B.A. (Hons.

) English Semester-IV

Core Course
Paper VIII – British Literature: 18th Century
Study Material : Unit 1–5

SCHOOL OF OPEN LEARNING

UNIVERSITY OF DELHI

Department of English
 Paper VIII – British Literature : 18th Century
Study Material : Unit 1-5

Contents

Unit-1 : William Congreve The Way of the World 01

Unit-2 : Jonathan Swift Gulliver's Travels, Books 3-4 19

Unit-3 : (a) Samuel Johnson 'London' 71
(b) Thomas Gray 'Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard' 96

Unit-4 : Henry Fielding Joseph Andrews 111

Unit-5 : (a) John Locke 'Of Ideas in General and Their Original' 135
(b) Addison and Steele (i) Addison, Essay No. 10, Monday, March 12, 1711
(ii) Addison, Essay No. 69, on the Stock Exchange,
Saturday, May 19, 1711
(c) Daniel Defoe 'The Complete English Tradesman' (Letter XXII),
The Great Law of Subordination Considered' (Letter
IV), and 'The Complete English Gentleman, in
Literature and Social Order in Eighteenth-Century
England
(d) William Hay From Deformity: An Essay (1754)
(e) Olaudah Equiano 'The Middle Passage'

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 Paper VIII – British Literature: 18th Century
Unit-1

The Way of the World

William Congreve

Contents:
1. Introduction: Biographical and Literary Background
2. Learning Objectives
3. Historical and Cultural Context
4. Summary and Analysis of Introductory Notes
5. Summary & Analysis
6. Themes and Critical Analysis
7. Character Analysis
8. Summing Up

Edited by: Prepared by:

Dr. Neeta Gupta Binoy Bhushan Agarwal

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 Unit-1

The Way of the World

William Congreve
Binoy Bhushan Agarwal

1. Introduction: Biographical and Literary Background

Born in 1670, near Leeds in Yorkshire, William Congreve grew up in Ireland. Having studied
in Kilkenny School he went to Trinity College, Dublin in 1686. He joined Middle Temple in
London to study law but found himself driven to writing. With praise, support and
commendation from John Dryden, the Poet Laureate, Congreve’s literary talents and
Classical scholarship found expression in translations of Juvenal in 1692.
Following the publication of his first short prose romance Incognita, Congreve in 1693
staged his first play The Old Bachelor at the Theater Royal to a roaring success. His second
play in the same year, The Double Dealer, however, fell flat on expectations and received a
lukewarm response. Dryden continued to support Congreve and bolstered the latter’s
confidence by writing a verse commendation appended to the play. In Love for Love,
Congreve (1695) returned to conventional gay comedy which once again brought him success
and popularity.
Dryden supported Congreve not merely because of his appreciation for the latter’s
creative and Classical learning but also because they shared the same principles and beliefs in
so far the English comic literary tradition was concerned. Congreve’s ‘Essay concerning
Humour in Comedy’ only seems to affirm this when read in the light of Dryden’s Of
Dramatic Poesy and their shared indebtedness to English playwrights such as William
Shakespeare and Ben Johnson.
By 1700 when The Way of the World was staged, the audience’s shift in theatrical taste
and sense of morality was palpable. Jeremy Collier attacked Restoration comedy and the
many practitioners of this genre for allegedly promoting indecency, blasphemy, vice and
vulgarity. In his anti theatre pamphlet, A Short View of the Profaneness and Immorality of the
English Stage, published in 1698, Collier attacked Congreve as well who in his turn retorted
back with Amendments of Mr. Collier’s False and Imperfect Citations.
Notwithstanding this war of words and clash of ideas suited for the age and comic
tradition, Congreve’s The Way of the World was staged in Lincoln’s Inn Fields Theatre in
March, 1700. The play though tanked is still considered be Congreve’s masterpiece. It also
ostensibly marked Congreve’s withdrawal from the stage. He wrote no more comedies but
kept himself associated with other theatrical ventures such as writing libretto and
collaborating with Vanbrugh in opening new theatre.

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2. Learning Objectives
To better appreciate the themes and issues in Congreve’s The Way of the World, the present
study is divided into sections that will enable you to:
a) Locate the historical context of the Restoration period within which the play is
situated.
b) Gain an understanding of Comedy of Manners.
c) Develop an extensive understanding of the play by focusing on a detailed scene wise
summary.
d) Think of the many social and historical concerns of the age through the prism of the
play.
3. Historical and Cultural Context
3.1 Restoration Theatre and Comedy of Manners
The Puritans viewed theatre as a site of vice and corruption. Consequently, they had closed
down the English theatres in 1648 and it remained so until the Interregnum ended. With the
return of Charles II to the English throne in 1660, theaters were opened which was marked by
jubilance and hope. Despite the Licensing Act of 1662, two new theatres, King of York’s and
Duke of York’s Companies helmed by Thomas Killigrew and William Davenant
respectively, were granted Royal patents. Charles II who had lived in the Court of Louis XIV
in France, brought back with him the French style and tastes which were reflected in the
shifting attitudes to theatre. Abandoning the Puritan hostility to theatre, the Restoration
Comedy was characterized by licentiousness, sexual philandering and lusting after money
and wealth. The rejection of Puritan attitudes to theater also resulted in some major
accompanying changes; the stage machinery saw major developments in terms of moveable
scenery, lighting, introduction of women actors on stage, breeches roles, rise of celebrity
actors and professional female playwrights as well, all for the first time. Nell Gwyn, Anne
Bracegirdle and Thomas Betterton are some notable actors of the time, and Aphra Behn the
first professional female dramatist.
Restoration Comedy is often metonymically referred to as Comedy of Manners. Such
plays are a satire on fashion, tastes, manners and social conventions of the apparently
sophisticated society. While focusing on the lives of upper class society the genre makes fun
of the follies and the veneer of sophistication therein. It is also characterized by plot twists
and is often complicated by subplots centering on a possible scandal. In doing so it satirizes
and exposes the pretentiousness that lies underneath apparent sophistication of the
fashionable society. Wit and polished dialogue become an important tool herein that serve the
purpose. Comedy of Manners can be seen as an obverse of slapstick comedy which relies on
physical and grotesque buffoonery rather than wit and intelligence. The humour is a result of
wit and quick repartee. It is because of this Comedy of manners is also seen as high comedy.

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 The genre has its roots in the ancient Greek plays by Menander who inaugurated New
Comedy. Plautus and Menander later on utilized and popularized the same through their plays
during the Renaissance. In the Seventeenth century it was Moliere who satirized and made
fun of the pretensions behind the façade of sophistication of French society. His The School
for Wives and The Misanthrope being two examples that illustrate the mode of Comedy of
Manners. Some more well-known examples of this genre are William Shakespeare’s Much
Ado About Nothing, William Congreve’s The Way of the World, and Oscar
Wilde’s Importance of Being Ernest. Restoration Comedy was also influenced by Ben
Johnson’s comedy of humours.
As these plays focus on the upper echelons of the society, places like the coffee house,
leisure gardens, St. James Park, gambling houses etc. take a centre stage. They become the
locus where most of the events unfold. Sex, marriage, love, intrigues and adultery become
important thematic concerns in the Restoration plays. Such plays are peopled by character
types classified as wits, fools, rakes, fops, dandies. It is one of the reasons why Restoration
plays in particular have been attacked on grounds of immorality. Another reason perhaps
being that the wayward characters are generally not punished by the end of the play. For
instance, Mr. Fainall, in The Way of the World, despite all his villainy goes unpunished. More
than often, the rake heroes and libertine heroines are ultimately domesticated by the end of
the play for a stable idea of family. Such attempts at domestication embody a societal
aspiration to impose an order in a society that is in flux. It also reflects on the necessity to
maintain the sanctity of the family as a unit for the continuation of the purity of lineage. It is
also because money and property are significantly tied to the idea of family and inheritance.
Perhaps the fear that if the carnivalesque and the acquisitive ethics are not restrained, the
loose morality or ‘predatory sexuality’, as Shirshendu Chakraborty calls it, may lead to a
societal chaos. Thus one finds that the Restoration playwrights, despite an ostensible sexual
frankness, finally resort to the preservation of familial relationships and societal structures.
4. Summary and Analysis of Introductory Notes
4.1 Commendatory Verses
In his Commendatory Verses for Congreve, Richard Steele, the noted English essayist who
later founded The Tatler and The Spectator lavishes fulsome praise on Congreve. Presaging
the audience’s response to the play in a world of changing moral taste, he paints the literary
genius of Congreve in glorious terms as something that offers much more than what the
ordinary minds can perhaps even apprehend. That Congreve’s brilliance is god-gifted, Steele
suggests, when he writes ‘On you from fate a lavish portion fell, In every way of writing
excel’. However, the only ‘drawback’ is that despite such literary flair, a genius like
Congreve cannot appease all which is to be read more as a comment on the ‘rude spectators’
with unrefined taste and not the ‘great author…aspiring mind’, that is, Congreve himself. In
his commendation, Steele also references Congreve’s own works and his odes thereby also
pointing to a common literary practice of having epigraphs and dedications. Such a practice

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functions to establish the author in a long line of literary tradition and accord it respectability
as well.
4.2 Epigraph
The title page of the 1700 edition of The Way of the World carries the following epigraph;
two Latin quotations from Horace’s Satires which translates in English as follows:
i. “It is worthwhile, for those of you who wish adulterers no success, to hear how much
misfortune they suffer, and how often their pleasure is marred by pain and, though
rarely achieved, even then fraught with danger.”
ii. “I have no fear in her company that a husband may rush back from the country, the
door burst open, the dog bark, the house shake with the din, the woman, deathly pale,
leap from her bed, her complicit maid shriek, she fearing for her limbs, her guilty
mistress for her dowry and I for myself.”
This genuflecting to Horace’s works is Congreve’s acknowledgement of the literary tradition
and scholarship that he so values. The epigraph also foregrounds the thematic concerns of the
play and the seriousness of the purpose that he accords to the themes of cuckoldry and
marriage.
4.3 Dedication to the Earl of Montague
Congreve’s own career graph bears testimony to the art of forging literary kinship and the
munificence resulting from such an engagement with systems of patronage. While Congreve
dedicated his first play The Old Bachelor to Charles Boyle he dedicates The Way of the
World to the Earl of Montague as a mark of respect and love. What is equally important to
note here is that in doing so, Congreve also pays homage to the Classical antiquity and his
literary predecessors who are his guiding masters. In his ‘Dedication’, Congreve also
establishes to present a case for himself and his play which received a mild response from the
audience. In it, he also foregrounds a couple of other things namely, his active seeking out the
Earl’s patronage, a brief commentary on the audience-critics who are quick to dismiss the
play as they come with preconceived notions as well as his deliberate creation of characters
embodying true wit and false wit.
4.4 Prologue
In the Prologue to the play, the lines are enunciated by Mr. Betterton, the famous Restoration
actor, who played the character of Fainall. With him as the mouthpiece, Congreve points to
the precarious position of dramatists like himself. That though they be “poets” or gifted
writers luck favours not them but the hack writers who cater to the dull and the coarse spirit
of the audience. In the Prologue that is laced with irony and sarcasm Congreve also reminds
his readers/ audience of the occupational hazards of the poets and the dramatists who run the
risk every time they come up with a new production. In asking the critics to not ‘spare him
for his pains’ he kills two birds with one stone; One, the author establishes his own
superiority and the refinement of his own works. Two, he takes a jibe at the audience for their

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purist standards and their inability to comprehend satire and its function. He thus makes a
comment on the Grub Street culture of hack writers and the attendant literary dullness that is
rampant among them. Before the play unfolds, he leaves it to the audience to decide
according to their own taste and preference. In a smart move, he lays the onus of the failure
or the success of the play on the audience themselves while maintaining his standpoint of not
stooping low to cater to the whimsical tastes of the audience if they prefer not the
sophistication and Classical style of his work.
4.5 Check your Progress
a. How do power struggles and monarchy affect theatre in the seventeenth century?
b. What do Commendatory Verses and Dedication tell you about literary patronage?
c. The Prologue is Congreve’s comment on his own superiority and the impulsiveness of
critics. Do you agree?
d. List some features of the Comedy of Manners.
5. Summary & Analysis
5.1 Act I
The scene opens in a Chocolate-house with two men, Mirabell and Fainall, rising from a
game of cards. As their conversation progresses, one notices an undercurrent of tension
between the two. On Fainall’s prodding, it is revealed that Mirabell is anxious because of
Lady Wishfort, aged fifty five, who is full of anger and resentment against him. That Mirabell
was only dissembling to be her lover and that he doesn’t reciprocate her love for him in
exactly the same way as Lady Wishfort had expected, has her fuming with anger. And since it
was no other than Mrs. Marwood, Fainall’s mistress, who maliciously exposed his intents to
Lady Wishfort, has Mirabell sulking because it has brought to naught his other plan that is
gradually revealed. Fainall, sensing Mirabell’s fear (of losing money in dowry), adds salt to
injury when he reminds Mirabell that ‘half her [Millamant] fortune depends upon her
marrying’ the man who has Lady Wishfort’s approval. And this is precisely where Mirabell
seems to have risked everything- Millamant and her inheritance – by ruffling Lady
Wishfort’s feathers. In defense of his alleged act of infidelity to Lady Wishfort, he cites his
‘reasonable conscience’ that allowed him to proceed and be guided by gentlemanly behavior
and not a sense of debauchery as his ‘virtue forbade’ him from transgressing any further in
his pretended courtship of Millamant’s aunt who controls her fortune.
The conversation is interrupted by a servant who informs him that Waitwell and Foible,
the attendants of Mirabell and Lady Wishfort respectively, have been married. The news
seems to cheer him up. The veiled nature and the brevity of the news both suggest that
Mirabell has some trick up his sleeve. Fainall comes back again and directs the conversation
at Millamant who has many suitors owing to her beauty and coquetry; Mirabell is one of
them who likes her ‘with all her faults; nay, like her for her faults.’

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 Punctuated less by action, and more by narrations, Act I introduces the reader-audience
to its remaining male cast. Soon enough, the scene is interrupted by the arrival of two more
suitors of Millamant - Witwoud and soon after Petulant - thus introducing the false wits and
the fops, the stock characters in a Restoration comedy. Act I ends with the news of the
imminent arrival of Mirabell’s estranged Uncle who poses an economic threat to Mirabell’s
aspirations. More so in light of the fact that Lady Wishfort, who is incensed with him, has
been informed about it which, he fears, she might take advantage of though only out of a
sense of vengeance so as to foil his hopes of marrying Millamant.
5.2 Act II
Act II consisting of only one long scene takes place in St James Park, a fashionable meeting
place. It brings to stage the women characters in the play with the exception of Lady
Wishfort. In drawing a parallel to Act I, Congreve, in Act II, mirrors a similar kind of tension
between the two women character – Mrs. Fainall and Mrs. Marwood – as witnessed earlier
between Mirabell and Fainall. Like men discussing women, here Congreve has women
presenting their ideas on men and lovers, and the precarious position that women occupy in
relation to men for whom aging descends benefits but not so for women. Mrs Fainall and
Mrs. Marwood while projecting an extreme aversion to men are soon revealed to be
dissembling it as both of them still secretly desire Mirabell even though they are committed
to Fainall, one through marriage and the other in her capacity as a mistress. While contending
with their own sexual jealousies for Mirabell, they accuse the other of secretly longing for
him. Soon, upon Mirabell and Fainall’s entry into the scene, we are given an insight into the
context of these relationships. In separate pairings on stage consisting of Fainall & Mrs.
Marwood and Mirabell & Mrs. Fainall, the audience-reader gets to know a couple of things;
one, the sexual jealousy that racks Fainall such that it leads to a bitter quarrel. Two,
Mirabell’s potentially scandalous past with Mrs. Fainall is revealed that could have turned
explosive but was averted because of Mirabell’s shrewd design.
Fainall makes a concerted attack on Mrs. Marwood as being unfaithful since her recent
actions have caused a hindrance in his own plans to extract money from Lady Wishfort. His
lust for money also reveals his villainous character. He stops not from lambasting her until
she takes matters in her own hand and threatens to expose him. In a brilliant master stroke she
at once turns the table on him leaving him to ask for pardons and promise amendments which
she is not quick to accept, ‘Truth and you are inconsistent. I hate you, and shall forever’.
Next, we discover that Mirabell’s womanizing habits had once led him to now Mrs.
Fainall, who is the daughter of Lady Wishfort. But on suspicions that she was pregnant with
his child he got her married to Fainall to protect, as he claims, her honour. Mirabell never
answers the implicit question as to why he himself did not marry her. The answer perhaps is
not too difficult to ascertain considering that to have a child out of wedlock would have
meant public shame. With himself being responsible for it, it could have also resulted in a
marriage without money or dowry. Though intriguing, Mrs Fainall still believes in him when
as a proof of his loyalty he suggests two things; one, when she is bored of her husband she

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knows her ‘remedy’, perhaps implying a sexual favour. Two, his making her a party to his
secret plans thereby giving her ‘power to ruin or advance (his) fortune is a measure of his
love for her on which she can still count. At this point Mirabell’s secret plot is unravelled
whereby he plans to send his servant Waitwell to Lady Wishfort in the guise of his Uncle Sir
Rowland. When Lady Wishfort agrees to marry him, if only to spite him, he will reveal Sir
Rowland’s true identity and as a price for saving her reputation ask for Millamant’s hand in
marriage which would be a sure way of getting her fortune as well. Further, as a way of
ensuring that Waitwell doesn’t betray him out of a temptation for the large fortune that Lady
Wishfort commands, he has already gotten him married to Foible. It is highly anticipated that
the plan will succeed as Lady Wishfort is too eager to get married despite her much advanced
age as is evident from the fun that the two have at the Lady’s expense.
Millamant arrives on the scene with Witwoud, a hanger on, who attempts witticism
trying to match up to her liveliness and eloquence. Upon Mirabell’s entry she deliberately
affects the pose of a cruel mistress thereby adding to the game of love through her coquetry.
Such an adopted pose like a Petrarchan mistress only adds to her playful charms by
intensifying the romance in this game of courtship. She knows the rules of the game and thus
does it on purpose. Unlike other relationships, where bitterness and suspicion is at the heart
of the conflict, here the teasing is more a marker of their passion for each other than malice or
ill will. That they are a match for each other is also suggested in the banter between them
where it is only Mirabell who can match up to her true wit and elegance of style. It is their
confidence and faith in each other that they are not governed by sexual jealousies that
characterize other relationships but passion and faith in their love for each other is what
makes Millamant say, ‘Well, Mirabell, if ever you will win me, woo me now - Nay, if you
are so tedious, fare you well.’
The banter ends with her telling Mirabell that she already knows something of his plans
though he never told her himself. Before Mirabell can explain himself, she is gone. Waitwell
and Foible appear to receive further instructions from him. Foible also reveals how she is
going to whet Lady Wishfort’s sexual appetite for Sir Rowland thereby furthering Mirabell’s
agenda. She, however, quickly departs fearing that it was Mrs. Marwood in mask who has
perhaps seen her with the man her mistress so detests. She is afraid that Mrs. Marwood might
ruin the plans by letting Lady Wishfort know about Foible meeting Mirabell.
5.3 Act III
With Act III the action moves into the private space of Lady Wishfort who the audience-
readers meet for the first time. The scene begins on a note of intense anxiety on the part of
Lady Wishfort who is so worked up with her makeup falling apart. It has the effect of making
her ludicrous though it points to deeper concerns that link beauty with women and authority.
A little later one finds her also wracked with worries that she might have to go against the
decorum of class and gender, and make the first move if Sir Rowland does not propose
marriage to her.

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 Mrs. Marwood who had seen the attendant Foible conversing with Mirabell informs
Lady Wishfort about the same thereby further aggravating her worries. On Foible’s arrival
she hides in a cupboard thus overhearing all that Foible has to say to Lady Wishfort and more
importantly also overhearing the conversation, a little later, between Foible and Mrs. Fainall.
Mrs. Marwood is pleased to know how important she herself has become in the whole
scheme of things that is about to unfold as she is in the know of secrets that give her both
power and edge to trump others. Now that she knows of Mirabell’s dislike of her whom she
like many others coveted, she is driven to intrigue against him. As such she plots to undo his
strategy of getting to marry Millamant and her inheritance. Driven by revenge at her
perceived insult, she prods Lady Wishfort to get Millamant to marry Sir Wilfull.
Millamant soon enters the room with her maid, Mincing, and gets into arguments with
Mrs. Fainall. Their conversation reveals an undercurrent of hostility as they both share a
common interest in Mirabell. Two important strands that briefly emerge here are (a)
Millamant’s sense of assurance in her love, Mirabell, that she fears not losing him, and (b)
her comment that women have the liberty to choose their clothes and not companions is a
matter of regret. The latter points to the limitations within which even the most liberated and
assertive women of her class have to live. An aristocratic lineage and a mind of her own does
not totally free her from the gender constraints within which she has to negotiate as the later
Proviso scene will also confirm.
The conversation between these two ladies is interrupted by Witwoud and Petulant.
Witwoud pretends not to recognize his half-brother, Sir Wilfull Witwoud, who comes across
as a country bumpkin. Sir Wilfull Witwoud is made fun of when Witwoud suggests he is an
exhibition piece from Bartholomew’s fair. Such a hilarious treatment of Sir Wilfull Witwoud
who is naïve to customs of city life helps set up the binary of the country and the city where
the former is associated with coarseness yet simplicity and the city, despite its urbanity, with
manipulations and undesirable shrewdness of human nature. Those who cannot navigate well
the divide end up being fops like Witwoud with their false wit and vain and exaggerated
pretensions to high class. Sir Wilfull tells him as much when he exposes Witwoud’s class
origins which the latter struggles to justify embarrassed as he is by it. In contrast Lady
Wishfort receives Sir Wilfull Witwoud well and does not shy away from acknowledging her
family ties with him which even surprises Sir Wilfull himself.
Act III ends with Mrs. Marwood encouraging Fainall to get rid of his wife and to
forestall Mirabell’s success. In fact, she is the one who engineers a plan for Fainall to
execute. It involves blackmailing Lady Wishfort by threatening to make public Mrs. Fainall’s
(Lady Wishfort’s daughter) affair with Mirabell. And thereby extract the fortune that Lady
Wishfort commands as a price to ‘save’ both her and her daughter’s reputation. The
conversation between the two is striking for their meanness of spirit and, in particular, for
revealing Fainall’s cold hearted villainy towards his wife whom he does not mind abandoning
as he admits “I’ll turn my wife to grass”. That he is prepared for it is evident from the
revelation that he has apparently managed to extract a deed from her in his favour.

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5.4 Act IV
The opening of Act IV once again has an anxious Lady Wishfort worrying about how best to
receive her suitor, Sir Rowland. Masquerading as coquet, she attempts to project herself as an
erotic body which actually has the effect of making her appear ludicrous. Quite unlike her we
have Millamant, the heroine of the play who is confident of herself. Instead of pleasing men,
she thinks about her individual space and inviolable privacy as central to a relationship be it a
marriage. Through her comments and utterances we get a rare insight of Millamant’s
interiority. That it is only Mirabell who can make for a suitable match with her is obvious in
how it is him who can speak the same language of wit and romance. The scene is also
interesting for how it evokes humour by juxtaposing the literariness of Millamant with the
incongruous response of Sir Wilfull. His failure to comprehend her thoughts and match up to
her wit is a clear indication of how incongruous a couple Millammant and Sir Wilfull would
make for, a match that Lady Wishfort is keen on.
The wit combat that is dramatized between Millamant and Mirabell leads us to one of the
most significant moments in the play- the Proviso scene- wherein both of them draw up a pre-
nuptial agreement. Self-willed as they are both suggest conditions in marriage under which
they finally agree to marry each other. The terms that are listed by either of them significantly
act as a critique of love and marriage in the Restoration age. Among other things, the ultimate
fear that Millamant has is that she would ‘dwindle into a wife’ whereas Mirabell fears
cuckoldry, an ultimate embarrassment for a husband which perhaps explains why he bans
cosmetics and masks for her. Mrs. Fainall is a witness to the marriage contract between the
two.
Mirabell leaves and Lady Wishfort enters to announce that Millamant must marry her
nephew, Sir Wilfull Witwoud. Not very excited at the prospect and with a drunken suitor she
cannot tolerate, Millamant leaves the room. Waitwell disguised as Sir Rowland enters the
room and once again a familiar scene is evoked with Lady Wishfort worried about projecting
herself as a paragon of virtue which for women seemingly lies in their sexual passivity.
Further, that she is sure of being made fun of and appear lustful for sex or mocked for her
withering beauty points to the precarious position of women in the Restoration age, though in
a comic way.
Soon enough, Lady Wishfort is in possession of a secret letter, actually sent by the
scheming Mrs. Marwood, that threatens to expose Waitwell disguised as Sir Rowland thus
putting to jeopardy Mirabell’s elaborate plans. Foible with her quick intelligence is smart
enough to save him and Mirabell’s plans from going awry. In an attempt to save his skin,
Waitwell rushes off to get a contract of marriage with Lady Wishfort along with a black box
containing his wills and deeds as a proof of his love for her.
5.5 Act V
In this play about intrigues, one is followed by another. No sooner is one quelled than another
seems to disrupt the stability. Act V opens with Lady Wishfort fuming at her maid, Foible,

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for having betrayed her trust by furthering Mirabell’s agenda. She informs that with Waitwell
already apprehended, it is Foible’s turn now to follow him in jail. She chastises her in
unceremonious language that exposes the façade of sophistication that polite culture
apparently resorts to.
Mrs. Fainall follows in after Lady Wishfort’s exit to reveal that her past liaison with
Mirabell has been exposed too. However, she is relieved that this might mean an end to her
marriage with the odious Fainall. Foible, with her wit and sympathy agrees to bear witness to
Fainall’s own adulterous affair with Mrs. Marwood. Foible reveals that Mincing too would
testify against them as they both had caught Fainall cheating with Mrs. Marwood. Mincing
soon after enters the room and briefs the audience with all that has transpired in between Acts
IV and V.
Lady Wishfort once again emerges on the scene expressing her gratitude to Mrs.
Marwood for having saved her, mistaken as she still is about Mrs. Marwood’s real nature.
She censures her daughter Mrs. Fainall for her scandalous past with Mirabell which the latter
defends. Mrs Fainall declares that she is even willing to stand trial to prove her innocence.
Mrs Marwood, fearful of her own exposure regarding her own malafide connivance with
Fainall, presses upon Lady Wishfort to avoid the scandal.
Equipped with the recent discoveries Fainall comes to blackmail Lady Wishfort. Eager to
grab her money and property, he has scant regard for any morality, conscience or ethics. In
his offer to prevent a scandal and loss of reputation, so central to the aristocratic class, Fainall
makes three demands; Lady Wishfort must never marry, Mrs Fainall must transfer her
property to him, and Lady Wishfort must transfer half the share of Millamant’s inheritance
that she controls. Mrs. Marwood subtly eggs on Lady Wishfort to concede to Fainall’s
demands. Since contracts and deeds are central to the world of money and property, Fainall
wants it all in the form of a written contract as that has a legal binding. In a curious twist to
the plot, Millamant agrees to marry Sir Wilfull Witwoud, the man of her aunt’s choice, and
Mirabell agrees to renounce his claim on her. Mirabel also offers explanations for his past
behavior with Lady Wishfort which she buys into. The turn gives some hope to Lady
Wishfort, and has Mrs. Marwood fearing that all her devious plans with Fainall will come to
naught. Fainall comes back again and this time with a legal contract in hand. Despite the turn
in circumstances, Fainall does not relent; he asserts his claim on his first two conditions and
even threatens to shame his wife against whom he uses indecorous language. Finding herself
in a fix, Lady Wishfort agrees to Mirabell’s offer to save her from the impending ruin at the
hands of Fainall. In a counterplot that exposes Mrs. Marwood as well, Mirabell has Waitwell
come with a black box that contains the deed whereby Mrs. Fainall / Arabella Languish had,
before her marriage with Fainall, signed her wealth in trust to Mirabell.
With their scheming plans foiled, Fainall and Mrs. Marwood leave. Mirabell, showing
gentlemanly behavior, restores the deed of trust to Mrs. Fainall. With dangers of all kinds
averted and order restored Mirabell can marry Millamant with her inheritance safe. Mrs.
Fainall in all likelihood is to go back to Fainall despite his treachery and ill treatment of her.

