1080/1080-h/1080-h.htm  — Preceding unsigned comment added by Brwnpaprbg (talk • contribs) 02:39, 29 October 2012 (UTC)
thread_title: Bad Link

message: I understand this has been protected non-stop for more than four years. Why so long and is it not time to open it again? --86.40.106.153 (talk) 06:31, 3 May 2013 (UTC)
thread_title: Non-stop protection

message: In the intro, it tells that Swift has published under pseudonyms, one of which is "T Swizzle", a nickname for not Jonathan Swift, rather Taylor Swift. This is a blatant falsehood that someone added as a joke. Please change it.
Jwerbs1217 (talk) 02:45, 6 January 2015 (UTC)
replies: text: Thank you -- Paulscrawl (talk) 03:45, 6 January 2015 (UTC)
thread_title:  Semi-protected edit request on 6 January 2015 

message: The creation of incoming pseudonym redirects S. P. A. M., S. P. A. M, S.P.A.M., and S.P.A.M lead to  for a WP:RS for the source of this information.  In response Wikipedia editor  provided:
* 
—Sladen (talk) 19:54, 10 August 2015 (UTC)
thread_title:  S.P.A.M. 

message: Substituted at 20:28, 29 April 2016 (UTC)
thread_title: Assessment comment

message: Afaik Swift invented the name Vanessa, but there is no real mention about this (act of inventing) in the article  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 188.193.145.227 (talk) 16:18, 8 October 2016 (UTC)
replies: text: Good point. I have tried to make the invention more explicit. BabelStone (talk) 16:31, 8 October 2016 (UTC)
thread_title:  Vanessa 

message: In Swift's Latin epitaph: 
Hic depositum est Corpus
IONATHAN SWIFT S.T.D.
Hujus Ecclesiæ Cathedralis
Decani,
Ubi sæva Indignatio
Ulterius
Cor lacerare nequit, 
please, correct "nequit," in "nequit.", because in the gravestone there is not a comma after "nequit" but a full stop, as the phrase requires. 
Riccardo Campigotto from Turin 94.162.184.103 (talk) 10:26, 15 July 2017 (UTC)
thread_title:  Semi-protected edit request on 15 July 2017 

message: Hello fellow Wikipedians,
I have just modified 17 external links on Jonathan Swift. Please take a moment to review my edit. If you have any questions, or need the bot to ignore the links, or the page altogether, please visit this simple FaQ for additional information. I made the following changes:
*Added  tag to http://www.munseys.com/diskone/medbroomdex.htm
*Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20080118185815/http://etext.library.adelaide.edu.au/s/swift/jonathan/s97b/ to http://etext.library.adelaide.edu.au/s/swift/jonathan/s97b/
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When you have finished reviewing my changes, you may follow the instructions on the template below to fix any issues with the URLs.
Cheers.—InternetArchiveBot (Report bug) 00:04, 30 November 2017 (UTC)
thread_title:  External links modified 

message: The summary about the Drapier's Letters significantly mistakes Newton's significance in the controversy:
In other words, the excitable Irish got worked up about nothing, and it took Newton to calm them down. On the contrary, Newton's assay took place between Letters II and III; Letter III contains a thorough refutation of it as any indication of the value of the actual coinage meant to be introduced in Ireland; the Letters continue up to VII, and the halfpence controversy continued, because neither the assay, nor the report of the Privy Council that touts the assay, did anything to answer the basic constitutional, political, and economic grounds of complaint. (Namely, that Wood's patent was obtained in England—by paying off the king's mistress (!); that Wood meant to introduce the coinage to Ireland by force, in the teeth of objections by the Irish Parliament and people; that Ireland was in serious need of silver coins like sixpences, not of halfpence and farthings that were not legal tender anyway; etc.) Since name-dropping Isaac Newton here is so misleading, would anyone object if I cut this sentence altogether? Q·L·1968 ☿ 20:38, 12 May 2018 (UTC)
thread_title:  Newton 

message: Does the Bandbox Plot, which Swift foiled, not deserve a mention in the article? JezGrove (talk) 17:12, 1 May 2021 (UTC)
thread_title:  Bandbox Plot 

message: This is confusing:
Section: Early life
His mother returned to England after his birth, leaving him in the care of his uncle ... At the age of one, child Jonathan was taken by his wet nurse to ... England ...His nurse returned him to his mother, still in Ireland, when he was three.
So, his mother left Jonathan for England but later his nurse returned him to his mother – "still in Ireland"?
This contradiction can only be caused by error or by a confusing gap in the story. Did his mother return to Ireland while the child was in England with his nurse? O'Dea (talk) 13:36, 28 April 2023 (UTC)
thread_title:  Childhood error or omission