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5.6 Epilogue
The Play ends with an Epilogue, the lines of which are spoken by Anne Bracegirdle, the lady
who played the character of Millamant. The Epilogue once again reiterates the points made in
the Prologue about critics too quick to judge and censure wit and satire for they lack both.
Effectively, it also exhorts the audience to exercise restraint in their judgment and try to
understand the complex tasks of a poet.
5.7 Check your Progress
a. How does Act I foreground the Restoration world’s chasing after money and love?
b. Act II mirrors a world of women and their concerns. Comment.
c. What does Lady Wishfort’s obsession with her decaying beauty and a desire to marry
highlight?
d. What is the importance of the Proviso scene when read in light of it being a prenuptial
agreement?
e. The Way of the World is a play about plots and counterplots. Discuss.
6. Themes and Critical Analysis
The Way of the World is found teeming with a multiplicity of ideas that can be read as central
themes of the play. Most of them are intertwined with each other in the complex world of
Restoration society where values and class are in a state of flux. Some of which that can be
clubbed together for a better and coherent understanding of the times are as follows:
6.1 Social Class
Class is an important marker in the world of Restoration comedy. The impetus towards
industrialization, and the movement towards the age of science and technology along with the
enclosures of lands – all combined to displace the aristocracy by replacing them with the
rising middle class. The economic and structural change is reflected in the changing moral
attitudes such that one finds both the middle class and the aristocratic class trying to
tenaciously maintain their status quo. While the rising middle class aspires to attain the social
graces hitherto associated with aristocracy, the upper class in its turn does not mind marrying
into the middle class to retain its place which explains Millamant and Mirabell’s marriage
and Lady Wishfort’s desire to marry Mirabell, and the many other relationships in the play.
Lady Wishfort’s concern with her withering beauty and Millamant tolerating fools and
false wits underlines the ennui ridden lives of upper class women. An obsession with cards
and chocolate houses suggest new sites of pleasures for men along with St. James Park and
the Mall which are thronged by members of the privileged class. The boredom that they so
wish to overcome perhaps also explains the world of intrigue and fashion that so many of
them seem to inhabit.
Further, it is also worth noting that in their attempts to consolidate their position in the
changing socio-economic order, it is the servants upon whom the masters depend to a great
extent. For instance, both Mirabell and Lady Wishfort rely upon their servants for the success

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of their plans. A critical focus on this understudied category offers valuable insights into the
complex world of master-servant relationships. Even while they are integral to the world of
the play, how they are treated is also a comment on the hypocrisies of the upper class. Even
while Mirabell rewards Foible for her assistance, his using her and Waitwell by getting them
married in the first place to serve his own ends also suggest how they are conveniently treated
as commodities by their masters. At the same time one cannot help but notice a rare moment
of honest and unaffected appreciation when Foible, the maid, praises Mrs. Fainall.
6.2 Polarization of the country and the city
In the binary of the country and the city, the country comes to symbolize all that is pure and
uncorrupt with the concomitant values of simplicity and honesty. Duplicity and affectation is
associated with city. Despite their assumed virtuousness, those from the countryside like Sir
Wilfull Witwoud come across as bumbling figures who cannot possibly fare well in a city
like London full of street smarts. This city-county divide becomes more pronounced in the
wake of the growing power of trading classes which while rubbing shoulders with aristocracy
are mortified by their humble origins.
6.3 Idea of Wit in the Culture of Elitism
In this newly emergent social order where earlier sureties of class and morality no more exist,
it allows for a redefinition of sorts. Wit is increasingly valued as a defining marker of an elite
class and literary refinement and is therefore much sought after. True wit is one who can
combine the qualities of intelligence, learnedness with generosity and compassion like Mr.
Mirabell. However, there are many who in their attempt to appear true wits, end up as fops
and false wits like Witwoud, Petulant and Fainall. It is them who make for much of the
comedy and humour that crackles the Restoration plays.
6.4 The Nexus of Money and Marriage, Love and Property
The intricate web of relationships that binds the characters in a paradoxical relationship of
love and hate is a consequence of a desire for both economic security and sexual pleasure.
What complicates it further is the idea of respectability as a function of marriage which
works differently for men and women. While it apparently provides women with economic
security long after the beauty has faded, it allows men like Fainall a veneer to carry on with
their extramarital affair. Women’s dependence on men and marriage is a concern that the
play highlights. The difference though lies in one’s approach and calculations with which
they treat love and marriage. The treatment then is an important trait that would distinguish
the avaricious rogues from gentlemen even though the latter is not fully exempt from the
charge of running after money and financial gains. Mirabell says, ‘… the good lady would
marry anything that resembled a man, though, no more than what a butler could pinch out of
a napkin.’ Despite its gross exaggeration regarding sexual desire in an aging women,
Congreve perhaps wanted his audience to be sympathetic to the same when Mrs. Fainall
responds, somewhat crestfallen, ‘Female frailty! We must all come to it, if we be old and feel
that craving of a false appetite when the true is decayed.’ But that which in a woman is

14
depravity becomes a hallmark of male virility and sexual desirability. It points to the
society’s hypocrisy and different standards that they hold out for different sexes as is evident
from Mirabell’s comment when he utters ‘an old woman’s appetite is depraved like that of a
girl.’
Mirabell who is quick to label Lady Wishfort as depraved, does not see himself in the
same light, even though he would not marry Millamant without her inheritance despite his
professed love for her. That he himself has been a libertine rake who in his quest for sex and
amours has severely compromised Mrs. Fainall’s position is not questioned in the play. That
he ends the play with his suggestion that ‘that marriage frauds too oft are paid in kind’ is
telling. When read in light of Mrs. Fainall’s undecided fate, it reveals the limitations of
women’s choices and the necessity of marriage as central to a sense of respectability in
society. And while love is desirable in marriage it is money, property and inheritance that
binds people in conjugal relationships. Even though Millamant has attempted to forge a new
paradigm of marriage as glimpsed in the proviso scene, she can never be free from the fear of
dwindling into the customary role of a wife. That she fears marriage despite her
independence with the money she has through inheritance combined with her literary and
cultural sophistication also suggests the much compromised status of women in marriage.
6.5 Check your Progress
a. In The Way of the World women without marriage seem to be doomed. Do you agree?
Give a reasoned answer.
b. How does The Way of the World critique the conventions of courtship and marriage in
the Restoration period?
c. The Way of the World is a commentary on the emergent bourgeoisie and the falling
aristocracy. Discuss.
d. Comment on the importance of wit in the world of Restoration society.
e. The Way of the World does not so much subvert the social order as it domesticates the
forces threatening to collapse marriage and property. Discuss with examples from the
text.
7. Character Analysis
7.1 Edward Mirabell
Mirabell is the one who embodies the qualities typical of a Restoration hero. He is handsome,
smart and witty with ladies swooning over him. In the play, he is the libertine hero who
finally wants to settle down with Millamant but not without her share of inheritance secured
to him. His womanizing habits though have disgruntled many who have vowed to avenge
themselves. While he displays a mercenary side to his character he is redeemed by the end of
the play because of his generosity and sympathy towards Mrs. Fainall to whom he returns the
property even though she had signed it to him in trust prior to her marriage with Fainall. He
also saves Lady Wishfort from any ruin and scandal even though things had gone awry
between the two. For all his waywardness, he is a knight in the shining armour.

15
7.2 Millamant
Millamant is the heroine of the play whom Mirabell wants to marry. She is charming,
vivacious and full of wit and intelligence matched only by Mirabell. While she plays the role
of a Petrarchan mistress so brilliantly, she does so only to heighten the romance in the game
of love and courtship. Her sparkling presence is noticeable also for the ways in which she is
able to assert her independence of mind and space that she sees as central to her being. That
Mirabell complies with them in the proviso scene bears testimony to her will power.
7.3 Lady Wishfort
Lady Wisfort is an aged woman of fifty five years who cannot come to terms with her age.
She is the mother of Mrs. Fainfall and aunt of Millamant who controls the wealth in the
family. She is incensed at Mirabell for having spurned her for Millamant and consequently
despises him and is willing to marry his uncle Sir Rowland. Her obsession with beauty and
age opens a window onto the pathetic position of upper class women in Restoration Society
even though many of the scenes involving her are comic.
7.4 Mrs. Fainall
Mrs Fainall is the daughter of Lady Wishfort and the wife of Fainall to whom she was
married at the behest of Mirabell fearing that she was pregnant with the latter’s child. She is a
smart strategist as witnessed in how she is able to fend off manipulators in the form of Fainall
and Mrs Marwood. In the course of the play, she comes across as a wise, sympathetic and a
dignified character. As an accomplice she even aids her former lover in his plans that include
helping him marry his lover Millamant which goes on to show the warmth of her character.
7.5 Fainall
Fainall is the husband of Mrs. Arabella Fainall. He is treacherous, lacks moral conscience,
and carries on an affair with his mistress, Mrs. Marwood. His ultimate plan is to rob Lady
Wishfort, his wife Mrs. Fainall and Millamant of their fortune by couching it in name of a
contract. In his relentless pursuit of sex and money, he treats his wife worse than a door mat;
even threatening to cause her public ignominy and shame by exposing her past affair with
Mirabell while conveniently forgetting his own adulterous relationship with Mrs. Marwood.
7.6 Mrs. Marwood
Mrs. Marwood is Fainall’s mistress and secretly desires Mirabell. As Mirabell does not
reciprocate her advances, she acts as a malcontent character looking to destroy his
opportunities of finding love and money which he hopes for by marrying Millamant.
Together with Fainall, she is the villain of the play who lack conscience and a moral center.
7.7 Waitwell
Waitwell is the faithful servant to his master Mirabell on whose effective masquerading as Sir
Rowland, Mirabell’s success depends. Married to Foible whom he is hankering after, he adds
to the comedy of the play as can be noticed in his scenes with Lady Wishfort whom he is
supposed to woo.

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7.8 Foible
Foible is Lady Wishfort’s attendant but committed to Mirabell in his schemes. As part of his
plans, she is married to Waitwell and is central to the narrative of the play and saves the day
very often with her gift of quick wit and sharp intelligence. She is also loyal and committed
to Mrs. Fainall to whose rescue she comes when Fainall threatens to soil her reputation.
7.9 Mincing
Mincing is Millamant’s attendant. Together with Foible she also displays a faithful and
sympathetic character when she too testifies against Fainall and Mrs. Marwood to protect the
honour of Mrs. Fainall.
7.10 Sir Wilfull Witwoud
Sir Wilfull Witwoud is Young Witwoud’s elder brother who has come to London. He plans
to travel abroad as was the fashion of the day when travel was a means of education. He
however gets entangled in an incongruous situation because of his apparent stupidity. His
aunt, Lady Wishfort wants him to marry Millamant which leads to humourous scenes.
Through him and his lack of refinement Congreve highlights a crucial debate of the time,
namely city versus countryside.
7.11 Witwoud
Witwoud is a fop who is ashamed of his countryside origins, and has pretensions about being
witty and smart. He is also friends with Petulant.
7.12 Petulant
Petulant is the fool in the play. He along with Witwoud are the hangers on who give
Millamant company. Given his vanity, he likes to give the impression that he is a man much
in demand and even hires people to enact the drama highlighting his importance.
8. Summing Up
Read in today’s time The Way of the World, leaves its readers, particularly women, with a
sense of claustrophobia. For all its veneer of sophistication, polished wit and elegance of the
upper classes that Congreve himself exposes, his position on women seems more ambiguous.
While the scenes of the play are interspersed with fleeting moments of sympathy for women,
the women are mostly used to evoke laughter or are means to an end. That nothing is told of
the fate that awaits Mrs. Fainall who so desperately wants to escape the suffocating marriage
she has been tricked into by none other than her lover to whom she still continues to be
faithful warrants attention. Millamant’s apprehensions of marriage despite the prenuptial
agreement and the fact that she gets to marry the man who reciprocates her love also
underscores the very limited spaces from within which women negotiate. The tragic irony of
which is also underlined in the last line which clearly tells the audience-readers that even
those who cheat their spouse are treated in kind. It points to the (cruel) ‘way of the world’
where women are treated as commodities. What is even more important here however is to

17
understand - kind to whom? The answer to which is- to men like Fainall who goes
unpunished despite all his deceit and shame that he brought upon his wife.
Further, when read in light of the lukewarm reception of the play in its own times, it is
obvious that a decadent morality was no more acceptable as it was in the beginning of the
Restoration age. On a concluding note it must be stressed that perhaps Congreve had prior
intuitive realization of this. May be this is why he sought to temper the libertinism of
Mirabell with sympathy and generosity of character as part of his learning curve. In the new
order it is not only women whose sexual passivity would be integral to the materiality of
property and inheritance but men too will have to abandon the hitherto libertine ways of a
rake hero. They too will have to reform themselves and be acceptable to the new social order
for it to survive. That a language of law, deeds and contracts becomes central to the new
system is also indicative of the binding nature of the new rules in the way of the world.
9. Suggested Reading
Congreve, William. The Way of the World. Ed. Shirshendu Chakrabarti. New Delhi: Orient
Longman, 2007.
Congreve, William. The Way of the World. Ed. Brian Gibbons. London: Bloomsbury, 2015.
Etherege, George. The Man of Mode. Ed. Michael Neille. London: Bloomsbury, 2019.
Fisk, Deborah Payne. The Cambridge Companion to English Restoration Theatre. UK:
Cambridge University Press, 2000.
Hunt, Leigh. The Dramatic Works of Wycherley, Congreve, Vanbrugh and Farquhar.
London: Routledge, 1860.
Kaufman, Anthony. ‘Language and Character in Congreve’s The Way of the World’ in Texas
Studies in Literature and Language. JSTOR: University of Texas Press. Vol. 15, No. 3 (Fall
1973), pp. 411-427.: https://www.jstor.org/stable/40755227
Lynch, Kathleen M. The Social Mode of Restoration Comedy. New York: Macmillan, 1926.
Lindsay, Alexander and Erskine-Hill, Howard. Eds. William Congreve The Critical Heritage.
London and New York: Routledge, 1989.
Mcmillin, Scott. Restoration and Eighteenth Century Comedy. USA: W.W. Norton, 1997.
McCloskey, Susan. ‘Knowing One’s Relations in Congreve’s “The Way of the World” in
Theatre Journal, Vol. 33, No. 1 (Mar., 1981), pp. 69-79.
Styan, J. L. Restoration Comedy in Performance. India: Cambridge University Press, 1986.

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 Paper VIII – British Literature: 18th Century
Unit-2
Gulliver’s Travels (Book 3-4)
by
Jonathan Swift

Contents
1. Jonathan Swift (1667-1745): An Introduction to his Life
2. A General Introduction to Gulliver’s Travels
3. Study Guide: Book III, Gulliver’s Travels
4. Study Guide: Book IV, Gulliver’s Travels
5. Irony, Satire, and the Comic Spirit

Reading Material: Gulliver’s Travels (Books III-IV)

1. Arthur E. Case, “Personal and Political Satire in Gulliver’s Travels”
2. Arthur E. Case, “The Significance of Gulliver’s Travels”
3. Joseph Horell, “What Gulliver Knew”
4. John F. Ross, “The Final Comedy of Lemuel Gulliver”

Edited by Prepared by
Dr. Seema Suri Ms. Farida Nayyar

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20
1. Jonathan Swift (1667-1745): An Introduction to his Life
Jonathan Swift was the son of a Jonathan Swift who had followed a more prosperous older
brother, Godwin, from Yorkshire to Ireland. Jonathan’s career was brief and he died several
months before his son Jonathan was born (1667). Jonathan Swift was, (thus) brought up by
his uncle Godwin. He was sent to Kilkenny school, and at fourteen, entered Trinity College,
Dublin as a pensioner. In 1688 Godwin, who had lost his fortune, died and Swift was left
without resources. He left Ireland and became a kind of secretary to the celebrated diplomat
Sir William Temple, then living in retirement at Moor Park in Surrey, about forty miles from
London. Temple’s father had been a friend of Godwin Swift; Temple himself had known the
Swifts in Ireland; and Lady Temple was said to be a connection of Swift’s mother.
Life at Moor Park was of immense value to Swift. He grew familiar with public affairs
and with the rich experiences of his patron. He also had time to read and to try his hand at
writing. Nevertheless, he resented his dependent status and was disappointed that Temple had
found no suitable place for him. In 1694 Swift took the only course that seemed to promise
advancement and was ordained. Temple obtained for him the prebend of Kilroot, near Belfast
in Ireland. There he stayed for two years, returning to Temple in 1696. At Moor Park in 1696
he edited Temple’s correspondence and in 1697 wrote The Battle of Books which was
published in 1704, together with A Tale of a Tub, his celebrated satire on ‘corruption in
religion and learning’. At Moor Park Swift met Esther Johnson, the daughter of a servant or
companion of Temple’s sister, with whom he formed the lasting attachment of his life. On the
death of Temple in 1699, Swift went again to Ireland, was given a prebend is St. Patrick’s
Dublin, [and the living of Laracor]. But Swift frequently visited England and was by now on
familiar terms with wits and ministers. He became acquainted with Addison, Steele,
Congreve and Halifax. He was on friendly terms with Dryden and Pope.
Swift wrote a series of pamphlets on Church questions in 1708-90. These pamphlets
show his conviction that the Whigs were unfriendly to the Church; and when the Whigs came
into power in 1708, he knew his hopes of becoming a bishop in England were vain, and he
retreated to Ireland. When the Tories came back to power in 1710, Swift returned to London
and the events of the three following years, with all his thoughts and hopes, are set down in
his letters to Esther Johnson and Mrs Dingley. These later came to be known as the Journal
to Stella. The Tories made serious efforts to bring the war with France to an end. Swift
composed in November and December 1711, two formidable pamphlets in favour of peace.
By this time, he had attained a position of great importance as a serious writer and the
authority he possessed and the respect he received gave him much pleasure. Recognition of
his services was, however, made difficult by doubts about his orthodoxy. Queen Anne was
absolutely hostile towards him. At last, in 1713, he was made Dean of St. Patrick’s. This was
a promotion but it put an end to his life-time ambition of becoming a Bishop in England and
it once more banished him to Ireland, His health was bad and his reception in Dublin was not
friendly so he returned to London. The Queen’s death in 1714 settled the matter. Swift could
hope for nothing with the Whigs coming back to power. He once again went back to Dublin.
Upon his return to Dublin Swift found trouble of another kind. His long, peaceful
association with Stella (Esther Johnson) for whom Swift had a deep affection and respect was

21
disturbed by a strange complication, A rich heiress, Hester Vanhomrigh, with whom Swift
had become quite friendly on his visits to London fell passionately in love with him, despite a
vast disparity in age. Swift was forty-three and Hester was supposed to be just twenty. In
their friendly intercourse she was ‘Vanessa’ and he Cadenus, an anagram for ‘decanes’ i.e.
“dean”; and to her he wrote a poem Cadenus and Vanessa in 1713, which was not meant for
publication. A couple of years later, on the death of her mother Vanessa left England to settle
down in Ireland. By coming to Ireland, Vanessa caused a lot of embarrassment to Swift and
anguish to Stella. Vanessa died in 1723 and Stella in 1728. Beyond this almost nothing is
known about the relations between Swift and the two women who figure in his life. Despite
all this trouble in his private and personal life Swift occupied himself 1714 onwards with
Irish affairs. He deeply resented the unfair treatment of Ireland at the hands of the Whigs. The
pamphlets relating to Ireland form a very important part of Swift’s works. The series began
with A Proposal for the Universal Use of Irish Manufacture, in cloaths, etc. (1720),
advocating a scheme for boycotting English fabrics. This was followed by his famous
Drapier’s Letters by which he prevented the introduction of ‘Wood’s Half-pence’ into
Ireland. He came to England in 1726, visited Pope and Gray and dined with Sir Robert
Walpole, to whom he addressed a letter of remonstrance on Irish affairs with no result. He
published Gulliver’s Travels in the same year and paid a last visit to England in 1727, when
the death of George I created a vague hope of dislodging Walpole. He wrote some of his most
famous tracts and characteristic poems during his last years in Ireland.
A Short View of the Slate of Ireland (1728) gives a touching account of the condition of
the country and A Modest Proposal for preventing the Children of the Poor People from
becoming a burthen to their Parents, or the Country and for making them Beneficial to the
Public (1729) suggests, that the poverty of the people should be relieved by the sale of their
children as food for the rich. The pamphlet reveals with bitterness and irony, the Irish
helplessness and the political insensitivity.
In 1731, Swift wrote Verses on his own Death in which, with mingled pathos and
humour he posthumously reviews his own life and work. A Complete Collection of Polite and
Ingenious Conversation was written in 1738 and the ironical Direction to Servants in 1731.
During all these years he kept up his correspondence with a number of literary figures and
attracted to himself a small circle of friends and was adored by people. He set up a monument
of Schomberg (a noble military General) in the Cathedral at his own expense, spent a third of
his income on charities and saved up another third to found a charitable institution at his
death. St Patrick”; Hospital for Imbeciles.
The symptoms of the illness form which Swift suffered all his life, (a form of vertigo)
became very marked in 1738 and for a long time before his death he was insane. He died in
1745 and was buried by the side of Stella in St. Patrick’s, Dublin. The ironical fact about the
extraordinary life of Swift is that though he was born in Ireland, he did not want to spend his
entire life there because he knew that Ireland was not the land of big opportunity suitable for
a man of his capabilities and talent. He lived a life that might almost be described as a
continual flight from Ireland and a constant return to it compelled by circumstances and yet
he became, in the end, a national hero and an Irish Patriot. During the last thirty years of his
life, he became thoroughly identified with Irish life, mainly through his brilliant pamphlets

22
which reveal the genuineness and the intensity of his indignation at oppression and
unfairness. But ironically too, it was this intensity, this ferocity in his writing that alienated
from him - writers like Dr. Johnson, Macaulay, Thackeray, and many others. Yet another
curious irony is that nearly all his works were published anonymously and for only one,
Gulliver’s Travels did he receive any payment (£ 200). It may be added, as a satiric touch,
that not till 1939-59, was any serious attempt made to produce a full, and accurate edition of
his writings.

2. A General Introduction to Gulliver’s Travels

Swift’s most famous and most popular book was published anonymously at the end of
October 1726. It belongs to the years of his maturity and disillusionment. Its full title at the
time of its first publication was, Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World, by Lemuel
Gulliver, first a Surgeon, and then a Captain of several ships. Gulliver’s Travels is perhaps
the only major work in all English literature that has continuously led a double life: the book
has been from its first appearance successful with children as well as with their elders, “from
the cabinet council-to the nursery,” as Pope and Gray wrote to Swift. For children, the book
is a collection of marvelous adventure stories while for the elders the same stories are
pungent critiques of humanity addressed to their mature imagination. The book is an
incredible amalgam of pleasantly exciting explorer’s tales and the disturbing satire behind it;
the child can rarely see behind the exciting facade, and the adult reader can never cease
seeing what lurks behind it, however inconspicuously. These opposite readings of the book
are possible because there are times when Swift is entirely concerned with the facade—with
the elaboration of the details of the story for its own sake, for instance, in the description of
the floating island in Book III, Chapter 3. The presence of such passages allows the young
reader to take the whole story at the simplest level of meaning. Moreover, throughout Book I
and II there is the fascinating change of perspective— from very small to very big. In Books
III and IV the superficial charm is that of the ‘Wonders of Science’, mysterious phenomena
and strangely shaped creatures. All this gives zest to the narrative without, in any way,
coming in the way of its philosophical interpretation.
Gulliver’s Travels has survived, in fact, grown in importance over almost three
centuries. There are several reasons for this. First of all. a careful reading of the text shows
that Swift is not casual about his material; rather he treats it with utmost seriousness. He
makes the narrator, Gulliver, an earnest, solid, and trustworthy traveller, who is scrupulously
careful in reporting exactly what happened; he is far from being flippant or having the self-
consciousness of one who is engaged in an elaborate hoax. Swift takes great pains to invent a
multitude of such concrete facts that an honest voyager would record in his diary. Swift’s
technique of circumstantial realism makes the voyager’s record perfectly reliable.
Secondly, Swift is extremely diligent in establishing the inner consistency of the strange
worlds which Gulliver discovers: all aspects of life in Lilliput, Brobdingnag and
Houyhnhnm-Land are carefully worked out, according to scale and pattern. For instance,
Lilliputians are six inches tall, and the same scale is maintained for everything and every
creature in their land. The same is true about the Land of the Brobdingnags, whose
inhabitants are ten times the size of man. Thirdly and lastly the most impressive quality of the

23
book is its narrative manner. Gulliver discovers all kinds of strange lands and their strange
inhabitants but never shows any amazement; he accepts their actuality. This is reflected in his
calm plainness of style, his simple vocabulary and orderly, simple sentences. The ironic
discrepancy between the matter-of-fact plain style and the deeper levels of meaning of the
story is one of the sources of the pleasure of reading this book.
It can perhaps be said that Gulliver’s simplicity, that is the simplicity of the character
who is created by Swift to narrate the fantastic discoveries, makes it a tale not for children but
for the perceptive reader who is aware of the symbolic dimension of the narrative. The same
simplicity of style reveals Swift’s deadpan subtlety, a source of ambiguity and irony. Gulliver
naively admires the destructiveness of modern weapons of warfare; the naive admiration of
his narrator is Swift’s ironic comment on the hollow and sinister achievements of civilization.
It’s only occasionally that Swift forgets his role as an uninvolved creator and of Gulliver as
an ordinary English sailor and uses for both of them a single voice; railing not only directly
but violently against the state of affairs in Europe. This happens most frequently in Book III,
in which Swift fails to keep Gulliver’s usual character as a mild, factual, patriotic, middle
class-Englishman.
Gulliver’s Travels is a fabulous entertainer and at the same time a bitter criticism of
society. It has been interpreted to be hitting at a number of contemporary characters and
events. The historical references and commentary on them are only a minor achievement of
the book. Its real achievement and its universality of appeal lies in the use of fantasy for a
profound comment on human nature, as it may be observed at all times and places. The
littleness of the Lilliputians (Book I) symbolizes the moral and spiritual pettiness of which
humanity is capable—its jealousy, malice, infidelity, and ingratitude. Its lust for power and
above all its hatred of greatness, conversely its worship of mediocrity and pettiness. The
hugeness of the Brobdingnagians (Book II) is a symbol of large-mindedness, so that from
their point of view Gulliver’s normal humanity seems, in both size and character, to be
something like worms. In Book III, various symbolic devices are used to suggest
unimaginativeness and the pedantry of various scientists and scholars. And in the final
section of this book, the fundamental desire for immortality is satirized.
Swift is a strong critic of human folly, as is evident in the early books, but it needs to be
strongly emphasized that he is not a mere cynic, for he is as well aware of moral potentiality
as of failure. His central theme is the dual nature of man; man’s capacity for both good and
evil, man’s potentiality for being both an angel and a beast.
Nevertheless, the fact remains that Swift shows an uncompromising sense of man’s
potential for evil and it has the effect of making the readers overemphasize this part of his
world-view. This has resulted in an unbalanced reading, especially of Book IV. Swift is not
just saying, as has often been thought, that mankind is a tribe of Yahoos, that is bestial
creatures: rather, in creating Yahoos and Houyhnhnms, he has split man into certain
component elements; the animal and the rational. Yahoos are devoid of rationality: the
Houyhnhnms are rational beings, but their rationality is quite limited, dry, and devitalized,
founded on the elimination of the emotional aspects of life. Gulliver is so impressed by the
Houyhnhnms that he aspires to live by their rationality, stoicism and simple wisdom; and
being persuaded that he has attained them, he feeds his growing misanthropy on pride, which

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alienates him not only from his remote kinsmen the Yahoos, but eventually from all humans.
Deluded by his worship of pure reason, he commits the error of the Houyhnhnms- in equating
human beings with Yahoos. Captured by a Portuguese crew and forced to return to humanity,
he trembles with fear and hatred. The captain of the ship, Don Pedro is tolerant sympathetic,
kindly, patient, and charitable; but Gulliver can no longer recognize these traits in a human
being. With the myopic vision of the Houyhnhnms, he perceives only a Yahoo and is repelled
by Don Pedro’s clothes, food, and odour. Gradually, however, he is nursed back to partial
health, and is forced to admit that his benefactor has a ‘very good human understanding.’
Swift does not preach; he makes the narrative conclusion of the last book itself point to the
meaning of this brilliant travelogue. Interestingly the use of fantasy for serious statement has
come back into vogue in our times after having been eliminated by almost two centuries of
emphasis upon social realism that documents and catalogues.

3. Study Guide: Book III, Gulliver’s Travels

Book III: A Voyage to Laputa, Balnibarbi, Glubbdubdrib, Luggnagg and Japan.

Chapter One
In 1706, Gulliver sets out on yet another voyage. Once again, his ship is blown off course in a
storm, and when the storm stops, he is chased by two pirate ships. Gulliver’s ship is slow,
being overladen with merchandise and is soon overtaken by the pirates. The pirates take
control of Gulliver’s ship and he narrowly escapes death at the hands of a malicious Dutch
pirate. He is set adrift in a small canoe with eight days’ provisions. Gulliver sails towards a
group of islands at some distance, which he discovers with the help of his pocket-glass. He
reaches the last island which appears to be a deserted one, gets off his boat and spends the
night in a dry cave. Next morning, he comes out of the cave when the day is far advanced. It
is a hot sunny day and Gulliver has to keep his face turned away from the sun, but suddenly it
becomes dark, the sun having been eclipsed by a huge opaque body in the air. Gulliver is
startled to see an island floating in the air, at a height of about two miles above the island.
Viewing it through his pocket glass Gulliver sees that there are a large number of people on
the island and it is divided up into several levels. The island comes down to about 100 yards
above the spot where Gulliver is standing and he is pulled up with the help of a chair tied to
chains.
The Dutch pirate is an evil man as compared to the Japanese pirate. Bias against the
Dutch people was common among the Tories. Though allied militarily against France,
Holland and England remained vigorous commercial rivals. Moreover, Swift detested the
Dutch policy of religious tolerance which undermined the concept of a national church. And
so here he makes his pirate a Dutch and also anti-Christian. Swift’s flying island is built on
scientific principles in the manner of today’s science fiction. Laputa remains suspended on
the principle of attraction and repulsion of magnetic bodies.
(i) Describe the strange object that Gulliver sees in the sky.
(ii) Compare and contrast the behaviour of the Dutch and Japanese pirates towards Gulliver.

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Chapter Two
The people on the flying island look alike, their heads are inclined either to the left or to the
right, one eye is turned inward and the other looks directly at the zenith. Their clothes bear
images of suns, moons and stars, with figures of musical instruments like fiddles, flutes and
harps and so many others. Then Gulliver sees something quite amazing. There are servants
everywhere, known as flappers, who carry short sticks to which are attached bladders
containing dried peas or pebbles. With these, the servants flap the mouth or ears of people
nearby. Gulliver learns that these people remain so lost in thought that they have to be woken
up whenever there is an occasion for them to speak or listen.
Gulliver is taken to the royal palace at the top of the island but several times his escort
has to be reminded by the flapper, as to where he is going. Gulliver finds the king absorbed in
a problem, perhaps a mathematical problem and he remains like that for more than an hour
before he pays any attention to his visitor. Gulliver cannot communicate with the king
because he does not understand his language and he decides to learn the language of the
island. In the mean-time, by the king’s order, Gulliver is provided with an apartment in the
king’s palace, two servants and a language teacher.
Gulliver notices that even the food items, pieces of meat, ice-creams, puddings and
bread are all shaped either like musical instruments or like geometrical or mathematical
figures. The tailor who is ordered to make clothes for him makes such a fuss about taking his
measurements. The clothes he makes are ill-fitting and quite out of shape. On his second day
on the island, Gulliver’s ears are deafened by the crashing music performed by the entire
court for three hours without a break. Each person plays his own instrument, without any
effort to create harmony. Gulliver’s own knowledge of mathematics and science helps him a
great deal in quickly learning the language of the island. He learns that the island is called
Laputa, which in their old obsolete language signified ‘high.’
Everything in Laputa is expressed, even the standards of good and beautiful, in
mathematical or musical terms. Gulliver finds evidence in every field, of the same error of
calculation that the tailor had made in making ill-fitting clothes for him, made in everything.
Laputans are abstract theoreticians; they despise practical geometry and there is not a straight
wall or an exact right angle in their buildings. Their theoretical bent of mind makes them
great failures in all affairs of practical life. Even their vocabulary is limited to the
mathematical sciences and music.
The people of Laputa are also keen students of astronomy. They dread changes in the
position and movement of the celestial bodies and all the time fear the destruction of the
earth. Because of these fears they never sleep in peace or enjoy the simple joys of life. The
king of the island questions Gulliver about the state of mathematics in England but shows no
interest in English religion, government, laws, history or manners. The women of the island
are vivacious but bored with their absent-minded husbands. They are very fond of the
strangers who come to the court from the continents below. Though they are treated very well
as wives or daughters, they are unhappy as their men folk, being mostly lost in the world of
abstraction, have no time for them. Their failure to keep their women happy is yet another
consequence of the impractical character of the men of Laputa.

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 Fun and satire are combined in the description of Laputa. Swift has a good laugh at the
eccentricities and impractical ways of those devoted to pure sciences. Swift makes them
perfectly comical both in appearance and actions. Significantly, Swift says nothing here about
applied sciences.
(i) Describe the appearance of the residents of Laputa.
(ii) Why do the Laputans need flappers?
Chapter Three
The flying island is perfectly circular, its diameter about four miles and a half, its thickness
300 yards. Its area is around 10,000 acres. Its movement is controlled by a magnetic
loadstone, so perfectly poised that anyone can move it in order to lift it towards the earth or
away from it. Swift gives a long and “philosophical account” of the structure and operation of
the great loadstone. He imitates the Royal Society’s learned papers in order to make them
look ridiculous.
The Laputans have highly developed telescopes, as a result of which their knowledge of
astronomy is much more advanced as compared to that of the Europeans. The king of Laputa
is prevented from being an absolute tyrant because his ministers’ own estates lie on the
mainland below and they refuse to support his efforts or designs to subject the entire country
to his will. The common people living on the land below the island are, in fact, many a times
saved from total destruction because of the ministers, whose own interests are involved with
theirs. Laputa’s manner of government, which has little communication with the mainland,
suggests the absentee type of government from which Ireland suffered in the 18th century. Its
small landlords were far from London, but the controlling power of the Irish government was
in London. The country was miserable, being subject to a government that was too far to be
approached.
Gulliver learns about a revolt in Lindalino, second largest city in the kingdom, about three
years before his arrival. Lindalino is Dublin and the revolt figuratively represents the uproar
over the introduction of cheap money of small denomination in Ireland and the granting of
the patent for its manufacture to one William Wood, an Englishman. This chapter is an
excellent piece of symbolic writing which can be read like an allegory too.
(i) Explain the satire in the revolt in Lindalino.
Chapter Four
Gulliver is bored in Laputa and so he decides to leave the island after two months. He
receives permission to leave through the influence of a great lord, a close relation of the king,
but very different from him; less interested in mathematics and music and more interested in
listening to what others say.
Gulliver descends to Balnibarbi, the mainland and travels to its capital city Lagado. He
is received there by a great Lord called Munodi. Making a tour of the town, Gulliver sees
men working on excellent soil with all kinds of tools and equipment but there are no signs of
harvest. The people appear to be poor and miserable. Munodi’s estate, just next to this place,
presents a striking contrast, with its greenery and abundance. Munodi tells him the secret of

27
his own prosperity and of his neighbours’ failure; he avoids the new agricultural methods of
his neighbours and practices the old, tested farming methods only.
Munodi informs Gulliver that, around forty years ago, some men had gone up to the
floating island, acquired a smattering of mathematics and returned with a proposal to build an
Academy of Projectors in Lagado. All the other towns had since built similar academies,
which taught new methods of agriculture and construction. But as none of these methods
were perfected, the country lies in miserable waste. By way of illustration, Munodi shows
Gulliver an ancient mill on his property, that has been turned into a ruin by the projectors.
They had planned to pump water up the hill to secure the advantage of falling water to turn
the mill, instead of using the river that already existed. But after a hundred men worked on
the project for two years, it was abandoned and Munodi was blamed for its failure.
Swift here satirizes the thoughtless and headlong dash into novelty and rash meddling
with established methods. The difference between abstract speculation and practical
application of knowledge are two completely different things. Swift is not against scientific
innovations or scientific curiosity; he is against wasteful and unscientific methods to practical
problems. Munodi is either Swift’s friend Bolingbroke or Oxford or perhaps a composite of
both.
(i) Write a note on Lord Munodi. How is his estate different from that of his neighbours?
(ii) Describe Gulliver’s visit to the Academy of Projectors.
Chapter Five
Gulliver visits the Academy of Lagado, which has five hundred rooms. He sees a man
working on a project to extract sunshine from cucumbers so that man might warm the air on
cold days. In another room, a filthy-looking man is working on a project to reduce human
excrement back to its original form. Other researchers are trying to build a house from the
roof downward, as do the spiders and the bees and to produce gunpowder by heating ice. Yet
another is trying to develop methods to plough fields by putting into the soil a huge quantity
of acorns, chestnuts, and other vegetables and letting the hogs dig them up. In another part of
the building, Gulliver meets a projector in speculative learning, who has invented a machine
that will enable any one to write great books on philosophy and the arts. At the school of
languages, Gulliver meets professors who are trying to remove language barriers and make
the communicative process simple and less strenuous.
This chapter is an example of Swift’s great capacity for inventing comical images and
fantastically comical details. Behind the hilariously comical images is hidden bitter satire on
the impracticality and wastefulness of research proposed to be undertaken by learned
societies of his time, especially the Royal Society. The “philosophical account” is Swift’s
parody of the typical scientific papers published in the Transactions of the Royal Society.
(i) Briefly describe any two experiments being conducted at the Academy of Projectors.
(ii) Look up ‘Royal Society’ in any online encyclopedia and write a note on it.

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Chapter Six
Gulliver next visits the school of political projectors. The professors there appear to him
wholly out of their senses for proposing to work out schemes to persuading the monarchs to
choose their favourites for their wisdom, capacity, and virtue; for the ministers to be able to
promote public good. He finds the professors trying to devise schemes by which merit, great
abilities and eminent public services could be rewarded. And according to Gulliver they are
following “many other wild, impossible chimeras” that had never been conceived by man.
One of the professors is engaged in finding effective remedies for all diseases and
corruptions to which public administration is subject. To correct the poor memories of court
favourites, for instance, he would have their associates activate their memories by giving “a
tweak by the nose or a kick in the belly, or tread on his corns or lug him thrice by both ears,
or run a pin into his breach, or pinch his arm black and blue, to prevent forgetfulness.” To
end violent party divisions in a state, he proposes to take a hundred leaders from each party,
cut their brains in half, and put together for each man two halves of brains from different
parties. This would bring moderation and quiet in the state. Gulliver finds two professors
engaged in a warm debate about how to extract taxes without “grieving” the tax-payers. One
of them argued that each man should be taxed for his vices and follies, the other that a man
should be taxed according to the qualities in him. The highest tax would be on the men who
were greatest favourites of the other sex. Women would be taxed according to their beauty
and style of dressing; but constancy, chastity, good sense and good nature would not be
considered, since they are too rare and would not bear even the expenses for collecting the
tax. Gulliver is shown by another professor, a paper of instructions to discover plots and
conspiracies against the government. His advice is to examine the diet of the suspects, the
times of their meals, their sleeping habits, the colour of their excrement, which is the key to
their thoughts and designs.
In this chapter it’s no longer irony but bitter satire, for here, the possibility of right
conduct in public affairs becomes an impossible chimera, something that could never enter
man’s head. Here Swift shows a bitter contempt for the state of affairs in the world and for
his own kind. He despairs of any possibility of reform. According to him, the entire political
system is so horribly diseased that it is beyond correction or cure. Hence the best thing to do
is to laugh at its expense. This is black humour; comedy that shows despair and still makes
the reader laugh.
Gulliver’s comments on the political situation in his country surprise us. He seems to
have already revised his opinion about his “ideal country.” In the last few passages Swift is
mimicking the methods employed by Whigs to investigate the charges, mostly trumped up,
against holy persons of Tory leanings and against some politicians: Bolingbroke, for
example. Bolingbroke was secretary of state in 1710 and a victim of dirty Whig politics.
Chapter Seven
Gulliver decides to visit the island of Luggnagg as it lies enroute to his voyage back to
England, but because he cannot find any ship bound for this island, he decides to take a trip to
the island of Glubbdubdrib, the island of sorcerers and magicians where the entire governing
tribe practices magic. The Governer is served by the dead, whom he has power to command.

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On his way to the palace, Gulliver passes between two rows of guards dressed in what he
thinks is a very antique manner and something in their countenance makes his flesh creep
with horror. By the turn of his finger the Governer dismisses his servants, and to the utter
astonishment of Gulliver they vanish in an instant “like visions in a dream when we awake on
a sudden.” A new set of ghosts serve at the table and Gulliver sees so many ghosts or spirits
all day long that he becomes, in a day or two, perfectly used to the presence of spirits. The
Governer permits Gulliver to call up from the underworld whatever spirits he wishes to speak
to. Alexander and Hannibal appear and clear some misconceptions about themselves. The
senate of Rome looks like an “assembly of demigods, whereas another assembly of somewhat
later age,” seems to be a “knot of peddlers, pickpockets, highway men and bullies.” Gulliver
enjoys the conversation of really noble men like Brutus, Socrates, Cato, Thomas More and so
on. Gulliver also admires the sight of those who crushed tyrants and restored liberty to
nations.
Swift presents modern politicians in a satirical light by comparing them to the members
of the Roman Senate. Swift also debunks many stories that pass for history and obliquely
attacks present day politicians as a bunch of thieves.
(i) Describe the island of Glubbdubdrib.
(ii) Why does Gulliver single out Brutus for his admiration?
Chapter Eight
Gulliver, continues to meet the spirits of the dead. He summons up Aristotle and Homer,
along with their commentators. Aristotle, speaking about Descartes and Gassendi, says that
their philosophy and principles are based on conjectures and have been proved wrong- just
as, in time, Newton’s theory of gravitation would be. Swift had a strong dislike for Sir Isaac
Newton and his “zealous asserters.”
Summoning up the ghosts of noble families, Gulliver is disappointed to find that they
often have peddlers, barbers, and prelates among them, and can trace their lineage only a very
few generations. Gulliver sees their scandalous secrets laid bare and he ceases to wonder at
the degeneration of the nobility when he sees their blood lines interrupted by pages, lackeys,
valets, coach men, and pickpockets. Gulliver realizes that it is what Polydor Virgil, a 16th
century Italian, who composed a history of England, says of certain great houses “Not a man
of them brave, not a woman pure.”
Gulliver is chiefly disgusted with modern history for he discovers that the prostitute
writers have totally misrepresented the facts. Those known for heroic patriotism are
misrepresented as traitors. Known villains had been exalted to offices of high trust; the
virtuous had been executed through the devices of the wicked ministers. He discovers the true
causes of some great events; “how a whore can govern the back stairs, the back stairs a
council and the council a senate.” He discovers how some renowned figures of history had
secured high titles and great estates by perjury and fraud or by prostituting their wives and
daughters.
Gulliver shows the blackest face of the so called noble, illustrious, and royal families. All
these have, barring a few exceptions, acquired great wealth and positions of power-either by

30
accident or by treachery, falsehood, and cunning or by bribing those in power and pandering
to their whims. To put it in short, those who rose to occupy high political positions were men
of dishonourable disposition. After saying all this, Gulliver says that he does not have his
own country in mind with regard to what he has said on this occasion. Nobody is fooled by
this explanation which only renders the irony more effective. The special target of satire here
is the pride of great houses in their ancestry and reputation. Gulliver now laments how man
has degenerated in the last hundred years. Men have lost the vigour and valour and sense of
justice and spirit of liberty of the English yeomen of the old stamp. Every journey adds to the
education of Gulliver.
(i) What does Gulliver learn about noble and royal families?
Chapter Nine
Leaving Glubbdubdrib, Gulliver travels to Luggnagg, where he represents himself as a
Hollander in the hope of getting to Japan, for the Dutch alone are allowed to enter that
country. He sends to the king of Luggnagg the conventional request to have the honour of
licking the dust before the royal footstool, but he finds the words to be more than mere form.
He is commanded to crawl on his belly towards the throne, licking the floor as he moves
forward. Gulliver being a stranger, the floor is cleaned for his approach; but he learns that for
those who have enemies at the court, extra dirt is put on the floor and for those whom the
king wishes to eliminate, some brown powder, a form of poison, is sprinkled on the floor.
Gulliver, with the help of an interpreter, pays the customary salutation to the king: “May your
Celestial Majesty outlive the sun, eleven moons and an half.” Pleased, the king grants him an
allowance, assigns an interpreter to assist him and permission to stay in Luggnag for three
months.
Travel books, with their stories of Oriental despotism seem to be reflected in Gulliver’s
encounter with the king of Luggnagg. That only the Dutch could find entry into Japan is a
fact of history. This adds to the realism Swift has tried to give to the book.
(i) What is Gulliver expected to do on meeting the king of Luggnagg?
Chapter Ten
The Luggnaggian people are polite and generous, although they are not without some share
of pride which is peculiar to all Eastern countries. Gulliver hears about the Struldbruggs,
immortal men. He is told that to any family a child might be born, whose forehead is marked
with the red circular spot of immortality. “Happy people!” is Gulliver’s first reaction. “Happy
nation blessed with so much ancient wisdom for a guide,” thinks Gulliver. Then he falls into
a long dream in which he imagines all that he would do if he were a Struldbrugg; how he
would use his gift of immortality to become “a living treasury of knowledge and wisdom, and
certainly become the oracle of the nation.” He also dreams about how he would, along with
others from his “immortal brotherhood,” guide the youth of his country to create a better
world. But the Luggnaggians laugh at his ignorance, for it is based on the supposition that the
Struldbruggs would remain young forever and not decay mentally or physically into old age.
But whenever a Struldbrugg sees a funeral, he wishes he might have one, for after a certain
stage in old age, there sets in a rapid decline of mental and physical faculties. The

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Struldbruggs grow like any other mortal till they are thirty years old and then age till they are
eighty. So, it is as if they are condemned to eternal old age and all its infirmities. They
remember nothing at all, so that at last they cannot perform their natural functions, they
cannot converse with any one and generally became a ghastly sight. By law, they are
considered dead after they complete “four score years”; deprived of property, employment,
and wives. Gulliver’s “keen appetite for perpetuity of life was much abated” after listening to
accounts of the Struldbruggs and meeting some of them.
Here Swift mocks at a pride which is peculiar to Eastern countries, as he says. Actually,
this is another one of the vain desires of men anywhere in the world. Swift’s purpose is to
show that man commonly desires what is bad for him and neglects his real good.
(i) Why is Gulliver excited on hearing about the Struldbruggs?
(ii) Give a detailed description of the immortal Struldbruggs.
Chapter Eleven
The King of Luggnagg gives Gulliver permission to leave his kingdom and also gives him a
letter of recommendation for the emperor of Japan, some gold pieces, and a red diamond. He
sails to Japan, from where he hopes to return home but the Japanese become suspicious about
Gulliver’s claim to be a Dutchman because he asks to be excused from the ceremony
imposed on the Dutch, that of trampling over the crucifix. The emperor is almost sure that
Gulliver is not a Hollander but a Christian. But he is considerate and gives secret orders to the
officer to allow Gulliver to quickly pass out of the country and to be excused from the
ceremony. Gulliver then reaches the port of Nangasac, after a very long and troublesome
journey. There, he meets a company of Dutch sailors belonging to a ship called Amboyna of
Amsterdam; a stout ship of 450 tons. Gulliver’s knowledge of Dutch language once more
comes in very handy. He makes friends with the Dutch sailors and sails home with them on
the Amboyna. He finally reaches home after five and half years.
The third voyage has always been considered the least popular, but none the less
interesting. Structurally it is loosely episodic, lacking unity of action and tone. Into it Swift
seems to have put all the material that he could not work into the other three voyages. It is
fantasia on two themes which Swift treats under a single metaphor: the metaphor is science.
The themes are politics and the abuse of reason. In short, the voyage is a digression on
madness, on the divorce of man and good sense in the modern world.

4. Study Guide: Book IV, Gulliver’s Travels

Book IV: A Voyage to the Country of the Houyhnhnms
Chapter One
After spending five months at home with his wife and children Gulliver sets out on yet
another voyage: this time as the captain of a merchant ship. In West Indies, he hires some
sailors to replace some of his men who have died of a tropical fever. The newly hired men
turn out to be former pirates. They seize the ship and put Gulliver in chains. After sailing for
some weeks, as soon as an island is sighted, the pirates get rid of Gulliver. They put him in a

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boat and sail away. In this desolate condition, Gulliver keeps rowing till he gets upon firm
ground. He is tired in body and soul, so he rests for some time and then goes up into the
country. Soon he observes some repulsive animals, thick hair in some parts of their body.
They have no tails, but have long claws, and climb trees as nimbly as squirrels. Gulliver feels
a strong aversion for them. As he moves along a road, one of these beasts approaches him
and raises one of its fore-paws towards him. In order to fend him off Gulliver gives him a
blow with the flat side of his sword, at which the animal draws back but roars so loudly that a
herd of at least forty come flocking about him from the next field. They howl and Gulliver
moves to defend himself with his back to a tree. Some of the brutes leap up into the tree and
begin to discharge Study Guidesssstheir excrements on his head. Gulliver defends himself by
waving his hanger but is quite stifled with the filth falling all around him.
Suddenly, a horse appears, and all the beasts run away. He looks with wonder at
Gulliver, examines his hands and feet and blocks him from leaving the spot, but all very
gently. Gulliver attempts to pet him, but the horse shakes his head and seemed to say
something, neighing all the time. Another horse comes up, greets the first one ceremoniously
and seems to say something about Gulliver. The two again examine Gulliver’s hands and feet
with wonder. Their behaviour is so orderly and intelligent that Gulliver believes them to be
two magicians in the form of horses. He addresses them as magicians, asking them to give
him a ride up to a village or a house. The horses again discuss the situation, frequently using
the word Yahoo. As soon as the horses are silent, Gulliver boldly pronounces Yahoo in a loud
voice, imitating as well as he can, the neighing of a horse, at which both the horses are visibly
surprised. They teach him the exact pronunciation of that word and of another, Houyhnhnm
(Whinnum). Gulliver’s learning ability amazes the horses. At last, the horses part ways and
Gulliver accompanies the first, a dapple grey.
Note how, from the first chapter itself, Gulliver draws attention to the horses’
philosophical and rational demeanour, whereas the Yahoos are described as “brutes.”
(i) Describe the creatures Gulliver first sees on landing on the island.
(ii) Describe the horse’s reaction to Gulliver’s appearance.
Chapter Two
After walking for about three miles, Gulliver and the horse come to a kind of long building
made of straw and timber. Gulliver now begins to feel a little comforted and takes out the
toys and trinkets, such as travellers carry, as peace-offerings to whoever lives in that building.
The horse neighs with authority to three horses and two mares in a large room with a smooth
clay floor. Gulliver waits in the second room, where he again takes out his trinkets for the
master of the house. He hears the horses conversing in the next room. Gulliver fears his mind
is disturbed by his sufferings and misfortune. He pinches himself to test whether he is
dreaming and waits to be taken to the master of the house. Instead, he is introduced to a
lovely mare. a colt and a foal sitting on well-made straw mats in a third room. Gulliver is
again examined, again hears the word Yahoo several times, and is then taken outside to be
compared with one of the filthy animals he had first met in that land.

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 Gulliver is absolutely horrified to notice in that abominable brute, a perfect human
figure-with the face flat and broad, the nose depressed, the lips large and the mouth wide.
Gulliver also notices that the forefeet of the Yahoo differ from his hands in nothing else but
the length of the nails, the coarseness and the brownness of the palms, and hairiness on the
backs. There is the same resemblance between their feet, with the same difference - which
only Gulliver knows because he’s wearing shoes and stockings. To the eyes of the horses,
Gulliver’s clothes make his body unlike that of the beast. The horses offer the Yahoos’ food
to Gulliver but he turns from it with loathing. At that point, Gulliver notices a cow passing by
and he points to her and expresses a desire to go and milk her. He is led into the house and
offered a large bowl of clean and cool milk which makes him feel quite refreshed.
An old horse, drawn in a sledge by four Yahoos arrives for dinner, during which Gulliver
is discussed. Gulliver’s gloves perplex the old horse, who is very pleased when Gulliver takes
them off. Pleased with his conduct, the horses teach him several new words. He also gets
their permission to make bread from oats, which he eats with milk, herbs, and butter. He
occasionally has rabbit or a bird. All this keeps Gulliver in excellent health during his three
years among the horses. He sleeps in a separate building between the house and the Yahoos’
stable.
Gulliver asserts that he is a great lover of mankind, but he finds the Yahoos, who have a
close resemblance to man, absolutely “hateful” and “detestable.” It is ironic that Gulliver is
not immediately struck by the physical resemblance between the Yahoos and himself.
(i) Describe the physical appearance of the Yahoos.
Chapter Three
Gulliver’s principal endeavour is to learn the Houyhnhnm tongue, which he thinks is very
much like high Dutch or German. The master horse is convinced that Gulliver is a Yahoo but
he is perplexed at his un-Yahoo-like qualities; his teachableness, civility, cleanliness, and
clothes. At the end of three months, Gulliver begins to satisfy the Houyhnhnm’s curiosity, but
the master first doubts Gulliver’s story, sure that he must be saying “the thing that was not”
in telling of people across the sea, and of wooden vessels controlled by brute Yahoos. The
Houyhnhnms are ruled by reason alone and since lying is against the reasonable and natural
purpose of speech, they have no such word for lying. They have no need of such a word-
hence the only expression they have for ‘lying’ is “the thing that was not.” The word
Houyhnhnm means a horse and in its etymology, “the Perfection of Nature.”
All the Houyhnhnms of the neighborhood come to see Gulliver, the wonderful Yahoo.
They cannot think of him as a Yahoo because of his clothes and some other minor differences
from the beasts. Gulliver takes all possible care to never allow himself to be seen without his
clothes. But the secret of Gulliver’s clothes is discovered one morning when a servant horse
happens to see him sleeping without them. The master Houyhnhnm cannot understand why
anyone should hide some parts of the body that nature has given; nevertheless, he allows
Gulliver to remain partly dressed while being examined again. To him, Gulliver appears a
perfect Yahoo despite his smooth skin, the absence of hair on his body or of long claws, and
his habit of walking upright on his hind legs. But the main difference is his capacity for
speech and reason.
34
 The master horse is keen to hear how Gulliver reached their country and Gulliver
narrates how he and other sailors sailed on a ship and how he was thrown out by pirates. The
master horse doubts his story, so Gulliver informs him that in all other known countries, men
like Gulliver are the presiding rational creatures and horses are brute animals; that Gulliver
had been as surprised to find rational and ruling horses as the Houyhnhnms had been to find a
rational Yahoo.
That reason has its limitations is proved by the fact that they cannot grasp conceptions
outside their own confined experience: countries other than their own, countries where horses
do not rule, where there are ships that are managed and navigated by Yahoos.
(i) Why don’t the Houyhnhnms have a word in their language for ‘lying’?
(ii) Why is the master horse puzzled by Gulliver’s clothes?
Chapter Four
The master horse is deeply distressed by Gulliver’s information. Being unused to doubting or
not believing, he doesn’t know how to behave when in doubt; and he cannot understand
Gulliver’s explanation of how men lie and misrepresent. On being questioned and
commanded by the master horse, Gulliver describes the care, the uses and abuses of horses in
England. The master is quite upset to hear some parts of Gulliver’s information, for example
to hear that the English horses are beaten, castrated and trained to serve the Yahoos, or that
the Yahoos ride upon the backs of the horses. After some expressions of indignation, the
master wonders how the Yahoos dare to ride upon a Houyhnhnm’s back. Nevertheless, the
master finds Gulliver different from the Yahoos of Houyhnhnmland. Gulliver is cleaner and
less deformed, but has fewer real advantages than the Yahoos. His nails are of no use and his
forefeet are of no use for walking. Using only two feet to walk, he is always insecure while
walking; his face is flat; the position of his eyes forces him to turn his head in order to see to
the sides and he cannot feed himself without using his forefoot.
Gulliver’s account of his voyage to the country of horses greatly puzzles the
Houyhnhnm, especially the part that explains why pirates dare not return to their native land.
Neither can he understand why men commit evil acts like treason, murder, theft, rape,
forgery, and robbery. Gulliver’s explanation of these crimes makes the horse “lift up his eyes
with amazement and indignation.”
The Houyhnhnms are ruled by reason. They show very little passion, a little indignation
here and there, but never lust, envy, anger in the violent sense, covetousness and other vices
inspired by passion, by which men are carried away. Thus, the master horse cannot
understand man’s habit of lying, a vice which comes from the passions. To the Houyhnhnm,
lying is a violation of the natural function of speech. Whatever is rational will be done easily
and as a matter of course by creatures governed by reason.
(i) Why does the master horse find it difficult to understand Gulliver’s accounts of his
country?
(ii) Why is the master horse distressed on hearing about the treatment meted to horses in
England?

35
Chapter Five
The master horse wishes to hear an account of English history after Gulliver has told him
whatever he can about trade and industry, arts and sciences in his country. So, at his master’s
command Gulliver relates to him the Revolution under the Prince of Orange: the long war
with France entered into by the said Prince and renewed by his successor, the present Queen.
Giving a detailed account of the war Gulliver says that several great countries of Europe are
involved in it, millions of people have been killed, hundreds of cities captured and hundreds
of ships sunk. On being asked by the master horse, what are the usual causes or motives that
make one country go to war with another, Gulliver answers that these are innumerable: such
as princely ambition for greater power, religious disagreements, rivalry between
neighbouring countries over some piece of territory, and so many others. Dealing with the
religious causes of wars, Swift ridicules the controversy over Christ’s real presence in the
consecrated objects, the controversy whether bread be flesh or wine be blood. This is Swift’s
objectivity and a satirical comment on man’s deformity which allows him to shed blood, even
in the name of God,
The master comments that the account of war has very satisfactorily put before him the
effects of the reason that Gulliver’s race pretend to have. But, still unaware of the artificial
means by which wars are carried on, he finds comfort in thinking that nature has left men
utterly incapable of doing much mischief; with their mouths lying flat with their faces, they
could hardly bite each other to cause deep injury. And, therefore, the master concludes that
Gulliver has lied to him about the numbers of those killed in the battles. Gulliver continues to
educate the horse about man’s use of weapons; about fire-arms, swords, bayonets,
bombardments and about the corrupting and dehumanizing effects of war. The Houyhnhnm
stops him, afraid that simply by hearing such things he will become corrupt.
Gulliver tells the master that some sailors leave their country for the fear of law. He
explains the meaning of the word, but the master is puzzled over how a law, framed to
preserve everyone, could harm anyone. For the master, reason and nature should be sufficient
to guide a rational animal, he therefore becomes curious about laws and lawyers. Gulliver
explains that lawyers are a kind of people who are brought up from their youth in the art of
proving by words, invented for that purpose, that white was black and black was white again.
Lawyers have a jargon of their own and keep on multiplying laws in this jargon, by which the
very essence of truth and falsehood is wholly confounded and it takes thirty years to decide a
case. Gulliver concludes that lawyers are far from the brilliant creatures one might suppose
them to be, that they are in fact the most ignorant and stupid people in England.
What Gulliver says in this chapter shows that his attitude towards his own country is no
longer indulgent. He freely talks about the corruption in various parts of English life, be it
foreign policy, law courts, or military action. He has lived long enough in the land of the
Houyhnhnms to be affected by their honesty and reason.
(i) Mention some reasons, as listed by Gulliver, why countries go to war.
(ii) What does Gulliver have to say about the lawyers in his country?

36
Chapter Six
On hearing the tales of evil and injustice prevailing at the law-courts, the Houyhnhnm master
wonders why the lawyers want to injure their fellow animals and what is meant by the word
hire. At this, Gulliver tries to explain to the master the use of money and how its possession
permits an English Yahoo to obtain whatever he wants - the choicest clothing, land, food, and
females. This power makes the Yahoos want to accumulate as much of it as possible. Money
is power but the number of people who have it is small - one to a thousand, and these
thousands labour to generate money for the rich and yet themselves live in misery and
poverty. This is again incomprehensible to the master, who believes that all animals have a
right to their share of the earth’s products. Gulliver explains the concept of trade - the English
practice of selling to countries all over the world, its surplus food in exchange for items of
luxury, which bring diseases, folly, and vice.
Speaking of diseases and physicians, Gulliver explains the physical evils that follow
unwise eating and drinking. Being a physician, Gulliver says that the basic cause of disease is
repletion (over-fulness) and the first remedy is, therefore, evacuation- either upwards or
downwards. That Gulliver is being ironical, is evident. He is making fun of current medical
beliefs and practices; also hints at intentional malpractices by the physicians.
Next, Gulliver describes to the master horse the nature of the English government and of
the English constitution. He begins by speaking about the position of a first or chief minister
of state and says that this is a creature who has no other passion, except a violent desire for
wealth, power and titles. This is Gulliver’s satirical portrait of a politician. To secure the
office of the chief minister, all kinds of means - murder, betrayal, and hypocrisy are used.
The chief minister’s power is perpetuated by wholesale bribery and his house is the breeding
ground for future chief ministers, pages, lackeys, and porters. They learn, by imitation, the
skills of insolence, lying, and bribery - the most necessary ingredients. The first ministers are
usually ruled by some “decayed wench or foot man,” the true ruler of the country and the
channel of all favours.
Being impressed by several qualities of Gulliver’s personality and intelligence the
Houyhnhnm supposes he belongs to some noble family. Gulliver corrects the horse’s notions
of nobility, which in England, implied being bred in idleness and luxury. Noble blood is
commonly known by a sickly appearance, as a healthy nobleman is suspected to have been
fathered by a coachman or a groom. The minds of the nobility match their feeble bodies. But,
ironically, the assembly of nobles is the court of highest appeal in England, and no law can be
enacted without its consent.
(i) Summarize Gulliver’s description of physicians in England.
(ii) How does Gulliver describe the nobility of his country?
Chapter Seven
Gulliver clarifies why he has given an honest account of his own species to the master horse.
The virtues of the horses, compared to the corruption of mankind, open his eyes and sharpen
his understanding. He now sees man’s actions and passions in a new light and finds man’s
honour unworthy and incapable of defense before the sharply intelligent Houyhnhnms.

37
Gulliver also decides never to go back to his kind but to live and die there, surrounded by the
noble horses.
The master Houyhnhnm concludes, after seriously considering Gulliver’s account, that
Gulliver’s people are animals who, possessing a small pittance of Reason, use it only to
increase their natural corruption. Even Gulliver, he observes, is inferior to the Yahoos in
natural strength, speed, and agility but, in mental disposition, his kind seems very much like
the Yahoos who hate each other. Like Gulliver’s kind, they detest each other and all because
each one wants to have everything to itself. He describes how the Yahoos will fight over food
articles or shining stones that they love though, lacking the weapons of the Europeans, they
seldom kill one another. The master tells Gulliver that the most odious thing about the
Yahoos is their gluttony. They eat everything that comes their way and they enjoy eating it
more if they have got it through stealing or plunder. The Yahoos, Gulliver observes, are the
only animals in the country subject to many diseases, owing to their haste and greed. Of the
European man’s learning, government, arts, and industry - the Houyhnhnms find no parallel
among the Yahoos, unless it is the possession, by the ruling Yahoo, of a favourite, whose
office is to lick his master’s feet and posteriors and drive the females to his kennel. In both
the account of the first minister as well as of the toady, Swift attacks Robert Walpole.
In this section the master horse responds to Gulliver’s accounts of the various institutions
and professions in his country. It is ironical that the Houyhnhnm has to point out to Gulliver
the similarities between the Yahoos and the human, which are apparent to the reader.
(i) Summarize the master horse’s observations about the Yahoos in his country.
(ii) What is the master horse’s observation about the faculty of reason in humans?
Chapter Eight
Having a great desire to observe and study the nature of the Yahoos, Gulliver receives
permission to walk among them, accompanied by a strong servant horse. He finds them the
most unteachable of all animals. They are very nimble but fit only to carry burdens, which is
why the Houyhnhnms employ them as servants to draw their carts and sledges. They are
cunning, malicious, and revengeful. They are strong and hardy but of a cowardly spirit and by
consequence, insolent, abject, and cruel. Gulliver has a horrible experience, when a young
Yahoo female leaps into the stream where he is bathing and embraces him violently, letting
go only when the horse escorting him comes to his rescue. The horses are greatly amused by
the incident. Gulliver feels mortified for he fears now that he is a real Yahoo, since the
female shows a natural attraction for him.
By sheer contrast to the Yahoos, the principal effort among the Houyhnhnms is to
cultivate reason. They have no conception of evil in a rational creature. For them, the truth is
instantly and clearly obvious and so they don’t understand the meaning of an opinion, or how
a point can be “disputable” or “controversial.” The master horse laughs when Gulliver
presents to him several systems of European philosophy. There is one truth, everything else is
conjecture, the master believes. Friendship and benevolence are the two principal virtues
among the Houyhnhnms, equally extended to friends and strangers. They practice decency
and civility and do not care much for ceremony. They treat their neighbours’ colts with the

38
same affection that they have for their own. They produce two colts to a family but the
servant class is allowed to produce three children of each sex, to insure a sufficient number of
domestics for noble families. Their marriages are arranged very reasonably, with care to
choose colours that will mix well. They have no ideas, nor words, for love, courtship,
presents, and marriage settlements, but marriage they regard as a necessity imposed by
reason. Among them marriage is never violated, though each partner bears the same
friendship and benevolence towards the other, as he does towards all the Houyhnhnms.
Young Houyhnhnms, both male and female, are taught lessons in temperance, industry,
exercise, cleanliness, and hardiness. Gulliver’s master thinks it monstrous that English
females should receive a different kind of education from males, and that too in nothing
except in some skills in domestic management. To trust the care of their children to such
useless animals, he says, is a yet greater instance of brutality. The Houyhnhnms are very
methodical, not only about the education of their youth, but also about managing their
administration. Every fourth year, a representative council of the country meets to consider
the problems of the land and remedy them.
Although Gulliver is full of praise for the Houyhnhnms, they lack man’s complexity.
Therefore, they cannot be taken literally to indicate how man should live. But Houyhnhnms
do stand for reason or rationality, a capacity to think and to distinguish good from bad and
this rational faculty is supposed to distinguish man from beasts, just as it separates the
Houyhnhnms from the Yahoos. What Swift seems to be saying is that if man were rational, if
he could truly be ruled by reason, he would live as do the noble horses. The presentation of
Houyhnhnm life seems to be exhorting man to introspect and evaluate, and recognize the
need for reform.
(i) Why is Gulliver upset when the female Yahoo embraces him?
(ii) Write a note on the Houyhnhnms’ customs as far as marriage and children are
concerned.
Chapter Nine
Just three months before Guilliver’s departure from the Houyhnhnm’s land, the great council
of horses gathers to debate an old question; whether and how to exterminate the Yahoos.
Having taken a tip from Gulliver’s account of how horses are tamed by castration in England,
the master Houyhnhnm suggests that young Yahoos be castrated, so that after a generation or
two they cease to exist. He also suggests that to carry out small services, they could train wild
asses.
The Houyhnhnms have no letters, so all their knowledge is traditional, that is passed
orally from generation to generation. They have no history; no international or commercial
relations and the people are reasonable and orderly. They have no diseases and no physicians,
but they use herbs to dress ordinary cuts and bruises. They measure the year by the
movement of the sun, know of eclipses, but little about astronomy. In poetry, they excel all
other mortals, according to Gulliver’s judgement. Their buildings are rude and simple, being
made of straw.

39
 The Houyhnhnms die only of old age and they die without joy or grief on their own part
or of their relatives. They normally live to around seventy years of age and a few weeks
before its death, the aged horse meets its friends and relatives to take a last farewell. The only
term the Houyhnhnms have to devote deficiency is the word Yahoo - which they add to the
name of the defective thing.
(i) What transpires at the Assembly of horses?
(ii) Explain the Houyhnhnms’ attitude to death.
Chapter Ten
Gulliver begins to feel quite comfortably settled in Houyhnhnm land, all his problems of
food, clothing, furniture and housing having been gradually solved, by his own efforts and
the friendly cooperation and support of the master. He enjoys perfect health of body and
tranquility of mind. He can breathe freely for he feels that, at last, his life is free from the
harassments and humiliations of a corrupt society: no treachery or inconsistency of a friend,
nor the injury of a secret or an open enemy. There is no occasion to bribe, flatter or pimp to
procure the favours of any great man or his minion. He is happy that he has the advantage of
listening to the noble horses. Gulliver unhesitatingly confesses that the little knowledge he
has of any value has been acquired by the lectures from his master, and from the discourses
of his friends. To put it briefly, he is quite happy and reconciled to his situation in the land of
the Houyhnhnms. When he thinks of his family, his countrymen or of the human race in
general, he considers them as Yahoos in shape and disposition; perhaps a little more civilized
and qualified with the gift of speech, but making no other use of reason than to improve and
multiply their natural vices. Gulliver is so enamoured of the Houyhnhnms that he even begins
to imitate their gait and gesture. Gulliver has reached a point where he is full of self-loathing;
he feels “horror and detestation” every time he sees his reflection in a lake or foundation.
Gulliver is thus settled in a happy, carefree life among his new friends when he receives
an agonizing message from the master horse: the Houyhnhnm assembly has decreed that he
must leave their country. The representatives take offense at the master horse keeping a
Yahoo in his home and treating him like an equal. Moreover, they are afraid that Gulliver,
having demonstrated some signs of possessing the faculty of reason, could incite a rebellion
of Yahoos against them and pose a threat to their country. Gulliver’s master is distressed too
for having to lose Gulliver, but the pressure from his neighbours to follow the “exhortation”
of the Council is too much to bear.
Gulliver is miserable, but agrees to leave. In six weeks, with the help of a servant horse,
Gulliver constructs a canoe covered with Yahoo skins and a sail of the same material. He
stocks his boat with boiled rabbit flesh and other provisions, kisses the master’s foot and sails
towards an island he can see about five leagues away.
The unfeeling decision of the horses shows how far pure reason can go in successfully
managing human life. Gulliver, on the contrary, feels disturbed at the prospect of having to
leave. Since he has lived among the Houyhnhnms, he has the good sense to agree with the
wisdom and justice of their decision.
(i) Why does the Council of horses ask Gulliver to leave Houynhnhnmland?
(ii) How does Gulliver prepare for his voyage?
40
Chapter Eleven
After a tender parting from his Houyhnhnm friends Gulliver sets out in his canoe, hoping to
find an uninhabited island on which he could support his life. Returning to civilization, with
its corruptions and its incitements to viciousness is an intolerable idea to him. On the island
on which he lands he is pursued by savages and wounded in the knee but when he sees a ship,
he tries to avoid it. He is found by a party of men who have come to the shore in search of
water. They speak to him in Portuguese and wonder at his strange clothes. Meanwhile,
Gulliver trembles in fear and hatred. The Portuguese captain, a very courteous and generous
person, speaks to Gulliver in a very kind and civil manner, but Gulliver remains silent and
sullen. He is, in fact, ready to faint at the very smell of him and his men. The captain orders a
chicken and some good wine and then directs that Gulliver be put to bed in a clean cabin.
After remaining in the cabin for some time, Gulliver steals out of it and tries to leap
overboard, but is prevented and chained to his cabin. The captain, Pedro de Mendez is so
polite and shows such a moving concern for him that at last Gulliver decides to treat him as a
creature having some little portion of reason.
Bound by an oath not to destroy himself, Gulliver spends most of the voyage to Lisbon
shut up in his cabin, away from the crew. He avoids wearing clothes touched by Yahoos: in
Lisbon he has himself led to the highest room at the back of Don Pedro’s house. After
listening to Gulliver’s story, the captain patiently tries to persuade Gulliver to accept his own
kind again. At last, Gulliver is persuaded to walk in the street but he puts cotton or tobacco up
his nose, to keep out the Yahoo smell. Don Pedro persuades Gulliver to return home and
arranges for his journey; even giving him some money when he comes to see him off. On
reaching his home, the sight of his family revolts him. He faints when his wife embraces him.
For a year he cannot bear the presence of his family; “to this hour,” he says, “they dare not
presume to touch my bread,” nor does he permit them to take him by the hand. For five years
he lives in the stable, talking with horses.
Gulliver’s mind is seriously unhinged. He suffers from what the Greeks call hubris,
arrogance and excessive pride, characterized by a man stepping out of his proper place in the
world. Gulliver’s position is that of a man. but he acts as though he is a Houyhnhnm or a god-
immeasurably above his own kind. The paradox about Gulliver’s life or situation is that, in
his complacently stupid pride, he violently denounces all men’s pride except his own. He is
arrogant and ungrateful towards Captain Mendez. He reports that with the passage of time his
terror of men gradually lessens but his hatred and contempt increase. Even for his own
family, he has nothing but disgust and repulsion. His memory is “perpetually filled with
virtues and ideas of those exalted Houyhnhnms.” His pursuit of reason and virtue, divorced
from feeling and emotion, has resulted in madness and so he lives with horses and shuns his
family.
Had Swift meant us to take Gulliver’s antipathy to human kind seriously, he would have
made the captain, Don Pedro an unmistakable Yahoo. His emphasis on Don Pedro’s virtues is
clear indication that he wants us to think of Gulliver, at this final stage, as a person so
infatuated with a false or one-sided theory of human nature that he is blind to any fact which
contradicts it.

41
 Gulliver’s mind is infected by the complacency and pride of the Houyhnhnms, their
sense of superiority to the Yahoos, otherwise Gulliver is a good man. He has to be one, to be
able to recognize and admire “virtue and ideas” superior to his. The last voyage of Gulliver
needs to be given, not the moral emphasis that it was given in the eighteenth and nineteenth
centuries, but it needs to be given intellectual emphasis. Gulliver’s reaction to mankind on his
return is extravagant and violent, but it serves Swift’s avowed end of vexing the world by
shocking it violently but wittily out of its complacency with itself; and it does this perfectly.
Moreover, we must avoid, while reading, Gulliver’s Travels, identifying Swift with Gulliver.
(i) What is your opinion about Don Pedro?
(ii) Describe Gulliver’s reaction on meeting his family.
Chapter Twelve
While taking leave of the reader, Gulliver insists on having been absolutely truthful in what
he has recorded, simply because his purpose is to inform, not to amuse. A traveller’s chief
purpose, he says, should be to make men wiser, not dazzle them with wonders. Particularly
after living with the Houyhnhnms, he cannot be induced to write anything that is not
absolutely true. When Gulliver writes the account of his voyages, his sole intention is the
“PUBLIC GOOD.” That intention is proved by his presentation of the virtues of the noble
Houyhnhnms, which will necessarily shame men in their vices. Gulliver goes on to claim that
he writes without passion, prejudice or ill-will and solely for the information and instruction
of mankind.
Gulliver does not register the countries he has discovered for the crown of Great Britain,
as was required by law in those days. He believes that Lilliput is not worth subjugating and
that the other lands would be too dangerous to attack. Besides, he is aware of the brutality
and injustice by which new dominions are acquired and modern colonies set up. England, of
course, is innocent of all such barbarity, he asserts. Swift/Gulliver is obviously being ironical.
Gulliver has returned to humanity but he still cannot bear their smell. Making a strong
statement he says;
I am not in the least provoked at the sight of a lawyer, a pick- pocket, a colonel, a
fool, a lord, a gangster, a politician, a whore-monger, a physician . . . or the like:
this is all according to the due course of things: but when I behold a lump of
deformity and diseases, both of body, and mind, smitten with pride it
immediately breaks all the measures of my patience; neither shall I be ever able
to comprehend how such an animal and such a vice could tally together.
Swift’s message is unmistakable. The worst vice or fault in man is pride. Gulliver
becomes a living example of what this vice can do to a man: alienate him and render him
ridiculous.

5. Irony, Satire, and the Comic Spirit

Irony denotes a rhetorical figure and a manner of discourse in which, for the most part,
meaning is contrary to words. With its double-edgedness and its contradiction between the
meaning and the words, irony becomes a very fine instrument for expressing the comic-spirit.

42
Irony, in fact, strikes a balance between the serious and the comic. It’s the ironical nature of
the balance between the serious and the comic, which justifies the view that irony springs
from a perception of the absurdity of life, its being both tragic and comic. According to one
definition, irony, in the widest sense, begins with the contemplation of the fate of the world,
where the artist becomes a kind of god, viewing creation with a detached ironical smile. The
human condition as such is, therefore, to be regarded as potentially absurd deserving an
ironical response and treatment. An ironical response depends on the perception or awareness
of a discrepancy or incongruity between words and their meaning; or between actions and
their results or between appearance and reality. In all cases, there may be an element of the
absurd and the paradoxical.
The two basic kinds of irony are verbal irony and irony of situation, also described as
structural irony. Verbal irony simply means saying what one does not mean. In literary works
that exhibit structural irony, irony is not just an occasional verbal feature, but irony or
duplicity of meaning is sustained by the very structure and situation of the work. One
common device of this sort of irony is the invention of a naive hero or else a naive narrator
whose simplicity makes him interpret situations and actions in such a way that a perceptive
reader will not accept his views literally or uncritically. The hero/narrator of Gulliver’s
Travels is an example. Gulliver is not Swift but an instrument to project an ironical view of
human frailty, folly, and vice.

Irony has several functions. It is often the witting and unwitting instrument of truth. It
chides, deflates, and scorns. It is not surprising, therefore, that irony is the most efficient
weapon of the satirist. The satirist is made of sterner stuff. He is not content to just elicit an
amused smile at the absurdity of life or its policies. He is outspoken and hard hitting and
comes down heavily on human follies. He censures, ridicules, and directly attacks and
denounces the follies and vices of society and thus brings contempt and derision upon
aberrations from moral and social norms. The satire is a kind of protest born out of anger and
indignation and the satirist is a kind of therapist whose function is to destroy the fundamental
causes of sickness of human spirit - like hypocrisy, pride, and greed. The satirist does not
necessarily confine himself to such moral disorders only; Swift, for example, apart from
attacking hypocrisy, pride, and cruelty, attacks the lust for power and money. Gulliver’s
Travels attacks corruption in law-courts, rivalry and intrigue in royal-courts, incompetence of
physicians, unjust economic systems that perpetuate inequality and irresponsible scientists.
Gulliver’s Travels is a bitter attack on Swift’s contemporary 18th century England and at
the same time an attack on mankind in general. The voyage to Lilliput is especially an
ingenious political satire of great interest and enjoyment for a student of 18th century history
of England. He can relate the events of the story with the actual historical controversies and
personalities of Swift’s time. But Gulliver’s Travels has universal appeal. It’s a classic
because it exists outside space and time. It’s the story of man and has continued to be
enjoyable and relevant, even to a man who knows nothing about 18th century England.
Human nature is as corrupt today as it was at the time when Gulliver’s Travels was written.
Gulliver’s Travels is a complex book. Its complexity lies, not only in the multiple levels
at which it can be read but also in the variety of stylistic devices by which this complexity is

43
produced. It is a straight narrative, a comedy, a bitter comic satire and there is the double
voice of irony. There are quick shifts in technique, and a variety of techniques interwoven
with absolute ease and comfort.
The book opens with an apparently factual and straightforward narrative and we readily
accept Gulliver as a representative Englishman who falls into the hands of the little men in
the toy-kingdom of Lilliput in Book I. In passages of sheer comedy, we laugh at the acrobatic
skill of the politicians and courtiers, at the absurd jealousy of the diminutive minister who
suspects an adulterous relationship between his wife and the giant Gulliver. The comedy
turns into irony when we gradually realize that the six-inch midgets, in fact, are ourselves and
Gulliver is only an outsider, an observer. Irony is part of the entire structure of the book, so
that the meaning, or the deeper meaning is seen obliquely. Gulliver boasts about “our noble
country, the Mistress of Arts and Arms, the scourge of France” and at the same time he
betrays every available scandalous fact about the country he professes to love. Comedy turns
into comic satire in the passage concerning the High-heels and Low heels and the Big-
Endians and the Small-Endians. Gradually, with perfect ease and timing we are led to see the
most evil and brutal aspect of humanity. The funny and the comical with which the first book
opened, turns into contempt and derision as Swift shows the limits of hypocrisy, ingratitude
and treachery of the Lilliputian court.
In Brobdingnag, in Book II, we laugh at the plight of Gulliver, the “giant” of Lilliput. He
is frightened by a puppy, rendered ludicrous by the tricks of a monkey, stands in awe of a
dwarf, is embarrassed by the lewd antics of the maids of honour, and content to be fondled
and nursed by a little nine-year old girl. All this continues till Gulliver relates to the king the
history of England and recommends to him the use of gun-powder. The king becomes the
spokesman for Swift when he makes a scathing comment on the Europeans “as the most
pernicious race of little vermin that nature ever suffered to crawl upon the face of the earth.”
The king has nothing but contempt for the destructive and utterly cruel ways of men. Gulliver
is all disapproval for the king’s refusal to use gun-powder. He dismisses it as “a nice
unnecessary scruple” and a sign of backwardness. We have no doubt about who is on the side
of the good and of the evil. We also know that Swift’s opinion is quite opposite to Gulliver’s
and that irony lies in Gulliver, the hero being quite naive and absolutely wrong. He is small,
petty and stupid in his thinking as well as in his physical appearance.
To take another example of the quick transition from one technique to another in
Gulliver’s Travels we consider some episodes from Book III. The professors at the School of
Projectors in Balnibarbi are presented as progressive scientists, but we quickly find that they
are devoid of common-sense, and that unless we want to approve of such extravagant projects
as “softening marble for pincushions” we have to dismiss them entirely. Significantly, the
people at work in it are described as ‘projectors’, that is, people not engaged in disinterested
research but merely on the look-out for gadgets which will save labour and bring in money.
As we move on to the school of Political Projectors, we are told that there Gulliver was ill-
entertained and the professors appear to him “wholly out of their senses” and bitter satire
takes over from this point. Swift tells us that these unhappy people are following, “wild,
impossible chimeras.” They are proposing schemes to “persuade monarchs to choose
favourites upon the score of their wisdom, capacity virtue . . . of rewarding merit, great

44
abilities and eminent services.” The remedies suggested for curing people of corrupt ways are
highly comical. But they make you laugh and cry at the same time, because here only the
surface is comical, at its centre is tragedy transformed through style and tone into icy irony.
Those who try to devise means of correcting mankind are busy in pursuit of chimeras because
human nature is beyond correction. Gulliver’s Travels shows the dark and the grim truth
about man. Irony and humour make this truth palatable.

Questions
(i) What is the significance of Gulliver’s visit to the Academy of Projectors in Book III?
(ii) Which aspects of contemporary society does Swift satirize in Book III?
(iii) In Gulliver’s Travels Swift holds up a mirror to human defects and depravity. Elaborate.
(iv) Compare and contrast the Yahoos and Houynhnhnms, in terms of their nature,
behaviour, and social organization.
(v) Based on your reading of Book IV, show how Gulliver’s personality changes towards
the end of the last voyage.
(vi) Swift is usually charged with being a misanthrope. Does your reading of Gulliver’s
Travels justify this?

45
 Reading Material: Gulliver’s Travels (Books III-IV)

CONTENTS
1. A. E. Case, “Personal and Political Satire in Gulliver’s Travels”
[from Case, A. E. Four Essays on Gulliver’s Travels. Princeton University Press,
1945]
2. A E. Case, “The Significance of Gulliver’s Travels”
[from Case, A. E. Four Essays on Gulliver’s Travels. Princeton University Press,
1945]
3. Joseph Horell, “What Gulliver Knew”
[from Swift: A Collection of Critical Essays. Ed. Ernest Tuveson. New Delhi:
Prentice-Hall of India, 1979, pp 55-70]
4. John F. Ross, “The Final Comedy of Lemuel Gulliver,” Studies in the Comic,
University of California Publications in English, VIII, No. 2(1941), pp 175-196.

46
1. Arthur E. Case, “Personal and Political Satire in Gulliver’s Travels”
. . . In 1896, however, G.A. Aitken published in an appendix to an edition of Gulliver's
Travels four previously imprinted paragraphs contained in the manuscript emendations in the
Ford copy of the first edition. Three years later these paragraphs, which described the
rebellion of Lindalino against Laputa, were restored to their proper place in the third chapter
of the third voyage by G. R. Dennis, who edited the Travels for the Temple Scott edition. The
effect of the new passage on the interpretation of the voyage was remarkable. There could be
little doubt that it was an allegorical description of the controversy over Wood's halfpence,
with which Swift had dealt so brilliantly in the Drapier's Letters only two years before
Gulliver's Travels was published. And since Lindalino obviously stood for Dublin, it is
hardly surprising that Laputa should have been taken for England as a whole, hovering over
all of Ireland, or Balnibarbi. In 1919 Sir Charles Firth not only endorsed this view, but
extended it to the interpretation of other parts of the third voyage, and even allocated it to
color his ideas of the fourth. In particular he suggested that Munodi was Viscount Middleton,
Chancellor of Ireland from 1714 to 1725, and that Balnibarbi in the impoverished state
described in the third chapter represented Ireland under English domination. This theory, Of
course, necessitates a belief that Swift changed the meaning of his symbols from time to time:
for example, Lagado is in Balnibarbi, but the Grand Academy of Lagado is generally
identified as the Royal Society of London; therefore Balnibarbi, of which Lagado is the
metropolis, must sometimes stand for Ireland, and sometimes for England or for the British
Isles as a whole. Other inconsistencies involved in Sir Charles's theory suggest themselves on
further examination. From the beginning of the voyage Swift makes a good deal of the
minuteness of Laputa and the relatively great extent of the land of Balnibarbi which it
dominates. Moreover, Laputa is inhabited only by a small number of courtiers and their
hangers-on (chiefly scientific and musical); it is not self-supporting, but is dependent upon
sustenance drawn from below; it travels about by a series of oblique motions which probably
symbolizes the indirect and erratic course of Whig policy under the ministerial clique headed
by Walpole. Lagado, the metropolis of the kingdom, which certainly stands for London, is
below and subject to Laputa. Lindalino, or Dublin, is described as the second city of the
kingdom—an accurate description if the kingdom is the whole British Isles, but not if it is
Ireland alone. Moreover, the general account of the King's methods of suppressing
insurrections which precedes the story of Lindalino's revolt is accurate only if Balnibarbi
includes Great Britain.
The King would be the most absolute Prince in the Universe, if he could but
prevail on a Ministry to join with him; but these having their Estates below on
the Continent, and considering that the Office of a Favourite hath a very
uncertain Tenure, would never consent to the enslaving their Country. . . . not
dare his Ministers advise him to an Action, which as it would render them odious
to the People, so it would be a great Damage to their own Estates, which lie all
below, for the Island is the Kings Demesn. (3.3.12.)
It is hardly necessary to point out that few of George I's ministry held any significant
amount of Irish land, and that none of them displayed any fear of Irish public opinion.

47
 If the older theory, which identified Balnibarbi as England and Laputa as the Court, is
reconsidered, it will be seen that one slight emendation will bring it into conformity with the
account of the revolt of Lindalino. If the continent of Balnibarbi represents all of the British
Isles, the inconsistencies in the allegory disappear. There can be no serious doubt that Swift,
in this restored passage of Gulliver's Travels, is using the affair of Wood's halfpence again,
but this time it is for a different purpose. In 1724, addressing Irishmen through the Drapier's
Letters, he was trying to arouse national feeling and to make the issue, one of Ireland against
England. In 1726, in a more general work, addressed to the English more than to any other
nation, he made the issue one of tyranny over the subjects by a would-be absolute monarch.
When this is once understood it is not difficult to find plausible counterparts in history for the
various details of the description of the Laputian method of suppressing insurrections.
The three ways of punishing a recalcitrant city (interposing the island between the city
and the sun: pelting the city with rocks; and completely crushing it by dropping the island
down upon it) represent three degrees of severity in actual practice, perhaps threats,
accompanied by withdrawal of court patronage; moderate civil repressive action; and military
invasion. The reason given for the King's disinclination to proceed to the last degree of
severity is that this might endanger the adamantine bottom of the island, which appears to
stand either for the monarchy or for the British constitution. It should be remembered that
Swift believed in the theory of government which divided the power among the three estates
of the realm, and which relied on a balance among them. Any estate which arrogated to itself
an undue share of power was held to endanger the whole structure of the government.
The chief defenses of any city against oppression by the King and his court are thus
expressed allegorically:
. . . if the Town intended to be destroyed should have in it any tall Rocks, as it
generally falls out in the larger Cities, a Situation probably chosen at first with a
View to prevent such a Catastrophe; or if it abound in high Spires or Pillars of
Stone, a sudden Fall might endanger the Bottom or under Surface of the Island.
Of the three defenses, the “high Spires” seem least ambiguous: almost certainly these
represent churches or churchmen—possibly the ecclesiastical interest generally, which rallied
almost unanimously to the Irish cause. The “tall Rocks” seem to differ from the “pillars of
stone” chiefly in being natural rather than creations of man, which suggests that the rocks
may represent either the hereditary nobility, who constituted the second estate of the realm, or
the higher ecclesiastical authorities, representing a divine rather than a man-made institution.
Similarly the “pillars of Stone” may be either self-made citizens of power and importance, or
certain man-made legal institutions. In the story of the revolt of Lindalino the strong pointed
rock in the middle of the city is almost certainly the combined power of the Irish Church,
centered in St. Patrick's Cathedral; and the “four large Towers” presumably stand for the four
most important local governmental agencies of Ireland—the Privy Council, the Grand Jury,
and the two houses of the Irish Parliament. The “vast Quantity of the most combustible
Fewel” collected by the inhabitants probably stands for the multitude of incendiary pamphlets
written against Wood's halfpence by Swift and others. Finally, the unsuccessful experiment
made by one of the King's officers, who let down a piece of adamant from Laputa and found

48
it so strongly drawn toward the towers and the rock that he could hardly draw it back,
presumably represents the bold resistance of the Irish civil and ecclesiastical institutions to
the King's measures.
That this incident could have been omitted from the text of Gulliver's Travels without
causing an apparent break in the continuity of the story is characteristic of the structure of the
third voyage, which differs markedly from that of the first. In his account of Lilliput Swift
provided a climactic plot, based upon the fortunes of a particular Tory administration. In the
third voyage no such plot is practicable: the history of Wapole's administration had not
reached a climax in 1726 and Swift would not have wished to tell a story which could only
have emphasized the success of his enemies. He therefore chose to attack the Whigs not by
dramatic narrative, but by satiric portraiture. There, is consequently, no chronological scheme
for the third voyage, which is a picture of conditions rather than of acts.
As in the first voyage, Swift is chary of drawing too obvious a portrait of George I. Not
much is said of the physical appearance of the King of Laputa; there are, however, several
references which intelligent contemporaries must have interpreted without difficulty. One is
the parenthetical remark about the King's “being distinguished above all his Predecessors for
his Hospitality to Strangers”—a palpable hit at George's extensive appointments of
Hanoverians to posts of profit in England. The last paragraph of the third chapter is still more
open satire—almost dangerously open. “By a fundamental Law of this Realm,” Gulliver
observes, “neither the King nor either of his two elder Sons are permitted to leave the Island,
nor the Queen till she is past Child-bearing.” No Englishman could have failed to be
reminded by this sentence that Act of Settlement had originally forbidden the departure of the
sovereign from England without the express consent of Parliament, and that George I, whose
journeys to his beloved Hanover aroused the general resentment of his English subjects, had
persuaded Parliament to repeal this provision of the Act in 1716. George's delight in music is
parodied by the description of the Laputian King's fondness for the art. Here, however, and
even more in the case of the King's supposed personal interest in science, Swift modifies the
actual facts for the sake of his thesis. Under the reign of Anne, men of letters had received a
considerable amount of royal patronage, especially during the administration of Oxford.
Under the reign of George I it seemed, especially to Tory wits who had been deprived of their
posts of profit, that the pendulum had swung away from the profession of literature in the
direction of musicians and experimental scientists. Patronage being, at least in theory, a
personal prerogative of the King, Swift in his allegory attributed the shift in patronage to the
King's inclinations. How far this shift was a fact, and, if a fact, how far it was due to
conscious intention on the part of the government, are matters of secondary importance to the
present inquiry. It may be said, however, that while Whig writers received some government
patronage during the administration of Oxford (largely because of Swift's insistence), Tory
writers got very little after the Whigs came into power in 1714. Moreover, a great wave of
invention and commercial exploitation of inventions coincided with the opening years of
George I's reign, and scientists, notably the astronomers Newton and Flamsteed, were given
generous encouragement.
The Prince of Wales, whom Swift had once portrayed as the heir to the Lilliputian
crown, with one high and one low heel, is in the third voyage aligned more definitely and

49
sympathetically with the Tories. He is described as “a great Lord at Court, nearly related to
the King, and for that reason alone used with Respect.” The hostility between the Prince and
his father, and his consequent unpopularity in the King's court, were, of course, common
knowledge. Swift represents the Prince as one who “had great natural and acquired Parts,
adorned with Integrity and Honour, but so ill an Ear for Musick, that his Detractors reported
he had been often known to beat Time in the wrong Place; neither could his Tutors without
extreme difficulty teach him to demonstrate the most easy Proposition in the Mathematicks.”
It is undoubtedly true that Prince George had supreme contempt for academic learning, and
while he probably had a better knowledge of music than Swift ascribes to him here.
The Prince of Laputa is not uninterested in the subjects which engross the attention of his
father's court: he is positively interested in all the other things which they neglect. Here again
Swift contrasts the theoretical Whig King with the practical Tory Prince. Alone among the
Laputans the latter is anxious to learn from Gulliver the laws and customs of other countries.
Alone among Laputans of rank he dispenses with the services of a flapper. He makes “very
wise observations” on everything Gulliver tells him, and is loath to allow the traveler to
depart, although helpful and generous when Gulliver persists in his intention. Swift makes
clear the Tory hopes of the early 1720's—that Prince George on his accession to the throne
might call the old Tory administration to power—through the Laputian Prince's
recommendation of Gulliver to a friend of his in Lagado, the lord Munodi, who has been
variously identified with Bolingbroke and Lord Middleton, but never, apparently, with
Oxford, whom he actually represents. The evidence for this identification is plentiful. Munodi
is described as a former governor of Lagado, which must be translated either as Lord Mayor
of London or Prime Minister of England. As Swift displays no interest in the municipal
government of London, the second alternative is much more probable. Munodi is represented
as having been discharged from office for inefficiency by a cabal of ministers— a close
parallel with Oxford's dismissal from his post in 1714 and his trial on the charge of treason
between 1715 and 1717. It will be recalled that when the accusation against Oxford was
finally dropped in 1717 he returned from politics to the quiet existence of a country
gentleman on his estates in Herefordshire. This retirement is reflected not only in Munodi's
having withdrawn from public life, but in his name, which seems to be a contraction of
“mundum odi”—”I hated the world.”
Munodi's story is a thinly veiled allegory of the results to be expected from flighty
experimental Whig government as opposed to sound conservative Tory government.
Balnibarbi, the inhabitants of which are occupied with financial speculation and with the
exploitation of chimerical “projects,” both in the city and in the country, is a symbol of the
British Isles under George I and the Whigs: Munodi's private estate, managed in “the good
old way,” to the evident profit of its owner and the pleasure of its citizenry, represents the
way of life of the Tory remnant, sneered at by the adherents of the newer way as reactionary.
The triumph of the innovators is attributed to the conversion of weak-minded members of the
governing class by the court circle in Laputa, with the result that their principles have been
imported into the management of the subject continent, and a center of the new experimental
culture has even been founded in Lagado. The Grand Academy no doubt stands in part for the
Royal Society, and the fact that Swift in his allegory lays its creation at the door of the court

50
is significant as indicating the center of his interest, since the Royal Society, while it had
received encouragement from the court of Charles II at the time of its foundation in 1660,
certainly had more influence on the court of George I than that court had upon it. . . .
The fifth and sixth chapters of the third voyage are concerned with the Grand Academy
of Lagado, generally held to stand for the Royal Society of London. That the Society was in
Swift's mind cannot be doubted, but that it is the primary object of the satire in these chapters
is a conclusion that deserves examination, at least. The first discrepancy in the account has to
do with the physical appearance of the Academy's buildings. “This Academy,” says Gulliver,
“is not an entire single Building, but a Continuation of several Houses on both sides of a
Street; which growing wast, was purchased and applied to that Use.” (3.5.1) The description
does not fit the buildings of the real Society, which in 1710 had moved its Museum from
Arundel House to a building in Crane Court, Fleet Street, quite unlike the structure pictured
by Gulliver. In the light of the emphasis placed on the Academy's school of political
projectors it is not impossible that the description should be applied rather to the rapidly
expanding governmental buildings on both sides of Whitehall.
Far more interesting than the outward appearance of the Academy is the nature of the
activities carried on within. Many of the Royal Society's experiments were in the realm of
pure science, and were conducted for no immediately practical end. In the Academy the large
majority of the projects are designed to bring about supposed improvements in commerce,
medicine, or some other field of importance in daily life: what is ridiculous is that the
methods, rather than the purpose of the inventors, are chimerical. Another important fact is
the insistence upon the word “PROJECTORS” in the title of Academy: it is printed in
capitals, and it occurs, together with the word “'projects,” again and again in this section of
the voyage. These words were not very frequently applied to members of the Royal Society
and their exercises in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries: the usual terms of contempt
were “virtuosi” and “experiments.” “Projector” was, however, a word all too familiar to
Englishmen of the second decade of the eighteenth century. To them it signified a man who
promoted a get-rich-quick scheme, plausible but impracticable, for the carrying out of which
he levied tax upon the public. This latter habit seems to be alluded to twice in the fifth
chapter: first, when Gulliver remarks that it is customary for the projectors to beg money
from all who visit them and secondly, when the inventor of the frame for writing books
suggests that his operations “might be still improved, and much expedited, if the Publick
would raise a Fund for making and employing five hundred such Frames in Lagado.”
Speculative schemes actually floated during the first six years of the reign of George I, and
especially in 1720—the “South Sea year”— were in some instances almost as illusory as
those described by Swift, and may even have suggested a few of them. Companies
advertising for subscriptions included one for extracting silver from lead, and others for
making bays in Colchester and elsewhere, for manuring farm lands, for a more inoffensive
method of emptying and cleansing “necessary houses,” for bringing live sea-fish to London
in specially built tank-vessels, for making salt water fresh, for planting mulberry trees and
raising silkworms in Chelsea Park, for fishing for wrecks along the Irish coast, for a wheel for
perpetual motion, and, finally, for “an undertaking which shall in due course be revealed.” An
anonymous wag advertised for subscriptions to a company for melting down sawdust and

51
chips and casting them into clean deal boards without cracks or knots: another group, having
obtained several hundred subscriptions to a scheme almost equally vague, publicly
announced that the venture had been a hoax intended to make the public more cautious, and
returned the subscription money. The remainder of the third voyage contains only scattered
references to specific events or persons contemporary with Swift. In the seventh chapter it is
sufficiently clear that the “modern representative” of assemblies, which compares so
unfavourably with the senate of ancient Rome, is the British Parliament. . . .

52
2. A. E. Case, “The Significance of Gulliver’s Travels”

. . . It is important to keep in mind the main purpose of this third voyage, which has
universally been judged to be the least successful of the four, largely for lack of unity. It is
impossible not to agree with the general verdict, but it is easy to overstate the degree of
disorganization. Superficially the voyage seems to be divided into four sections, recounting
the adventures in Laputa, in Balnibarbi, in Glubbdubdrib, and in Luggnagg. The first two
sections are regarded as attacks upon science, the third as a criticism of history, and the fourth
as a personal expression of Swift's fear of old age. In point of fact, the attacks upon science
and history are subsidiary to a single main purpose—an attack upon folly in government,
which, in Swift's view, was identical with theoretical innovation, as opposed to the following
of old and tried methods, modified only by the adoption of such variations as have been
proved successful in practice in other countries. Swift apparently felt that the Whigs had
transferred to the scientists much of the encouragement which earlier administrations had
given to men to letters, and he regarded this tendency as symptomatic of the inclination of the
Whigs toward chimerical experimentation in all fields.
The attack on the “pure” sciences of mathematics, astronomy, and music was probably
associated most closely with the inner court circle in Laputa because Swift felt that it was the
practitioners of these arts who had the ear of George I. Handel was enjoying royal patronage,
Flamsteed and Halley had been given numerous grants, including Flamsteed House in
Greenwich (the beginning of the Royal Observatory), and Isaac Newton had not only been
knighted, but had been called in as an expert to support the Whig administration's contention
that Wood's halfpence were not debased coins. This, naturally, enraged Swift: it is quite
possibly at the root of his observation about the fondness of mathematicians for meddling in
politics:
But, what I chiefly admired, and thought altogether unaccountable, was the
strong Disposition I observed in them towards News and Politicks, perpetually
enquiring into Publick Affairs, giving their Judgments in matters of State; and
passionately disputing every Inch of a Party Opinion. I have indeed observed the
same Disposition among most of the Mathematicians I have known in Europe,
although I could never discover the least Analogy between the two Sciences;
unless those people suppose, that because the smallest Circle hath as many
Degrees as the largest, therefore the Regulation and Management of the World
require no more Abilities than the handling and turning of a Globe. But, I rather
take this Quality to spring from a very common Infirmity of Human Nature,
inclining us to more curious and conceited in Matters where we have least
Concern, and for which we are least adapted either by Study or Nature. (3.2.12.)
The activities of the “projectors” or inventors in the field of applied science are satirized
in the description of the activities of Balnibarbi. The picture of agricultural conditions in the
subject island, culminating in Munodi's story of the old and the new mills, is, as has already
been pointed out, an allegorical criticism of the new Whig economic and financial policies. In
the Grand Academy of Lagado it is not only in the school of political projectors that Swift
has statecraft in his mind: even in the fifth chapter the experiments, on analysis, will be found

53
to constitute absurd attempts, fostered by the government, to alter the normal mode of life
within the country. Often the ultimate purposes of these experiments are quite practical, but
the methods by which the purpose are to be achieved are too roundabout, too expensive, and
utterly unlikely to bring about the end in view.
In contrast with all this are the examples of good government in accordance with the
tried, sound principles of ancient models, as described by the ghosts of Glubbdubdrib. The
exemplar of “gothic” government in classical times is the Roman republic at its best. The
great heroes are the two Brutuses and the younger Cato, and the Roman senate is described as
“an Assembly of Heroes and Demy-Gods.” Julius Caesar and the succeeding emperors are
treated as tyrants, under whose rule corruption and luxury brought about the decay of all
virtues. More than once modern European governments are likened to those of imperial
Rome: the disappearance of “Roman Virtue” is lamented, and the British Parliament, under a
thin disguise, is described as “a Knot of Pick-pockets, High-way-men and Bullies.”
The account of the Struldbruggs near the end of the third voyage is the episode which,
more than any other in the Travels, seems to be dissociated from the main scheme of the
book. It is often spoken of as a purely personal expression by Swift of his fear of senility.
That this personal feeling intensified the authors' emotions as he wrote the passage no one
can doubt: nevertheless the incident is logically related to the purpose of the voyage. It will
be remembered that Gulliver interrupts the Luggnaggians’ first description of the
Struldbruggs with a rhapsody in which he allows his mind to speculate on the happiness
which must be the lot of these immortal creatures and the benefits which their ever-increasing
experience and wisdom must confer upon the rest of mankind. The reaction of the gentlemen
of Luggnagg with whom Gulliver is talking is significant.
When I had ended, and the Sum of my Discourse had been interpreted as before,
to the rest of Company, there was a good deal of Talk among them in the
Language of the Country, not without some Laughter at my Expence. At last the
same Gentleman who had been my interpreter said, he was desired by the rest to
set me right in a few Mistakes, which I had fallen into through the common
Imbecility of human Nature, and upon that allowance was less answerable for
them.
The whole chapter is one more rebuke to human folly which, giving itself over to wishful
thinking, conjures up imaginary and impossible ways of dealing with the ills of society,
instead of recognizing the nature of mankind as it is and approaching human problems from a
practical point of view.
Swift's decision to cast his treatise in the form of a narrative necessitated the creation of a
protagonist. Gulliver is all too often identified with Swift himself. No single misinterpretation
of Swift's intentions has done more to obscure the real purpose of Gulliver's Travels. Gulliver
is not only a character distinct from his creator—he is not identifiable with any of the actual
contemporaries whose vicissitudes sometimes, especially in the first voyage, serve as a basis
for his adventures. His birth, training, and early activities are carefully calculated to make
him the perfect observer of and commentator upon the civilizations with which he comes in
contact. By birth he is the average middle-class Englishman. With an inclination toward the

54
sea, and with a special aptitude for languages which is to stand him in good stead. His
education is more rounded than that of most men of his day: upon a base of traditional
classical training as prescribed in the universities is superimposed the scientific training of
the physician. A naturally studious habit leads him to supplement this training with much
reading: adventurousness, curiosity, a faculty for observation and analysis of human nature
and customs, and, most important, a high regard for truth, complete the mental and moral
equipment of the perfect travel author. . . .
In the third voyage Gulliver's emotions may be described as at a dead center. He appears
to be cured of any extravagant admiration of European society: he has now become the
detached and half-cynical commentator on human life from without. In this voyage alone he
is an observer and not an actor. This is entirely appropriate to the development of his
character, although it weakens the interest of the narrative and is, in fact, one of the most
important reasons for the relative ineffectiveness of the voyage. Gulliver is coolly ironic in
comparing Europe with Laputa, sometimes to the advantage of one, sometimes to that of the
other, but in neither case with any show of partisanship. His comments upon his return to his
country are the briefest and least emotional of the Travels, The opening paragraph of the last
book speaks of his, remaining at home “in a very happy condition” about four months, but
this statement is for the purpose of providing a contrast with Gulliver's change of heart during
the final voyage—a change of heart more significant and more carefully depicted than any
that has gone before.
The changing attitude of Gulliver toward the Yahoos and the Houyhnhnms is of the first
importance in determining the significance of those two species and, in consequence, of the
whole voyage—indeed, of the entire Travels. At the opening of the voyage Gulliver is
representative European, somewhat better, perhaps, than most of his class, but by no means a
paragon, and certainly a man who has adjusted himself to a consciousness of the ordinary and
even the extraordinary vices and follies of humanity. In this state he does not recognize that
the Yahoos have any likeness to man: they are, to him, “ugly Monsters,” to be described as a
traveller would describe any curious and loathsome beast he encountered in the course of his
adventures. It is not until the Houyhnhnms place him beside a Yahoo for purposes of
comparison that he sees any -resemblance between himself and these “abominable Animals,”
and then he emphasizes those physical aspects which the Yahoos have in common with
“savage Nations.” At the same time he stresses the difference between the behavior of
Europeans and that of Yahoos, which is apparently something more repulsive than he has
encountered in the whole breadth of his travels. For a considerable time he protests against
being identified with the Yahoos, and even begs his master not to apply the word “Yahoo” to
him. During the first three chapters he avoids speaking of Europeans as Yahoos, calling them
“others of my own Kind,” “Creatures like myself,” or “Our Countrymen.” Acknowledging
the physical resemblance between human beings and Yahoos, he protests that he cannot
account for the “degenerate and brutal nature” of the latter. Gradually, in the course of the
conversations with his master which occupy the fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh chapters,
Gulliver falls into the habit of, referring to Europeans as Yahoos, partly for convenience and
partly because, as the perfection of the Houyhnhnms is borne in upon him and contrasted
with the actions and thoughts of his countrymen, he becomes aware, little by little, of the

55
discrepancy between ideal and actual man. This new consciousness is intensified by his
contemplation of the Houyhnhnms and their institutions, as they are described in the eighth
and ninth chapters. The ultimate state of mind produced in Gulliver by this gradual process of
education through contact with a superior race is expressly stated in the tenth chapter.
At first, indeed, I did not feel that natural Awe which the Yahoos and all other
Animals bear towards them; but it grew upon me by Degrees, much sooner than I
imagined, and was mingled with a respectful Love and Gratitude, that they would
condescend to distinguish me from the rest of my Species.
The attitude of the Houyhnhnms toward Gulliver is of particular interest. From the first
they distinguish him from the Yahoos of the island—partly, it is true, because of his clothes,
but also because of his behavior. The master Houyhnhnm at once admits Gulliver to the
house, a privilege which he would not have accorded an ordinary Yahoo, and is astonished at
the “Teachablenesss, Civility and Cleanliness” of this prodigy. All the Houyhnhnms who
meet Gulliver are similarly impressed. The master describes him to the quadrennial assembly
as a “wonderful Yahoo” with all the qualities of that animal, “only a little more civilized by
some Tincture of Reason, which however was in a degree as far inferior to the Houyhnhnm
Race as the Yahoos of their Country were to [Gulliver].” This placing of Gulliver midway
between the Houyhnhnms and the Yahoos, by a creature possessing absolute accuracy of
judgment, is extremely significant. In the end the master dismisses Gulliver with regret and
shows no disinclination to his society. In other words, a somewhat above-average
Englishman was not altogether unacceptable company for a perfect being.
The natural result of Gulliver's experiences among the Houyhnhnms, and of his mental
development, is to be found in the last two chapters of the Travels and in the Letter to
Sympson. The expressions about humanity which are found here are not those of Gulliver in
his normal state of mind. Swift is employing a device which he has used once before, at the
conclusion of the second voyage, when his hero returned from the earlier and less nearly
perfect Utopia of Brobdingnag. Evidently Swift was fascinated by the idea of the difficulty of
readjusting oneself to ordinary existence after a prolonged exposure to extraordinary
conditions. . . .
In the same way, but dealing with a far more significant matter—readjustment to mental
and spiritual, rather than physical conditions—Swift shows us at the end of the fourth voyage
his conceptions of the effects which would be produced in the mind of an intelligent man who
spent a long period in the company of creatures who were perfect in every way. Such a man,
Swift believed, would tend to exaggerate his own imperfections and those of the race to
which he belonged, and would, in the end, find living with his former associates intolerable.
Anything less than perfection would be abhorrent: degrees of imperfection would be
imperceptible and irrelevant. The opinions concerning mankind which Gulliver gives vent to
are his own, not those of his creator. To emphasize this, Swift provides Gulliver with an
unusual rescuer from his last adventure—Captain Pedro de Mendez. The majority of the
seamen in the Travels are a good sort, but Mendez is a paragon. His generosity, his acute
perception of the state of Gulliver's mind, his unfailing kindliness in the face of repeated
rebuffs, mark him as the finest of all the European characters in the book. Yet Gulliver,

56
controlled by the exalted conception of virtue he has acquired from living with Houyhnhnms,
and by his now fixed belief in the utter worthlessness of all Yahoos, with whom he has come
to group the human race, is unable to perceive even the most extraordinary goodness when it
manifests itself in one of the hated species. The effects of this mental alteration are, of course,
more lasting than those which resulted from the journey to Brobdingnag, but they are not
permanent: after five years Gulliver is able in retrospect to appreciate the virtues of Mendez
and he gradually becomes more accustomed to his family.

57
3. Joseph Horell, “What Gulliver Knew”
. . . The success of Swift's fiction, and hence of his satire, largely depends on a persuasive
accumulation of circumstantial and ironic detail, and (what is more important) on certain
manipulations of detail. The following are rough and ready stylistic paradigms:
I afterwards saw five or six of different Ages, the youngest not above two
Hundred Years old, who were brought to me at several Times by some of my
Friends [the Struldbruggs].
I took a second Leave of my Master: But as I was going to prostrate myself to
kiss his Hoof, he did me the Honour to raise it gently to my Mouth [the
Houyhnhnm Master].
To provide for our dual perception, which his irony requires, Swift loads innocent detail,
so that our acceptance of a normal version of experience involves our entertaining another
which is abnormal, but which is really the meat in the sandwich. In word, phrase, and larger
unit Swift employs a subordinative technique of weaving the “odd, grotesque, and wild” (the
qualities he assigned to humor) into the texture of dully plausible statement of fact. In
Gulliver's Travels there is a constant shuttling back and forth between real and unreal, normal
and absurd, especially in the early chapters of each book, until our standards of credulity are
so relaxed that we are ready to buy a pit in a poke. Swift's fiction conditions us for imposture,
and his readers are in more than one sense his victims.
As for the accommodative process in the first two books, there is some truth in Dr.
Johnson's dictum. “When once you have thought of big men and little men, it is very easy to
do all the rest.” The “rest,” in other words, is careful execution of the scheme. The more
difficult problem of style arises in the third and fourth books because the differences between
normal and abnormal cannot be symbolized quantitatively. These books are about qualities of
mind, or rationality, and the scale is intellectual. (Here Swift loses many of his readers—all
the children and a disappointing number of adults.) The emphatic real and muted unreal are
still with us, but no longer with our perception fixed upon size. The Laputian episode is about
hyper-intellectuals (they have departed the world as the soul leaves the body), who
distastefully perform the minimal functions of physical life on their island floating in the air,
while they devote their energies to spinning gossamer-thin speculations or (what is worse) to
projects based on speculations, like extracting sunbeams from cucumbers or softening marble
for pincushions. More difficult than making man appear miniscule or gigantic, Swift must
embody qualities of mind in symbolic shapes. Gulliver had never seen until now “a Race of
Mortals so singular in their Shapes, Habits, and Countenances.”
In the Laputian world of highfalutin nonsense the Flapper is the most effective symbol.
The ruling class of the Flying Island, rapt in a vortex of speculation, enjoy the separation of
the intellect from the senses. They appear with their heads reclined to right or left, with one
eye turned inward, the other upward to the zenith. The Flappers, a serving class, stimulate the
senses of their bemused lords by touching the eye or ear with bladders containing little
pebbles or dried peas. The symbolism is extended to favorite Laputian subjects, music and
mathematics, with cycloidal puddings and ducks trussed up into the shape of fiddles, so that

58
even at table the Laputians are not far removed from their intense wool-gathering. In this
book we have not only the usual sprinkling of jaw-breaking foreign names, but also the
jargon of science (calcine, diurnal, aqueous, percolate, seminal), which supplants to some
extent the commonplace words to which magnitudes can be assigned.

III

The unity of Gulliver's Travels is re-enforced by themes which are developed in the
framework of the voyages and in the voyages themselves. Those in the framework Swift uses
with his customary frugality both as devices of realism and as motivation for Gulliver's
rejection of man: his diminishing affection for his “domestick Pledges,” until they become
hateful as Yahoos; his mistreatment at the hands of his comrades; the growing malevolence
of fortune; the frustration of his “insatiable Desire” of seeing foreign countries. Swift also
finds symbolic value in fictional details of the framework. Gulliver's first voyage comes to
grief when his ship splits on a rock (chance). In the second, while they are ashore searching
for water, his shipmates, pursued by a Brobdingnagian, desert him (cowardice). During the
third voyage pirates overhaul his ship, and a fellow-Christian, failing to have him cast
overboard, talks the more charitable Japanese captain into setting him adrift in a canoe
(malevolence). On the fourth voyage the mutinous crew turn to piracy and exile Gulliver,
their capital, on a deserted shore (treachery). Acts of man are apparently more to be feared
than acts of God.
The four books themselves are linked by contrasts, and each illuminates its predecessors.
The nature of the symbolism makes this obvious for the first two books, but it is easy to
overlook the links between the second and third and the third and fourth. Swift intends to
offset the useful mathematics of the Brobdingnagians with the impractical mathematical
interests of the Laputians, who measure Gulliver for a suit of clothes by taking his altitude by
a quadrant (the clothes don't fit). In the third book he is preoccupied with immortality, or the
separation of body and soul. The indifference of the Houyhnhnms to approaching death, or
time, is a commentary on the morbid picture of the Strulbdruggs, whose immortality is a
living death.
The continuous themes of the first three books are necessary motivation for the last,
where Gulliver thinks he has found a vantage (i.e., that of the horse) for evaluating his
experience of man. In praising Lilliputian law he wished to be understood to mean the
“original Institutions” and “not the most scandalous Corruptions in which these People are
fallen by the degenerate Nature of Man.” In Brobdingang he read treatises of morals and
history which showed “how diminutive, contemptible, and helpless an Animal was Man in
his own Nature,” excelled by “one Creature in Strength, by another in Speed, by a third in
Foresight, by a fourth in Industry,” and that “Nature was degenerated in these latter declining
Ages of the World.” At Glubdubdrib, “As every Person called up made exactly the same
Appearance he had done in the World, it gave me melancholy Reflections to observe how
much the Race of human Kind was degenerate among us, within these Hundred Years past.”
Before he was disillusioned with it, the immortality of the Struldbruggs promised to allow
him to see “the several Gradations by which Corruption steals into the World, and oppose it
in every Step,” so that he might “prevent that continual Degeneracy of human Nature, so
59
justly complained of in all Ages.” The “general Tradition” concerning the Yahoos holds that
those in the Country of Horses derive from a pair from over the sea, who, being deserted by
their companions, “and degenerating by Degrees, became in Process of Time, much more
savage than those of their own Species in the Country from whence these two Originals
came.” Following Gulliver's account of his own countrymen, the Houyhnhnms Master
“looked upon us as a Sort of Animals to whose Share, by what Accident he could not
conjecture, some small Pittance of Reason had fallen, where of we made no other use than by
its assistance to aggravate our natural Corruptions, and to acquire new ones which Nature
had not given us.”
There is so much incidental satire in the first three books that we may form the habit of
bypassing the fiction to get at it. In the fourth book this short cut leads to a dead end. The
symbols by which Swift assimilates all his satire are so deeply embedded in the fiction that
ignoring his indirect method only leads to dismissal of this book as disjointed, illogical, or
beside the point : to vexation without diversion. Swift symbolizes in the Yahoo the
intellectual themes which he has woven into the fiction: that man, as animal, is less comely
and less well adapted to his natural environment than most others of the animal Kingdom;
that reason in civilized man produces evil more often than good, accentuating natural vices
and making man more dangerous than brutes; that the natural tendency of man to danger as
the world ages can be— but most likely will not be—countered by the assertion of his unique
rational powers, which are themselves vestigial or corrupted. Much of what we have
previously been told about man's capacity for evil we can now see, hear, smell, and feel in the
Yahoo.
The fiction is also the means by which Swift focuses the scattered rays of his satire,
shifting from foreign to domestic scenes, from institutions to individuals, from mankind to
man, from others to ourselves. The fourth book closes in on the subject. Among petty, gross,
or absurd people, Gulliver can take comfort in his own kind, and foreign criticism of one's
own country can be attributed to the effects of a “confined Education.” We enjoy for a time a
similar detachment. During Gulliver's voyages, as we view successive aspects of man, we
concede similarities of customs, habits, and institutions, but without any personal
involvement. We can even exclude ourselves, as Gulliver does himself, from “the Bulk of
your Natives” whom the Brobdingnagian King concludes to be a “most pernicious Race of
little odious Vermin.” As Swift said in an earlier work, “satyr is a sort of Glass, wherein
Beholders do generally discover every body's Face but their Own.” But the fourth book does
away with all that. The fiction forces upon Gulliver the “recognition” that all are Yahoos of
the race of men, and his mock-tragic “catastrophe” is exile from his adopted
Houyhnhnmland. When the Houyhnhnm Master examines Gulliver's body and pronounces
him Yahoo, this merciless scrutiny, by Swift's contrivance, falls equally upon ourselves. A
good many reader, like Gulliver, never recover because they do not submit to the fiction by
which Swift, with his fine irony, establishes a vantage outside man: that of the horse.

IV

The fourth book introduces this thematic complication. Natural uncivilized man is the theme
of this book, just as man is the subject of the entire work, but the thematic Yahoo is
60
counterpointed by the Houyhnhnm, so that we see Gulliver for the first time among creatures
like and unlike his species. This permits the sequence of recognition, crisis, catastrophe, and
denouement, plus a remarkable curtain speech by Gulliver. Previously, Gulliver has felt no
real conflict with the natives discovered in his voyages, because the physical and intellectual
plane in which he exists is supposedly above, or below, or unlike that of the creatures around
him, though he occasionally betrays a missionary-like zeal (this soon starts backfiring) to
educate the inhabitants in the superior manners and institutions of his own country. But this
patronizing attitude toward “foreigners” weakens under the impact of experience until, during
the fourth adventure, Gulliver concludes that they, he and the Yahoos are essentially the
same.
The introduction of the horse was Swift's most brilliant and humorous inspiration in
Gulliver's Travels. No doubt he had in mind the rationale of the fable, “a narrative in which
beings irrational, and sometimes inanimate, arbores loquuntur, non tantrum ferae, are, for the
purpose of moral instruction, feigned to act and speak with human interests and passions”
(Dr. Johnson). But his fiction requires that he establish this rationale only gradually, and by
the time he has done so those who ignore the fiction, or read it literally as children do the first
two books, are condemning this “outrage on humanity, not just because of its satire, though
this is “utterly inhuman” and “intellectually inferior,” but on the technical ground that it “has
not even the merit of being consistent”. Thackeray finds great literary proficiency in the last
book, but deplores its message. What is the message? Professor Wiley in The Eighteenth
Century Background surely misreads it when he speaks of Swift's distinction “between
rational man (Houyhnhnm) and irrational man (Yahoo).” Anyone who seriously believes that
Swift, as distinguished from Gulliver, wishes to offer the Houyhnhnm as animal rationale, or
an ideal for man, must somehow take seriously Swift's picture of Gulliver, at home, gravely
conversing with his horses. It is no shame, says Gulliver, “to learn wisdom from Brutes”; and
one can do so, as the rationale of the fable indicates, without identifying the animal who
speaks oracularly of reason with rationality itself. (Gulliver tried to become a member of the
Houyhnhnm family, but this absurdity led to his “catastrophe,” which was “Exile” to his own
species at home.) Let's see how this rationale is introduced.
The attention that Swift devotes to the fictional preliminaries of each part is essential in
bridging our passage from the real to the fantastic, and the same process takes place in the
fourth book, only the accommodative process is more subtle, the fantastic world more
incredible.
Ashore, after finding “great plenty of Grass, and several Fields of Oats,” Gulliver falls
into a beaten road “where I saw many Tracks of human Feet, and some of Cows, but most of
Horses.” He then suffers his first disgusting encounter with the Yahoos, who are described in
detail, with incidental comparisons of these “Beasts” with goats and squirrels (just as, in
Lilliput and Brobdingnag, man is compared with diminutive and contemptible creatures like
weasels), but with no recognition that they fit the tracks of human feet, which are left for the
time being unaccounted for.
Next, Gulliver meets the animal whose arrival drives the Yahoos away, and there is no
doubt as to its species. It is a horse, a gentle creature which looks at him “with a very mild

61
Aspect, never offering the least Violence.” When another arrives the two horses neigh to each
other “as if conversing and they “seem” to deliberate. (These qualifying words soon
disappear as the horse becomes Houyhnhnm.) “I was amazed to see such Actions and
Behaviour in brute Beasts; and concluded with myself, that if the Inhabitants of this Country
were endued with a proportionable Degree of Reason, they must needs be the wisest People
upon Earth.” This thought gives him so much comfort that he hastens on following the horses
with the hope of meeting “with any of the Natives.”
Thus very quickly Swift has established the terms and concepts of his fiction. The cows
are not brought upon the scene until later, for a reason which is apparent in Swift's handling
of detail: the horses fit the horse tracks; the “Inhabitants,” those supremely wise people as yet
unseen fit the many tracks of human feet; the Yahoos are cattle: so Gulliver thinks. In his
nasty encounter with the Yahoos he was careful to strike one with the flat side of is sword,
“fearing the Inhabitants might be provoked against me, if they should come to know, that I
had killed or maimed any of their Cattle.” Swift has been careful to make Gulliver's detailed
description of the Yahoos omit that their feet, observed several times, are human, though the
“shape” of these animals “a little discomposed me.”
Swift goes over the same terms and concepts again. Gulliver follows the horse several
miles to the buildings, furnished like stables, with nags and mares sitting on their hams and
busy at domestic tasks, where he gets his presents ready for the “Master and Mistress of the
House,” anxiously waiting, while the horse neighs, “to hear some answers in a human
Voice.” This well-trained horse must belong to “some Person of great Note,” but that a “Man
of Quality” should be served by horses is beyond Gulliver's comprehension. There is still no
human voice, and Gulliver looks around only to find more racks and mangers. He begins to
see his situation for what it is. “I rubbed my Eyes often, but the same Objects still occurred.”
And so Gulliver enters a world in which the horse is supreme: the inhabitant, the native, and
the master.

V
. . . Very soon these remarkable animals, first described as “brute Beasts,” come to be
known to Gulliver as “Houyhnhnms” after the noises they make, though he later tells us the
word “in their Tongue, signifies a Horse; and in its Etymology, the Perfection of Nature.”
The superior qualities of the Houyhnhnms are of two kinds: first, their physical
characteristics of strength, comeliness, and speed, which are natural attributes of the horse,
precisely as Gulliver describes this noblest animal of his own country; and secondly, their
virtues of friendship, benevolence, rationality, and devotion to duty, all of which are
privative. The logic in Gulliver's attribution to the horse of these virtues lies in their
negation of the corresponding vices in the Yahoos. Horses do not shirk, do not lie, do not
evil; and so the Houyhnhnms are industrious, truthful, and virtuous. Vice is a negation of
reason and nature of which the Houyhnhnm is incapable, living as this species does in
paradisial ignorance of human treachery, lying, and cruelty, with “no Word in their
language to express anything that is evil, except what they borrow from the Deformities or
ill Qualities of the Yahoos.” This attribution is a gradual process: “At first, indeed, I did not
feel that natural Awe which the Yahoos and all other Animals bear towards them; but it

62
grew upon me by Degrees, much sooner than I imagined.” Swift has the situation turned
upside down by the beginning of the third chapter when the Houyhnhnm Master, his
children, and servants, as they teach Gulliver their language, which is pronounced through
the nose and throat, look upon it “as a Prodigy, that a brute Animal should discover such
Marks of a rational Creature.”
This acknowledgment of the superior qualities of the horse, a somewhat gradual
process of abstraction, proceeds inversely with Gulliver's recognition that men and Yahoos
are the same species. Very early the “master Horse” (not yet a “Houyhnhnm”) compares
Yahoos with him. “My Horror and Astonishment are not to be described, when I observed,'
in this abominable Animal, a perfect human Figure . . . The Fore-feet of the Yahoo differed
from my Hands in nothing else, but the Length of the Nails, the Coarseness and Brownness
of the Palms, and the Hairiness on the Backs.” But the horses, ignorant of the deceitfulness
of art, cannot at first regard Gulliver's clothes as other than a natural difference between
him and the Yahoo. Gulliver conceals “the Secret of my Dress, in order to distinguish
myself as much as possible, from that cursed Race of Yahoos” until the Sorrel Nag, the
Houyhnhnm Master's valet, discovers him asleep undressed. In the “unmasking” scene
which follows, the Houyhnhnm Master concludes from an examination of Gulliver's body
that “I must be a perfect Yahoo.” This encounter between civilized man and natural horse is
described within the general terms of Swift's favorite “clothes philosophy”: clothes are,
Gulliver says, “prepared by Art” for the sake of decency and to protect man from the
inclemency of weather, covering also “those Parts that Nature taught us to conceal”; but the
Houyhnhnm Master, who does not need the protection and feels no shame, cannot
understand “why Nature should teach us to conceal what Nature had given.” This little
allegory of Art and Nature plays upon the story as it unfolds in the rest of the book: whether
civilized man, who is physically inferior to the horse, or indeed, as the Houyhnhnm Master
points out, to the Yahoo, will use the art which his rationality affords him to perfect
himself, harmonizing Art with Nature, or will use this art, by accentuating the propensity to
vice of a fallen creature, to add to the rich vocabulary of civilized “Enormities” almost
inexplicable to the innocent Houyhnhnms.
With superficial resemblance established, Swift drives home our essential
identification with the Yahoo. In Chapters V and VI, Gulliver reports to the Houyhnhnm
Master on man in “civilized” society, and in Chapter VII the Houyhnhnm Master, who has
listened with care, draws devastating parallels between the highly developed vices of the
European Yahoos and those propensities to vice in the physically superior Yahoos of
Houyhnhmland, observing “what Parity there was in our Natures.” Gulliver has reported
that in a civilized “Man of Quality, . . . The imperfections of his Mind run parallel with
those of his Body; being a Composition of Spleen, Dulness, Ignorance, Caprice, Sensuality
and Pride.” From Gulliver's larger recital of the “Enormities” of civilized Yahoo endowed,
like himself, with reason, the Houyhnhm Master “dreaded lest the Corruption of that
Faculty might be worse than Brutality itself.” This is (in Dr. Johnson's phrase) the “moral
instruction” that Swift offers in his fabulous tale. Is it groundless in human experience to
fear that Art and Reason will corrupt, if they do not refine, man's nature? Does not the
smell of burning human flesh which hangs like a nauseous miasma over this century remind

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us of enormities more revolting than Swift, with all his misanthropy, could imagine? Has
Swift's transposition of man and horse, intended to affront our pride of species, made his
“warning” to mankind a “philosophic pill” that is unswallowable? The positive contribution
of nineteenth century criticism is the horrified emphasis it lays on this shocking and
degrading incongruity, but this criticism is misapplied if we insist upon seeing the
incongruity only in one sense and only from the point of view of the offended party, man.
With his ironic humor Swift compels us to see man's behavior, inside and outside civilized
society, from the detached viewpoint of a horse, and the fourth book rings with horse
laughs. With subtle modulations of “foot” and “hoof” Swift induces us to accept Gulliver's
picture of a white mare threading a needle. If there is a case to be made for the viciousness
of man, Swift has made it in the fourth book with a savage indignation tempered by humor.

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4. John F. Ross, “The Final Comedy of Lemuel Gulliver”

The first two voyages of Gulliver are two complementary parts which make up one large unit
of satire. The fourth part of the book is not simply an additional voyage, more severely
satirical but on the whole to be read like the earlier voyages; it is a voyage different in
concept and in treatment, and hence it is not to be judged by the same criteria.
We notice at once that the fourth voyage lacks the picturesque and interesting descriptive
and narrative detail so abundantly present in the earlier voyages. There is, for instance, no
double physical scale, and there is little narrative action. Swift does, of course, embody the
chief elements of his satiric analysis in the concrete symbols of the horse and the Yahoo, and
he describes the Yahoo in full and unpleasant detail. Even so, the spirit and scheme of the
fourth voyage employ far less narrative richness than is expended on Lilliput and
Brobdingnag, since Swift shifts the emphasis of his attack. The satire of earlier voyages is
concerned with the flaws and defects of man's actions. Voyage IV cuts deeper. Actions and
doings are symptomatic of man's nature—the corrosive satire of the last voyage is concerned
with the springs and causes of action, in other words, with the inner make-up of man. Hence,
though there is a narrative thread in Voyage IV, and considerable detail about the Yahoo, the
voyage is characterized less by fullness of narrative than by fullness of analysis.
Another difference in the fourth voyage should be noted. Here the reader himself is
inescapably an object of satiric attack. In the first voyage he may remain calm in the face of
the satire. There is not only a good deal else to divert his attention; there is also the fact that
the activities of monarchs and statesmen are the actions of an exceedingly small group of
people. He may even remain relatively detached emotionally in reading of Gulliver's offer of
gunpowder to the Brobdingnagian king. After all, war has been so far only an intermittent
activity of nations, and the reader probably disapproves of it in theory as much as Swift does.
But the reader cannot evade the attack in the last voyage: Swift is attacking the Yahoo in each
of us.
Furthermore, it has now become Swift's purpose to drive home the satire, insistently and
relentlessly. Had he wished to achieve only the diverting and comic satire of Voyages I and
II, with occasional touches of the severer sort, he need not have written the last voyage. But
he chose to go on, and in the fourth voyage corrosive satire at last comes home deeply and
profoundly to his readers. In truth, the constant protests against it are evidence of its
effectiveness.
Mere narrative or comic detail concerning either the Yahoos or the Houyhnhnms would
inevitably tend to weaken, divert, or block off the intensity of the attack; hence Swift makes
little use of such detail. He sharply cuts human nature into two parts. He gives reason and
benevolence to the Houyhnhnms. Unrestrained and selfish appetites, and a mere brutish
awareness, are left for the Yahoo. Since he is writing satire rather than panegyric, the good
qualities are given the nonhuman form of the horse, and the bad qualities the nearly human
form of the Yahoo. Consider how much less effective the satire would have been had the
Houyhnhnms been merely a superior human race—the reader would naturally evade the
satiric attack by identifying himself as a Houyhnhnm. Again, for intensity of attack, Swift

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dwells with unpleasant particularity on Yahoo form and nature. Swift's aim in the last voyage
is to spare us nothing. If we could chuckle and laugh at the Yahoos, or be diverted by their
activities, by so much would Swift have weakened his corrosive satire. And the same
exigency governs his treatment of the Houyhnhnms. To make much of them for comic or
narrative effect would impair Swift's chief purpose.
One further point: In the first nine chapters of Voyage IV, Swift further simplifies and
concentrates his attack by making almost no use of irony; the attack on Yahoo-man is not
only severe, but literal and direct.
Is the misanthropy of the fourth voyage, then, too much to accept? Is Swift's hatred all-
consuming? Has it abandoned itself to wanton and animus-ridden insult? Has the sanity of his
rich and complex genius been dissipated? Before we agree with the many who have answered
“Yes” to such questions, let us contemplate the voyage as a whole. For Swift not only wrote
the first nine chapters of Voyage IV; he also wrote the last three. To neglect these final
chapters is like ignoring the final couplet in a Shakespearean sonnet, the last part of a tragi-
comedy like The Winter's Tale, or the last three chapters of Moby Dick. It is true that Swift's
final attitude may not be obvious to a superficial reader, or to one inhibited (perhaps
unconsciously) from reading Gulliver as a complete satire. But great and complex artists
usually make some demands on their readers, and Swift is no exception. Gulliver's Travels is
easier to understand than A Tale of a Tub; but it by no means follows that Lemuel Gulliver's
naive and simple misanthropy can be equated with the sophisticated satirist who recounted
Gulliver's adventures. One should be on guard against simplifying an elaborate ironist.
Swift himself has warned us, if we are at all wary. To say that the first nine chapters of
the fourth voyage are almost continuous corrosive satire is not to say that there are not some
narrative and comic touches. Swift obviously visualized the Houyhnhnms very definitely as
horses. It must have been a temptation to his constructive and comic imagination not to avail
himself of the opportunities offered by the horse form. Generally he restrains himself: thus
Gulliver remembers once seeing some Houyhnhnms “employed in domestic business,” but he
does not specify what business. Yet Swift cannot resist an occasional bit of fun at the expense
of the Houyhnhnms. They have an absolute self-assurance in the completeness of their
knowledge and experience. The etymology of the word Houyhnhnm means “horse,” but also
“the perfection of nature.” Their intellectual limitations and arrogance are divertingly
illustrated in the passage wherein the Houyhnhnm criticizes the human form. In every point
wherein man and horse differ, the Houyhnhnm automatically and even absurdly assumes that
the advantage lies obviously with the horse; for example, that four legs are better than two, or
that the human anatomy is defective since Gulliver cannot eat without lifting one of his “fore
feet” to his mouth. While Swift, in pursuit of his purpose, is chary of making the horses
absurd, there are enough comic touches to guard the attentive reader from assuming that
Swift accepts Gulliver's worshipful attitude toward the horses.
Further evidence that Swift was well aware that the Houyhnhnms were, after all, horses,
and that they offered more material for comedy than he had permitted himself to use in his
text, may be found in a letter he wrote his publisher, Motte, concerning illustrations for a new
edition of the Travels. Since he tells Motte that a return of his deafness has put him “in all ill

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way to answer a letter which requires some thinking,” and since the letter also indicates that
he has not reread Gulliver but is trusting to memory, it may be presumed that his remarks
indicate his normal attitude toward the book. The relevant part of his letter reads:
The Country of Horses, I think, would furnish many [occasions for illustration].
Gulliver brought to be compared with the Yahoos; the family at dinner and he
waiting; the grand council of horse, assembled, sitting, one of them standing with
a hoof extended, as if he were speaking; the she-Yahoo embracing Gulliver in the
river, who turns away his head in disgust; the Yahoos got into a tree, to infest him
under it; the Yahoos drawing carriages, and driven by a horse with a whip in his
hoof. I can think of no more, but Mr. Gay will advise you.
Swift's suggestions for illustrations, added to the few ludicrous suggestions in the first
nine chapters of the fourth voyage, indicate that he took as a matter of course that there was a
certain amount of comic effect in the rather simple horses visualized in their relationship of
superiority to Gulliver and the Yahoos. Since Gulliver's Houyhnhnm worship is a vital
element in making the corrosive attack on Yahoo nature effective, it might seem that Swift
had bungled his craft in permitting even slight evidences of the limitations of the
Houyhnhnms. Actually, without weakening the main attack of the early part of the voyage,
these slight hints foreshadow Swift's attitude in the last three chapters. As a composer of
music, giving almost complete emphasis to a main theme, may suggest from time to time a
new theme before he develops it fully, so Swift, while developing misanthropic and corrosive
satire at length, hints from time to time at another theme.
The horses and Gulliver have it all their own way for the first nine chapters of the last
voyage, Yahoo-man has been presented in all his horror; Swift has achieved the most blasting
and unrelieved satiric attack possible, and at great length. What simple and indignant reason
can say against the flaws and defects of human nature has been said, and said exhaustively.
Gulliver's revolt against his kind is so complete that Swift is able to give the knife a final
twist: mankind is, if anything, worse than the Yahoo, since man is afflicted by pride, and
makes use of what mental power he has to achieve perversions and corruptions undreamed of
by the Yahoo.
At this point of the satiric attack many readers have ceased really to read to book, and
have concluded that this was Swift's final word because it is Gulliver's final word. Swept
away by the force of the corrosive attack on Yahoo-man, they conclude that Gulliver is at last
Swift. (Such a misconception is facilitated no doubt by Swift's temporary abandonment of
irony for straightforward invective.) In the last three chapters, however, Swifts shows that
Gulliver's word cannot be final.
Swift, satirist and realist, is well aware that there is more of the Yahoo in humanity than
there is of benevolence and reason. And he develops his attack as forcibly as he can, by
means of corrosive satire, in terms of pessimism and misanthropy. But this is only a part of
Swift. He is also perfectly aware that the problem is not so simply solved as it is for the
Houyhnhnms and for Gulliver. He knows that there is much to be hated in the animal called
man, but he knows also that there are individuals whom he loves. The horses have no room
for anything between Houyhnhnm and Yahoo, and Gulliver takes over this too simple

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attitude. Just as his physical sense of proportion was upset by his voyage to the country of the
giants, so here his intellectual sense of proportion is overbalanced. The limited, simplified
Houyhnhnm point of view is obviously better to him than the Yahoo state; and he cleaves to
it. Swift can keep clear the double physical scale of Gulliver and giant; not so, Gulliver. Swift
can differentiate between Yahoo and Gulliver, and does— but Gulliver himself is convinced
he is a Yahoo. The attentive reader will realize that Gulliver is the one actual human being
present through the first nine blighting chapters of the last voyage. Hence he is not only a
constant reminder that horse and Yahoo are symbols, but also a constant demonstration that a
human being is not a Yahoo.
Swift has fun with Gulliver in chapter X. Gulliver has finally come to the conclusion that
human beings are, if anything, worse than Yahoos. As much as possible he tries to transform
himself into a horse:
By conversing with the Houyhnhnms, and looking upon them with delight, I fell
to imitate their gait and gesture, which is now grown into a habit, and my friends
often tell me in a blunt way, that I trot like a horse; which, however, I take for a
great compliment. Neither shall I disown that in speaking I am apt to fall into the
voice and manner of the Houyhnhnms.
In the paragraph immediately following this excerpt, with Gulliver at the height of his
enchantment, Swift has the horses, with more ruthlessness than benevolence, order Gulliver
to leave the island and swim back to the place whence he came. Gulliver swoons. He is
allowed two months to finish a boat, and is granted the assistance of a sorrel nag, who “had a
tenderness” for him. It is a diverting picture: Gulliver and the sorrel nag working away
together to make a canoe, “covering it with the skins of Yahoos well stitched together” and
“stopping all the chinks with Yahoos” tallow. When the moment of parting comes:
His Honour, out of curiosity and perhaps (if I may speak it without vanity) partly
out of kindness, was determined to see me in my canoe. . . I took a second leave
of my master; but as I was going to prostrate myself to kiss his hoof, he did me
the honour to raise it gently to my mouth. . . My master and his friends continued,
on the shore till I was almost out of sight; and I often heard the sorrel nag (who
always loved me) crying out, Hnuy illa nyha majah Yahoo, Take care of thyself,
gentle Yahoo.
It is heartbreaking for Gulliver; but for Swift and the reader it is not wholly a matter for
tears.
Gulliver's design is to make his way to an “uninhabited island,” but he is eventually
found by the crew of a Portuguese ship. Gulliver's meeting with the crew returns him to the
real world; he is no longer the sole representative of humanity, placed between horse and
Yahoo. In the earlier voyages, Swift had spent only a few pages on Gulliver's return to the
real world; in the last, he gives two chapters to it. Those chapters deserve very careful
reading: they are, as the book now stands, the climax of Swift's whole satire as well as the
end of the fourth voyage. Gulliver, hating himself and all men as Yahoos, is reintroduced to
the world of actual men and women. What happens? If Swift's view is the same as Gulliver's,
he ought to go on with his severe satire against mankind, now even deepening it with specific
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examples of Yahoo nature. He does nothing of the sort. Rather, he shows us very carefully
and at some length the insufficiency of Gulliver's new attitude. Gulliver continues to “tremble
between fear and hatred” when confronted by human beings, while at the same time his own
account of affairs shows that the persons with whom he comes into contact are essentially
honest, kindly, and generous. It is the same limited mentality in Gulliver which has been
noted in previous voyages. He has adopted a final rigid and oversimplified attitude, which so
completely possesses him that he cannot believe the evidence of his own experience; since he
now sees man only as Yahoo, he cannot even take in contradictory evidence when faced with
it.
The Portuguese crew speak to Gulliver “with great humanity” when they find him; but
he is horrified. Concluding that his misfortunes have “impaired his reason” (as indeed they
have), they deliver him up to the captain.
[the captain's] name was Pedro de Mendez; he was a very courteous and generous
person; he entreated me to give some account of myself, and desired to know
what I would eat and drink; said I should be used as well as himself, and spoke so
many obliging things, that I wondered to find such civilities in a Yahoo.
However, I remained silent and sullen; I was ready to faint at the very smell of
him and his men.
Gulliver finally promises the captain not to attempt anything against his own life, but at
the same time protests that he will “suffer the greatest hardships rather than return to live
among Yahoos.” In the course of the voyage home, out of gratitude to Don Pedro, Gulliver
sometimes sits with the captain and tries to conceal his antipathy to mankind. The captain
offers Gulliver the best suit of clothes he has; Gulliver will accept only two clean shirts,
which, he thinks, will not so much “defile” him. In Lisbon, the captain still further aids
Gulliver, takes him into his house, and persuades him to accept a newly made suit of clothes.
Gulliver finds that his terror at humanity gradually lessens: the captain's “whole deportment
was so obliging, added to a very good human understanding, that I really began to tolerate his
company.” But though the terror might lessen, Gulliver's “hatred and contempt seemed to
increase.”
Why does Swift give us Don Pedro, the kindly, generous individual? Obviously as a foil
to Gulliver's misanthropy, as evidence that Gulliver has gone off the deep end and cannot
recover himself from the nightmare view of Yahoo-man. Chapter XI is almost wholly a
demonstration that Gulliver is absurd in his blind refusal to abandon his misanthropic
convictions. His conduct upon his return home is the ultimate result of his aberration. His
family receive him with joy, but the sight of them fills Gulliver with hatred, contempt, and
disgust. When his wife kisses him, he falls “into a swoon for almost an hour.” His adopted
attitude of mind, directed by the too simple Houyhnhnm view, permits him to see only the
Yahoo in man or woman. Even after five years, he will not permit any member of his family
to take him by the hand. But we may allow him to characterize his mode of life himself:
The first money I laid out was to buy two young stone-horses, which I kept in a
good stable, and next to them the groom is my greatest favorite, for I feel my

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 spirits revived by the smell he contracts in the stable. My horses understand me
tolerably well; I converse with them at least four hours every day.
Gulliver's attitude is not the solution, and Swift knew it. It is too unbalanced and
unrealistic for a final attitude, and Swift presents its absurdity—so clearly as to make one
wonder how he could have been so misunderstood. Gulliver's attitude is in effect a complete
quarrel with man, a final refusal to accept the nature of mankind. To charge Swift with the
same final refusal is to ignore the evidence.
I do not by any means wish to say that Swift was always superior to drawing matter for
discontent and repining from quarrels raised with nature. He was clear-sighted and sensitive;
he was an ethical moralist and a satirist. Much in the nature of man was hateful and detestable
to him, and he often attacked it and quarreled with it in no uncertain terms. But, though
Gulliver's soul was completely discontented, completely repining, Swift could rise to a far
higher plane, and did so. Swift was much more than a corrosive satirist only; he had a high
sense of the comic, and in the final satiric vision of the concluding chapters of Gulliver the
Gulliverian discontent is supplemented by, and enclosed in, comic satire, with Gulliver
himself as the butt.
In Voyage IV, Swift gives his severest satiric vision full scope, but knows that
conclusions growing out of this nightmare vision are inadequate and invalid. He lets Gulliver
go the whole horse, and up to the last page the negative, corrosive attack is present. But what
else he does in those last chapters is unique in the history of satiric literature: the severe
attack with its apparently rational basis and its horrifying conclusions continues to the end in
the personal narrative of Swift's puppet. Thus severe satire remains the main theme, but the
new theme of Gulliver's absurdity complicates the issue. By rising to a larger and more
comprehensive view than he permits to Gulliver, Swift is satirically commenting on the
insufficiency of the corrosive attitude. The evils in the world and in man are such that it is no
wonder that a simple and ethical nature may be driven to despair and misanthropy.
Nevertheless, such an attitude Swift demonstrates to be inadequate and absurd.
Gulliver's attitude, in its simplicity and finality, is a kind of misanthropic solution of the
problem of evil. It is a tempting solution for a severe satirist; but Swift found it too limited
and too unreal. So far as I can see, Swift offers no answer of his own, no solution. But he
does transcend the misanthropic solution. He could see that his own severest satire was the
result of a partial and one-sided view, which was therefore properly a subject for mirth.
This seems to me the final comedy of Lemuel Gulliver—that Swift could make an
elaborate and subtle joke at the expense of a very important part of himself. We may leave
Lemuel in amiable discourse in the stable, inhaling the grateful odor of horse. But Swift is not
with him, Swift is above him in the realm of comic satire, still indignant at the Yahoo in man,
but at the same time smiling at the absurdity of the view that can see only the Yahoo in man.

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 Paper VIII – British Literature: 18th Century
Unit-3
(a) Samuel Johnson, “London”
(b) Thomas Gray, “Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard”

Contents:
(a) Samuel Johnson, “London”
1. Introduction
2. Samuel Johnson: A Brief Biography
3. About the Poem
4. Political Background
5. Study-Guide
6. Themes
7. Structure and Style

(b) Thomas Gray, “Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard”

1. Learning Objectives
2. About the Poet
3. About the Poem
4. Study-Guide
5. Structure and Style
6. Poetic Devices
7. Themes

Prepared by: Edited by:

Ankita Sethi Dr. Seema Suri

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72
 Unit-3(a)

Samuel Johnson, “London”

Ankita Sethi

1. Introduction
Samuel Johnson’s “London” was published in 1738. It is a long poem by modern standards,
and you are advised to read it once, before going through the Study Material. The poem has
been explained in detail and most of the unfamiliar words have been discussed in the Notes.
This part of the study material will enable you to;
– critically engage with the genre, form, and themes of the poem;
– comprehend the attitude of the poet towards corruption in politics, a decline in Britain’s
glory, and the harmful impact of French culture on society; and
– realize that “London” is also an expression of Johnson’s dismay at the position of an
honest poet in his time.
2. Samuel Johnson: A Brief Biography
Often referred to as Dr. Johnson, Samuel Johnson was born on 18th September 1709 in
Lichfield, located in Staffordshire. Dr. Johnson’s immense popularity as a literary critic,
essayist, editor, moralist, biographer, and lexicographer is based on his vast contribution to
English language and literature. Samuel Johnson was conservative in thought; in politics, a
committed Tory, and a follower of the Anglican church. He is described as “the most
distinguished man of letters” by The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. James
Boswell, a close friend of Johnson’s, wrote The Life of Samuel Johnson, which Walter
Jackson Bate described as “the most famous single work of biographical art in the whole of
literature.” Johnson went to Pembroke College, Oxford but due to insufficient funds he was
forced to leave after a year. He worked as a teacher and later went to London, where he wrote
for The Gentleman’s Magazine. Poems such as “London,” and The Vanity of Human Wishes;
a biography, Life of Mr. Richard Savage; and the play, Irene are his some of his early works.
In the year 1755, after working for almost a decade, Johnson published A Dictionary of
the English Language. The dictionary had a widespread impact on modern English and has
been praised as, “one of the greatest single achievements of scholarship.” Its publication
brought him fame and fortune. In fact, Johnson’s dictionary remained the authoritative
English dictionary before the publication of the Oxford English Dictionary, 150 years later.
His later works included annotated versions of The Plays of William Shakespeare, some
essays, The History of Rasselar, and Prince of Abissinia. Johnson befriended James Boswell
in 1763 and travelled Scotland with him; documenting their journeys in A Journey to the
Western Islands of Scotland. Towards the end of his life, he wrote the massively influential
Lives of the Most Eminent English Poets, which is a compilation of biographies of the 17th
and 18th century poets.

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3. About the Poem
“London: A poem, in Imitation of the Third Satire of Juvenal,” was written by Dr. Samuel
Johnson in 1738, soon after he moved to the eponymous city. As the title itself suggests, it is
an imitation of Juvenal’s third satire in 263 lines. The structure of Johnson’s poem is inspired
by his appreciation of the Roman poet Juvenal and partly due to the popular trend of imitating
Augustan poets. The Neoclassical age was marked by adoration and imitation of ancient
Greek and Roman poets. Juvenal’s satire focuses on a protagonist named Umbricius, who is
moving from Rome to spend his life in Cumae. The growing crime and anti-social elements
in the ancient metropolis make Umbricius apprehensive and he wants to escape from this
ever-increasing chaos. Following the footsteps of Juvenal, Johnson, in his version, fashioned
Thales as the narrator/protagonist who journeys to Cambria (Wales) to escape from the
clutches of London. The narrator of the poem is not Johnson but Thales, mouthpiece of the
poet, who decides to leave the city of London for good and move to Wales.
After its first publication in 1738, numerous editions were published anonymously.
Soon, it went on to garner critical appreciation, especially from Alexander Pope, who
appreciated London because of its underlying political theme. Johnson was greatly influenced
by Pope’s imitations of Horace and admired the way these imitations were employed to
condemn and criticize rampant political corruption. It is Johnson’s lengthiest non-dramatic
public poem, a major work which published to extensive readership. Written in heroic
couplet, the poem helped Johnson establish himself as a prolific writer and was a catalyst for
his literary career.
4. Political Background
Satirizing contemporary politics, the poem is an attack on the administration of Sir Robert
Walpole (1676-1745) the de facto Prime Minister of Great Britain, from 1721-1742. Walpole
belonged to the Whigs; a political party that opposed totalitarian rule by the monarchs. The
opposition party, the Tories saw him as a threat and in 1712, he was accused of selling his
services and being corrupt. The charges led to his impeachment and eventual imprisonment in
the Tower of London for six months. It must be noted that, Samuel Johnson was a staunch
Tory and he vehemently opposed Walpole and his schemes owing to his ideological beliefs.
Walpole was quite adept at bilateral issues, peacekeeping, and oratory, which made him quite
popular. Johnson frowns upon this stance as he views it as a slavish approach towards
England’s traditional enemies, France and Spain. He also rebukes Walpole’s oratory as
smooth talk that led simple British folk astray. In “London” Samuel Johnson singles out
many aspects of Walpole’s administration for his satire. These will be explained in the
relevant sections. In addition, there are veiled references to King George II.
In addition to the political satire is Johnson’s attack on French influence on London
society. He exhibits an almost xenophobic resentment of the way the public imitates and
admires French culture. His description of French national character is singularly biased.

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5. Study-Guide
Epigraph
Quis ineptæ
Tam patiens urbis, tam ferreus ut teneat se?
- Juvenal
The poem starts with a Latin epigraph, taken from Juvenal. The English translation would be,
“Who can endure this monstrous city: who is so iron-willed he can bear it?” Juvenal here
poses a rhetorical question to the reader, asking how anybody could bear to live in such a
chaotic city which is immoral and horrific. To live in such an unruly place requires a strong
will. The epigraph draws the reader’s attention to the rampant corruption that grips the
metropolis. In the original satire of Juvenal the city is Rome; in Johnson’s imitation of
Juvenal, it is London. The epigraph sets the tone for most of the poem.

Lines 1-8
THO’ Grief and Fondness in my Breast rebel,
When injur’d THALES bids the Town farewell,
Yet still my calmer Thoughts his Choice commend,
I praise the Hermit, but regret the Friend,
Resolved at length, from Vice and LONDON far,
To breathe in distant Fields a purer Air,
And, fix’d on CAMBRIA’S solitary shore,
Give to St. DAVID one true Briton more.
St. David: the patron saint of Wales.
Cambria: ancient name for Wales.
The poem starts with the narrator waiting with his friend Thales, who has decided to move to
Wales and leave London once and for all. They are waiting beside the river Thames, a major
river that flows through England. He is muddled with sadness and affection as they ‘rebel’
with each other. He grieves because his good friend Thales is leaving London as this city is
laden with crime, sin, and vice. Thales chooses the calming and distant shores of Wales
(Cambria) where the air is pure and free of pollution, both physical and moral. The poet
admires his friend for taking a step towards his better health but is saddened by the loss of his
presence. It is presumed that Thales is modelled after Richard Savage, a friend of Johnson’s.

Lines 9-18
For who would leave, unbrib’d, Hibernia’s Land,
Or change the rocks of Scotland for the Strand?
There none are swept by sudden Fate away,
But all whom Hunger spares, with Age decay:
Here Malice, Rapine, Accident conspire,

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 And now a Rabble Rages, now a Fire;
Their ambush here relentless ruffians lay,
And here the fell Attorney prowls for prey;
Here falling Houses thunder on your head,
And here a female Atheist talks you dead.

Hibernia: Ireland.
the rocks of Scotland: suggest an inhospitable terrain.
the Strand: famous street in London.
falling Houses: a reference to the poor quality of construction of houses in London.
a female Atheist: may refer to a controversial female preacher in the 1730s. Female atheists
were the butt of ridicule amongst intellectuals in London.
The poet continues his criticism of London by comparing it with its neighbours, Ireland and
Scotland, which possess natural and rustic beauty and are untouched by moral corruption. He
questions why anybody in their right mind would leave Hibernia (Ireland), unless bribed. He
is confident that even living in Scotland’s difficult terrain is preferable to living on the
Strand, a famous street near Johnson’s home. Notice how, in the phrase ‘Malice, Rapine,
Accident, Conspire’ Johnson uses the literary device of personification to underscore his
critique of the ills that plague London. Consider the first example, in line 16, where even an
attorney, who ideally should help and serve the public, pounces upon gullible clients.
Criminality is normalised, honesty is criminalised. Even the houses in London are shaky;
liable to fall on one’s head.

Check you progress

i) Why is Thales leaving London?
ii) How does the poet/ narrator describe London? Why is the city unsafe for normal
people?

Lines 19-30
While THALES waits the Wherry that contains
Of dissipated Wealth the small Remains,
On Thames’s banks, in silent Thought we stood,
Where GREENWICH smiles upon the silver Flood:
Struck with the Seat that gave ELIZA Birth,
We kneel, and kiss the consecrated Earth;
In pleasing Dreams the blissful Age renew,
And call BRITANNIA’s Glories back to view;
Behold her Cross triumphant on the Main,

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 The Guard of Commerce, and the Dread of Spain,
Ere Masquerades debauch’d, Excise oppress’d,
Or English Honour grew a standing Jest.
Wherry: small boat.
GREENWICH: a district near London; birthplace of Queen Elizabeth.
ELIZA: Queen Elizabeth I, whom the opposition admired because of her success against the
Spanish.
BRITANNIA: an image of a female warrior, personifying Great Britain.
her Cross: a reference to the flag of the English Navy, with the red cross of St. George.
the Main: the ocean.
Guard of Commerce: the navy guarded the merchant ships.
Dread of Spain: the Spanish were terrified of the British navy.
Masquerades: balls, where people went in costume. They were popular in high society and
considered immoral.
Excise oppress’d: tax levied on many commodities, resented by the public.
Pondering over the bank of the river Thames and waiting for the boat to arrive, the poet and
his friend Thales stand there silently. While musing, they are reminded of Greenwich, now a
district in London, but also the birthplace of Elizabeth I. The narrator pays homage to the
great Queen and observes the land that gave birth to her with religious adoration. The
memory of Queen Elizabeth makes Thales dream of a Britain (symbolized by Britannia), free
from corruption. The poet believes that she could rightfully defend her people from the
enemies both internal and foreign. Although he straightaway names Spain as the enemy
outside, he doesn’t name Walpole and his administration as the enemy within. Johnson was
known to be a vehement critic of Walpole, who levied heavy excise taxes on the mercantile
class. The poet fears that if strong steps aren’t taken then “English Honour” would become a
joke. Johnson also articulates his disapproval of masquerades, fashionable in London.

Lines 31-34
A transient Calm the happy Scenes bestow,
And for a Moment lull the Sense of Woe.
At length awaking, with contemptuous Frown,
Indignant THALES eyes the neighb’ring Town.
indignant: angry.
neighb’ring Town: London.
A momentary silence quiets his agitating emotions and anxiety, but soon Thales is disturbed
by the sight of London. Thales is so acutely aware of the plagues that are inflicted upon the
city that it distresses him. Note that, from this point onwards it is Thales, who speaks. He

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does address his companion directly as ‘thee’ or ‘thou’ in some places but the rest of the lines
are spoken by Thales.

Lines 35-56
‘Since Worth,’ he cries, ‘in these degen’rate Days,
Wants ev’n the cheap Reward of empty Praise;
In those curs’d Walls, devote to Vice and Gain,
Since unrewarded Science toils in vain;
Since Hope but soothes to double my Distress,
And ev’ry Moment leaves my Little less;
While yet my steady Steps no Staff sustains,
And Life still vig’rous revels in my Veins;
Grant me, kind Heaven, to find some happier Place,
Where Honesty and Sense are no Disgrace;
Some pleasing Bank where verdant Osiers play,
Some peaceful Vale with Nature’s Paintings gay;
Where once the harass’d BRITON found Repose,
And safe in Poverty defy’d his Foes;
Some secret Cell, ye Pow’rs, indulgent give.
Let ______ live here, for ______ has learn’d to live.
Here let those reign, whom Pensions can incite
To vote a Patriot black, a Courtier white;
Explain their Country's dear-bought Rights away,
And plead for Pirates in the Face of Day;
With slavish Tenets taint our poison'd Youth,
And lend a Lye the confidence of Truth.
wants: here, it means lacks.
those Curs’d walls: refers to London, originally a walled city.
Science: in the poem, it means learning.
Osiers: willows.
harass’d BRITON: ancient Britons, who retreated from Anglo-Saxon invasions.
Let ______ live here: refers to King George II.
Pensions: Walpole commonly disbursed state pensions to his supporters.
Patriot: the Whigs, who opposed Walpole called themselves patriots.
Courtier: those of the Court party.
dear-bought Rights away: provisions in the Treaty of Utrecht, that gave Britain rights to
trade in the Americas.

78
plead for Pirates: in Parliament, supporters of Walpole argued against war with Spain,
despite attacks on British ships.
From this line onwards it is Thales, and not the poet, who speaks. In these lines, Thales
expresses his hopelessness and dismay. He complains that “unrewarded science toils in vain”
meaning that learning is unrewarded in this city. Thales here is so distressed by the
ubiquitous presence of evil in London, that he asks heaven for a “happier place” where his
ideals will be valued; a “peaceful vale,” such as those where, long ago, a troubled Briton
could find tranquillity. Thales firmly believes that London has become a hotbed of crimes
because of selfish and uncouth politicians, who have bowed to Spanish power. The apologists
of the dishonest government are labelled as loyal (white) whereas the detractors or true
patriots are considered treacherous. Supporters of the government are rewarded with
pensions. Attacks on British vessels by the Spanish caused much dismay amongst the public,
and Walpole’s government bore the brunt of indignation. However, in Parliament, advocates
of Walpole argued against any military response to the Spanish. In 1731, tension started
brewing between the two countries, culminating in a war in 1739. The youth are poisoned by
this servile attitude. Londoners are so confident in their façades that they lie with audacity
because those who favour this corrupt government are thriving.
Check your progress
i) Why does Thales ask heaven for a happier place?
ii) Explain the phrase ‘plead for pirates.’

Lines 57-60
Let such raise Palaces, and Manors buy,
Collect a Tax, or farm a Lottery,
With warbling Eunuchs, fill a licens'd Stage,
And lull to Servitude a thoughtless Age.
such: those who support an oppressive government.
farm a lottery: pay a small fee to the government for rights to earn profits from a lottery.
warbling Eunuchs: a derogatory reference to castrati (male sopranos) in Italian opera,
popular with courtiers in London at the time.
licens’d Stage: restrictions on theatre, in the form of the Licensing Act of 1737.
The poet is dismayed to see those who slavishly support Walpole and his policies, flourish
and acquire palaces and manors. He also gives voice to his consternation at the Licencing Act
of 1737, which necessitated production houses to get approval from Lord Chamberlain’s
Men, much like the today’s Censor Board of Film Distribution. This created further
resentment in upcoming writers like Johnson who could not voice their opinions freely. In
this stanza, Johnson attacks the contemporary taste for Italian opera.
Check your progress
i) Explain the phrase “licens’d stage”?

79
Lines 61-66
Heroes, proceed! What Bounds your Pride shall hold?
What Check restrain your Thirst of Pow'r and Gold?
Behold rebellious Virtue quite o'erthrown,
Behold our Fame, our Wealth, our Lives your own.
To such, a groaning Nation's Spoils are giv'n,
When public Crimes inflame the Wrath of Heav'n:
In this stanza, “Heroes” is ironical because these heroes are corrupt. They are hungry for
fortune, glory, and power. The phrase, “Thirst of Pow’r and Gold” contains a paradox as
these public figures, whose responsibility is to work for the country, are greedy and selfish.
Their crimes against the public are enough to invite the anger of heaven.

Lines 67-74
But what, my Friend, what Hope remains for me,
Who start at Theft, and blush at Perjury?
Who scarce forbear, though BRITAIN’S Court he sing,
To pluck a titled Poet's borrow'd Wing;
A Statesman's Logic unconvinc'd can hear,
And dare to slumber o'er the Gazetteer;
Despise a Fool in half his Pension dres't,
And strive in vain to laugh at H____ y's jest.
titled Poet’s: a reference to Colley Gibber, Poet Laureate, who supported Walpole.
Gazetteer: The Daily Gazetteer.
a Fool in half his Pension dres’t: a reference to men overdressed in fashionable clothes.
Thales is overcome with hopelessness because he cannot bring himself to criticize poets like
Colley Gibber, Poet Laureate and member of parliament, whose fame rested on poetry
borrowed from others; ‘borrow’d Wing.’ Thales expresses his inability to comprehend the
logic of statesmen or be amused by the indecent writings in journals like the Gazetteer; which
only make him sleep; ‘dare to slumber.’ Founded in 1735, The Daily Gazetteer was the
authorized newspaper during Walpole’s administration. The blank which starts with letter ‘H’
and ends with ‘Y’ is believed to refer to the Reverend John Henley, a supporter of Walpole-
who was an orator, a London preacher, and considered a buffoon. He regularly attacked the
opposition party. Don’t miss the ironic reference to the ‘Pension’; Walpole was accused of
rewarding his supporters with state pensions. Although it is Thales who speaks, the attack on
the cultural ethos is Johnson’s own. Thales is incapable of fitting in with this crowd.

Lines 75-82
Others with softer Smiles, and subtler Art,
Can sap the Principles, or taint the Heart;

80
 With more Address a Lover's Note convey,
Or bribe a Virgin's Innocence away.
Well may they rise, while I, whose Rustic Tongue
Ne'er knew to puzzle Right, or varnish Wrong,
Spurn'd as a Beggar, dreaded as a Spy.
Live unregarded, unlamented die.
Address: skill in addressing people.
Rustic Tongue: Thales speaks of himself as an unpolished, simple man.
puzzle Right: confuse the truth.
Thales is saddened by such hypocrisy, where people like Henley hold sway over public
opinion and political power. They feign warmth and softness to fool everybody and still
climb up the social ladder but he, who is honest and righteous, is considered a threat and will
die ‘unregarded, unlamented,’ with nobody to grieve over his death. Though Thales speaks
for himself, the references are to Samuel Johnson himself, who spent most of his life in
penury; unrewarded and unrecognized.
Check your progress
i) How is Thales different from other poets around him? Explain with special reference to
lines 67-82.
ii) What does the phrase ‘Rustic Tongue’ mean?

Lines 83-90
For what but social Guilt the Friend endears?
Who shares Orgilio's crimes, his Fortune shares.

But thou, should tempting Villainy present

All Marlb'rough hoarded, or all Villiers spent;
Turn from the glitt'ring Bribe thy scornful Eye,
Nor sell for Gold, what Gold could never buy,
The peaceful Slumber, self-approving Day,
Unsullied Fame, and Conscience ever gay.
social Guilt: the guilt shared by people committing common crimes.
Orgilio: ‘orgueil’ means pride in French, implying a proud person. Here, it’s a thinly veiled
reference to Robert Walpole.
thou: here, Thales directly addresses the narrator of the poem.
Marlb’orough: the great general, the first Duke of Marlborough, John Churchill.
Villiers: George Villiers, second Duke of Buckingham, who squandered a fortune.

81
self-approving Day: an honest person can look on his day with approval, without guilt.
In these lines, the political satire becomes pronounced as it paints a picture of Orgilio, which
is actually a camouflaged attack on Walpole. Thales exhorts the poet who is going to stay on
in London to never give in to greed; even if he’s offered all the wealth acquired by
Marlborough or squandered by Villiers. (The first Duke of Marlborough, John Churchill
purposely lengthened the war to reap benefits. The same way, the Duke of Buckingham grew
prosperous through bribery and deception but squandered it away.) Thales assures his friend
that no amount of wealth can buy a spotless reputation or peaceful slumber.
Check your progress
i) What advice does Thales give to his friend?

Lines 91-98
The cheated Nation's happy Fav’rites, see!
Mark whom the Great caress, who frown on me!
LONDON! the needy Villain’s gen’ral Home,
The Common Shore of Paris and of Rome;
With eager Thirst, by Folly or by Fate,
Sucks in the Dregs of each corrupted State.
Forgive my Transports on a Theme like this,
I cannot bear a French Metropolis.
Shore: sewer. London is like a sewer where the human filth of Paris and Rome is deposited.
French Metropolis: ironic name for London because its people imitate French customs.
Transports: lengthy discourse.
Thales now points out that the favourites of the corrupt nation are pacified and overjoyed
when he is ‘frowned’ upon. He is not appreciated or liked by these people because he
highlighted their idiocies. The city of London has become a dumping ground for waste from
degraded states like Rome and France. Much like Juvenal who disparaged the Greeks,
Johnson condemns French sway and manners.

Lines 99-106
Illustrious EDWARD! from the Realms of Day,
The Land of Heroes and of Saints survey;
Nor hope the British Lineaments to trace,
The rustic Grandeur, or the surly Grace,
But lost in thoughtless Ease, and empty Show,
Behold the Warrior dwindled to a Beau;
Sense, freedom, piety, refin'd away,
Of FRANCE the Mimic, and of SPAIN the Prey.

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EDWARD: King Edward III, who ruled from 1327-77, and who led famous victories against
France.
Realms of Day: heaven.
Beau: a man who pays excessive attention to his dress.
Thales expresses his admiration for King Edward III, by visiting the past and recalling his
decisive victory over France. Pastoral and heroic splendour has been replaced with dim
witted and thoughtless dandies, who are not only servile but debilitated by Britain’s old
rivals, France and Spain, contributing to the pitiful condition of Britain.

Lines 107-116
All that at home no more can beg or steal,
Or like a Gibbet better than a Wheel;
Hiss'd from the Stage, or hooted from the Court,
Their Air, the Dress, their Politics import;
Obsequious, artful, voluble and gay,
On Britain's fond Credulity they prey.
No gainful Trade their Industry can 'scape,
They sing, they dance, clean Shoes, or cure a Clap;
All Sciences a fasting Monsieur knows,
And bid him go to hell, to hell he goes.
Gibbet better than a Wheel: hanging and breaking on the wheel were the British and
French methods of execution respectively.
fond: foolish.
Clap: venereal disease.
Sciences: knowledge.
fasting Monsieur: a sarcastic reference to the French, who were Catholic and fasted on
certain days.
In France, offenders and delinquents were broken on a wheel as a form of capital punishment
whereas British criminals were hung by a noose. In this stanza, the wheel and the gibbet are
metaphors that represent French and British manners respectively. Thales says that people
who prefer French politics, dress, and manners are primarily failed actors, who have been
booed on stage, out of work beggars and thieves, or disgraced courtiers. They try to impress
the gullible English public with their imported airs. They waste their time in frolicking, dilly
dallying, singing and dancing, and are no longer skilful in any trade. Their stupidity is such
that if one is to ask them to go to hell, they will do so. Although the primary objective of
‘London’ is political satire, Johnson attacks French influence on British culture and society.
Check your progress
i) Write a detailed note on the French influence on British society?

83
ii) Make a list of images used by the poet to attack the French influence on London; for
instance, he calls London the ‘shore’ (sewer) of Rome and Paris.

Lines 117-122
Ah! what avails it, that, from Slav'ry far,
I drew the Breath of Life in English Air;
Was early taught a Briton's Right to prize,
And lisp the Tale of HENRY'S Victories;
If the gull'd Conqueror receives the Chain,
And flattery subdues when arms are vain?
Briton’s Right: the right to liberty.
gull’d: cheated.
According to the Thales, it is fruitless to think of the glorious British past and exalt an ideal
of freedom and liberty as a national legacy. The age is long gone when Henry V defeated the
French in the Battle of Agincourt, in 1415. It is ironic, that the victors have now been reduced
to slaves of French manners, especially flattery.
Check your progress
i) In this stanza, Thales mentions the former glory of Britain under King Henry V.
Mention some other monarchs he mentions, as ideal rulers.

Lines 123- 131

Studious to please, and ready to submit,
The supple Gaul was born a Parasite:
Still to his Int'rest true, where'er he goes,
Wit, Brav'ry, Worth, his lavish Tongue bestows;
In ev'ry Face a Thousand Graces shine,
From ev'ry Tongue flows Harmony divine.
These Arts in vain our rugged Natives try,
Strain out with fault'ring Diffidence a Lye,
And gain a Kick for awkward Flattery.
Gaul: Frenchman.
Lye: lie.
The French are well versed in flattery and they employ it to their ends. A Frenchman knows
and practices all kinds of flattery and sings songs of heroism and wit. Their tongues are rich,
whereas an English man is rustic, crude, and honest with his tongue and flattery doesn’t come
naturally to him. For this sole reason, when an English man lies, he does so without
confidence, his hesitation fails him utterly and, in the end, he is humiliated.

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Lines 132-143
Besides, with Justice, this discerning Age
Admires their wond'rous Talents for the Stage:
Well may they venture on the Mimic's Art,
Who play from Morn to Night a borrow'd Part;
Practis'd their Master's Notions to embrace,
Repeat his Maxims, and reflect his Face;
With ev'ry wild Absurdity comply,
And view each Object with another's Eye;
To shake with Laughter ere the Jest they hear,
To pour at Will the counterfeited Tear,
And as their Patron hints the Cold or Heat,
To shake in Dog-days, in December sweat.
their (line 133): refers to the French.
the Mimic’s Art: the art of acting.
the counterfeited Tear: pretend to cry.
Dog-days: refers to summer, when Sirius, the dog star is prominent.
In an ironic tone, Thales says that the French are rightly admired for their talents as actors;
used as they are to constantly act in real life. The implication is that the French are
accustomed to pretend; being extremely obsequious they act like puppets for their patrons. If
their master declares that it is winter on a summer’s day, the slavish man will start shivering
like a dog. If their master feels it is hot during December they too will start breaking into a
sweat. The have cultivated the art of reflecting the sentiments of their patrons. Notice how
Thales (Johnson) cleverly picks up the English admiration for French actors and uses it as a
basis for his diatribe against the French national character.

Lines 144-151
How, when Competitors like these contend,
Can surly Virtue hope to fix a Friend?
Slaves that with serious Impudence beguile,
And lye without a Blush, without a Smile;
Exalt each Trifle, ev'ry Vice adore,
Your Taste in Snuff, your Judgment in a Whore;
Can Balbo's Eloquence applaud, and swear
He gropes his Breeches with a Monarch's Air.
surly Virtue: rough and unpolished, but honest Briton. A reference to himself.
fix a Friend: find a friend.
Balbo: Balbo is the Italian nickname for a person who stammers.
85
gropes: here, it means to touch oneself. In Johnson’s time, this word didn’t have the sexual
associations that it does now.
The poet continues with his harangue, as slavish people easily win the hearts of the gullible.
It is because of such cunning stratagems that finding a friend becomes a herculean task. They
lie without conscience to gain patrons; they heighten their trivial acts, appreciate their crimes,
and admire their debauched indulgences. They go to the absurd extent of calling a
stammering actor ‘Eloquent,’ and the uncouth act of touching oneself (‘groping’) as royal.
Thales is dismayed at the people who dominate London now.
Check your progress
i) Describe the kind of poets who succeed in finding patrons?
ii) Summarize the points of comparison between the French and British national character;
as described by Thales.

Line 152-157
For Arts like these preferr'd, admir'd, caress'd,
They first invade your Table, then your Breast;
Explore your Secrets with insidious Art,
Watch the weak Hour, and ransack all the Heart;
Then soon your ill-plac'd Confidence repay,
Commence your Lords, and govern or betray.

invade your Table: a metaphor for dining together.

Confidence: trust
Commence: become.
Thales continues with his scorn of slavish people as they first invade your social circles, then
your personal space and privacy. Gullible men fall prey to their stratagems; they become
vulnerable and expose their innermost secrets. The con-artists are the very people who are
favoured in England. But it is the simple men who pay the price as they are betrayed by the
very men in whom they trusted. Soon, these people become Lords and rule over you.

Lines 158-169
By Numbers here from Shame or Censure free,
All Crimes are safe, but hated Poverty.
This, only this, the rigid Law pursues,
This, only this, provokes the snarling Muse;
The sober Trader at a tatter'd Cloak,
Wakes from his Dream, and labours for a Joke;
With brisker Air the silken Courtiers gaze,
And turn the varied Taunt a thousand Ways.

86
 Of all the Griefs that harass the Distrest,
Sure the most bitter is a scornful Jest;
Fate never wounds more deep the gen'rous Heart,
Than when a Blockhead's Insult points the Dart.
the snarling Muse: the muse of satire.
sober Trader: a dig at the mercantile class of London.
tatter’d Cloak: torn clothes of the poor person.
silken Courtiers: courtiers, who are finely dressed in silk.
In the city of London criminals are unafraid because they are in such large numbers in the
city. It is the poor, the powerless, and the gullible who feel the overwhelming weight of the
law. Here, the unscrupulous and shrewd trader hordes wealth by exploiting the simple-
minded poor labourers. He further adds insult to injury by trying to crack a joke at their
expense. But well-dressed courtiers succeed in insulting a poor man in a thousand ways.
Towards the end of this stanza, Johnson obliquely hints at his personal travails. The emotions
conveyed in lines 166-169 bring his own sufferings to the fore.

Lines 170-181
Has Heav'n reserv'd, in Pity to the Poor,
No pathless Waste, or undiscover'd Shore?
No secret Island in the boundless Main?
No peaceful Desert yet unclaim'd by SPAIN?
Quick let us rise, the happy Seats explore,
And bear Oppression's Insolence no more.
This mournful truth is ev'ry where confess'd,
SLOW RISES WORTH, BY POVERTY DEPREST:
But here more slow, where all are Slaves to Gold,
Where Looks are Merchandise, and Smiles are sold;
Where won by Bribes, by Flatt’ries implor’d,
The Groom retails the Favours of his Lord.
Main: North west coast of south America, where Britain and Spain were in conflict.
Seats: sites, yet to be colonized.
These lines refer to the Anglo-Spanish clash; when Spain was fighting to claim Georgia from
British hands. This also means that the Spanish would wrestle away the right to freely trade
in Central and South America from the British Empire. According to Thales, England has
now become a slave and a follower of Mammon, the god of wealth. It has become a capitalist
mercantile nation where moral values are continuously deteriorating. Pay special attention to
line 177; the only line in capitals and the most emphatic statement of the impact of poverty
on a person’s sense of worth. Though “London” is a political satire, it is also an articulation
of Johnson’s deep dejection at his circumstances, through the voice of Thales.
87
Check your progress
i) Comment on the phrase “slaves to Gold.”
ii) Explain the significance of this line: “SLOW RISES WORTH, BY POVERTY DEPREST.”

Lines 182-193
But hark! th’ affrighted Crowd’s tumultuous Cries
Roll thro’ the Streets, and thunder to the Skies;
Rais'd from some pleasing Dream of Wealth and Pow’r,
Some pompous Palace, or some blissful Bow’r,
Aghast you start, and scarce with aching Sight
Sustain th’approaching Fire's tremendous Light;
Swift from pursuing Horrors take your Way,
And Leave your little ALL to Flames a Prey;
Then through the World a wretched Vagrant roam,
For where can starving Merit find a Home?
In vain your mournful Narrative disclose,
While all neglect, and most insult your Woes.
tumultuous: noisy.
Dream of Wealth and Pow’r: Here, Thales addresses the narrator who is dreaming of
wealth and power when he is rudely awakened by the noise.
Sustain: suffer.
starving Merit: again, an oblique reference to Johnson’s own struggle with money.
In this stanza and the next, Thales contrasts the stark difference in response when tragedy
strikes the poor and rich. He addresses his friend, the narrator directly (the ‘you’ in line 186);
saying that, some day he might be rudely woken up from a dream of ‘some pompous Palace,
or some blissful Bow’r’ and run away from the fire that burns his little possessions; ‘your
little ALL.’ He would be nothing but a ‘wretched vagrant,’ searching in vain for pity or help,
in any form. The underlying theme of the humiliation that poor people face is, without doubt,
based on Samuel Johnson’s personal experiences. Many critics have pointed out the
discrepancy in line 184, where Thales describes his friend as dreaming of palaces; it jars with
the tone of the rest of the poem, where the poor but virtuous poet is exalted.

Lines 194-209
Should Heav’n’s just Bolts Orgilio's Wealth confound,
And spread his flaming Palace on the Ground,
Swift o'er the Land the dismal Rumour flies,
And public Mournings pacify the Skies;
The Laureate Tribe in servile Verse relate,

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 How Virtue wars with persecuting Fate;
With well-feign'd Gratitude the pension'd Band
Refund the Plunder of the beggar'd Land.
See! while he builds, the gaudy Vassals come,
And crowd with sudden Wealth the rising Dome;
The Price of Boroughs and of Souls restore,
And raise his Treasures higher than before.
Now bless'd with all the Baubles of the Great,
The polish'd Marble, and the shining Plate,
Orgilio sees the golden Pile aspire,
And hopes from angry Heav'n another Fire.
Orgilio: again, a reference to Robert Walpole.
The Laureate Tribe: a contemptuous phrase for the poets who flatter Walpole.
the pension’d Band: another derogatory reference to poets without talent, who manage to
get a pension on the basis of their flattery.
The Plunder of the beggar’d Land: the money given to Walpole is the money plundered
from the land.
Price of Boroughs and of Souls: an attack on the bribes paid to citizens of boroughs, to buy
their votes. Owners of certain manors had the right to appoint clergymen of their choice.
In these lines, Thales says that if Orgilio’s palace were to catch fire, there would be public
mourning across the land, his sycophant poets would project him as a victim of fate, and rush
to arrange money for him to rebuild an even more lavish palace. Ironically, the money
arranged to rebuild his palace would be the same money Walpole paid as pension or bribes to
his supporters. The overwhelming support given to Orgilio (Walpole) would make him wish
that another fire destroys his palace.
Check your progress
i) Describe the response of the public to the fire in Orgilio’s palace, as imagined by
Thales. Compare it to how he imagines the plight of his friend, in case his house catches
fire.
ii) Where will the money for Orgilio’s palace come from?

Lines 210-223
Could'st thou resign the Park and Play content,
For the fair Banks of Severn or of Trent;
There might'st thou find some elegant Retreat,
Some hireling Senator's deserted Seat;
And stretch thy Prospects o'er the smiling Land,
For less than rent the Dungeons of the Strand;

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 There prune thy Walks, support thy drooping Flow'rs,
Direct thy Rivulets, and twine thy Bow'rs;
And, while thy Grounds a cheap Repast afford,
Despise the Dainties of a venal Lord:
There ev'ry Bush with Nature's Music rings,
There ev'ry Breeze bears Health upon its Wings;

On all thy Hours Security shall smile,

And bless thine Evening Walk and Morning Toil.
the Park and Play: walking in one of London’s parks, and going to the theatre were popular
pastimes of the time.
of Severn or of Trent: major rivers in England.
hireling Senator’s deserted Seat: the mansion of some member of parliament who supports
those in power for benefits.
the Dungeons of the Strand: small, rented rooms on the Strand in London.
thy Grounds a cheap Repast afford: his cultivated land would provide him enough
nutrition.
venal Lord: corrupt landlord.
Security: freedom from care and anxiety.
Addressing his companion, standing next to him, Thales wonders if he could bring himself to
give up some of the pleasures of residing in London, like walking in its parks or watching
plays, and shift to some nobleman’s abandoned estate, close to a river, and convert it into a
place of peace, rest, and rectitude. There is an abrupt change of atmosphere in the stanza-the
idyllic life in the countryside is described almost in the manner of the Romantics. Living
close to nature, caring for his garden, and in the company of simple, rustic people- these are
the advantages listed by Thales.
Check your progress
i) What would Thales like his companion to do?
ii) Explain “cheap Repast.”

Lines 224-235
Prepare for Death, if here at Night you roam,
And sign your Will before you sup from Home.
Some fiery Fop, with new Commission vain,
Who sleeps on Brambles till he kills his Man;
Some frolick Drunkard, reeling from a Feast,
Provokes a Broil, and stabs you for a Jest.
Yet ev'n these Heroes, mischievously gay,

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 Lords of the Street, and Terrors of the Way;
Flush'd as they are with Folly, Youth, and Wine,
Their prudent Insults to the Poor confine;
Afar they mark the Flambeau's bright Approach,
And shun the shining Train, and golden Coach.

here (line 224): in London.

new Commission vain: newly recruited officer.
sleeps on Brambles: restless, as if he sleeps on thorns.
Broil: a fight.
Lords of the Street: gangs who terrorized people on the streets.
Flambeau’s bright approach: rich people travelled in carriages, and they were escorted by
men carrying torches (‘shining Train’).
The scene abruptly shifts back to London. Here, one must live in fear all the time: fear of
being killed by an over-enthusiastic drunkard, soldier, or youth. A Londoner should prepare
his will, for there is no telling whether he will return home or not, at the end of the day. Some
fop with little sense but brimming with arrogance may violate a powerless man just to prove
his power/strength. In some other corner, an alcoholic may start a brawl or even kill someone
just for entertainment. The recurring theme of criminality and chaos is enumerated in these
lines. However, the criminals only target poor people; they retreat the moment they see the
bright flame of a torch (flambeau) approaching, lighting the way for a rich man’s carriage.

Lines 236-241
In vain, these Dangers past, your Doors you close,
And hope the balmy Blessings of Repose:
Cruel with Guilt, and daring with Despair,
The midnight Murd'rer bursts the faithless Bar;
Invades the sacred Hour of silent Rest,
And plants, unseen, a Dagger in your Breast.
faithless Bar: the bar across a door, that fails to prevent a murderer from breaking in.
The association between political and social corruption here reaches a satirical climax. The
poet says that life is so unpredictable that anytime, anyone can plunge a knife in the chest of
the people, even in the security of closed walls.
Check your progress
i) What are the risks involved in living in London?

Line 242-247
Scarce can our Fields, such Crowds at Tyburn die,
With Hemp the Gallows and the Fleet supply.

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 Propose your Schemes, ye Senatorian band,
Whose Ways and Means support the sinking Land;
Lest Ropes be wanting in the tempting Spring,
To rig another Convoy for the K____ g.
Tyburn: the site of public hangings in London.
Hemp: plant, whose fibre is used to make ropes.
ye Senatorian band: members of Parliament.
Ways and Means: refers to the The Ways and Means Committee of the House of Commons,
formed to arrange funds for public expenditure.
sinking Land: an ironic jibe at Walpole’s Sinking Fund, started to reduce national debt.
rig: equip.
Convoy: fleet of ships.
K____g: King George II, who frequently went to his birthplace Hanover, in Germany, to
visit his mistress, at great expense to his country.
Thales says that so many criminals are hung at Tyburn that farmers are finding it difficult to
keep up with the demand for hemp (used to make ropes); also required to make ropes for
ships. He makes a sarcastic appeal to the members of parliament to create committees to
generate money so that King George II’s ships don’t suffer from a shortage of ropes. In one
short stanza, the poet attacks rising criminality in London and schemes for extraction of
money from the public to finance King George II’s frequent visits to his native Hanover.

Lines 248-253
A single Jail, in ALFRED’s golden Reign,
Could half the Nation's Criminals contain;
Fair Justice then, without Constraint ador'd,
Held high the steady scale, but drop'd the Sword;
No Spies were paid, no Special Juries known,
Blest age! but ah! how diff'rent from our own!
Fair Justice: visual representation of Justice, as a woman with scales in one hand and a
sword in the other.
Spies: used to locate potential rebels.
Special Juries: formed to suppress opposition in courts.
In these lines, Thales reminisces England’s magnificent past, specifically the years from 871-
899, under King Alfred the Great, who commanded Wessex in South-west England. The
rarity of crimes during Alfred’s reign was such that one jail was enough to accommodate half
the criminals in the entire nation. In his time, justice was steady and truly equal for all. The
scales of Justice were truly balanced, without recourse to violence.

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Line 254-263
Much could I add, -- but see the Boat at hand,
The Tide retiring, calls me from the Land:
Farewell! -- When Youth, and Health, and Fortune spent,
Thou fly'st for Refuge to the Wilds of Kent;
And tir'd like me with Follies and with Crimes,
In angry numbers warn'st succeeding Times;
Then shall thy Friend, nor thou refuse his Aid,
Still Foe to Vice, forsake his Cambrian Shade;
In Virtue's Cause once more exert his Rage,
Thy Satire point, and animate thy Page.
angry numbers: satirical verses.
Thales concludes the poem, as he sees the approaching ferry. He regretfully mentions that he
could add much more to his diatribe against London but won’t because he is leaving his past
behind. He bids the poet farewell, knowing that he too will leave London one day. When the
strength of his youth gives up, when his fortune runs dry by feeding greedy politicians, and
when his soul is exhausted by the sheer amount of sin and crime, then he can take refuge in
the calm, rustic, and natural environment of Kent. Thales finally concludes with the promise
that if the poet should ever write a satire that expresses his rage against the fallen city, he will
return to his aid.
Check your progress
i) How is Alfred’s reign different from the contemporary times of the poet?
ii) While bidding adieu what does Thales say to the poet? Why?

6. Themes
6.1 Greed, Crime, and Corruption
Greed and corruption is the overarching theme but Johnson also expounds other evils, like
government control over public opinion. Walpole, reportedly, spent a fortune, from 1731-
1741, to spread propaganda through popular newspapers like the Gazetteer and Hyp-Doctor.
Owing to his patronage, dissenters, critics, and common folks who opposed his
administration, could not voice their dissent. The British government had imposed the
Licencing Act of 1737, which required production houses to get approval from Lord
Chamberlain’s Men. This created further resentment amongst upcoming writers such as
Johnson who could not voice their opinions freely. Johnson’s resentment is reflected in lines
176-177- “This mournful truth is ev’ry where confess’d,/ SLOW RISES WORTH, BY
POVERTY DEPREST.” The capitalisation underscores the intensity of Johnson’s pain and
frustration as a poet who is subjugated by poverty. The same concern is raised in lines 58-59
as well, where the poet mentions the corrupt politicians who care about their own material
gains rather than the people and the state that they govern. Londoners are left at the mercy of
money mongers because the politicians lack nobility of mind. Johnson comments on the

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inherent evil of greed and vainglory and how physical appearance is valued above other
virtues. Sensibility, honesty, and other virtues are no longer the ideals that inspire men to toil;
instead, bribery and flattery are considered necessary to get work done. A human’s worth is
reduced to the amount of money he can expend, and the poor have no money thus they are
expendable and worthless, no matter the talent. The working class is at the mercy of those
people who have money, but they lack any ideals and Thales feels that decay and perversion
has struck at the very foundation. He advises his friend to leave the city for some rural retreat.
6.2 Patriotism
Remembrance of the glorious past is used as a strategy to highlight present misrule by Robert
Walpole and King George II. Reminiscence and retrospection of the glorious past is a
recurring theme as Thales romanticizes England’s past monarchs. In lines 99-100, Thales
asserts that long ago, monarchs like Elizabeth I and Edward I defeated enemies and
established English supremacy. He exalts the strong leadership of Edward I, under whom the
English enjoyed nobility, justice, and security. The past is presented as a foil to the current
government and its policies under Walpole, the de facto Prime Minister of Britain. It reflects
his yearning to live in that glorious past and rejects England as it is during the poet’s time,
fallen from grace. In other stanzas, Thales and the narrator pay homage to King Alfred and
King Henry V.
This nostalgia and glorification of the past also extends to King Alfred the Great, who is
idolized as a great monarch. According to Thales, under Alfred, criminality was kept at bay
and common people enjoyed more freedom. This ideal ruler governed with benevolence; that
is why the poet calls his rule, “golden Reign.” In lines 248-249, the poet creates a sharp
contrast by showing how debauched London has become at present. It is heightened when the
poet describes London of his day in line 15: “Their ambush here relentless ruffians lay.”
7. Structure and Style
There is no doubt that “London” is a strongly political poem, laden with contemporary
allusions. For example, it talks about Britain’s strained relations with its traditional rivals,
France and Spain, and the Licencing Act of 1737. The political overtones and national
interests are craftily disguised in its classical structure. Other allusions to crumbling houses,
corrupt attorneys, conflagrations, and female atheists reflect the theme of evil in an urban
landscape, giving it universal appeal. According to Boswell, the poem’s composition overlaps
with the beginning of the end of Walpole’s ministry, which fell after some years. Johnson
astutely grasps London’s inexcusable city administration, moral corruption, and decline of
the country. The Vanity of Human Wishes is another such example of imitation of Juvenal’s
Tenth Satire, which bears Johnson’s distinctive personality as a scathing critic and satirist.
Despite that Johnson’s style falls short on intensity of emotions as his poetic flair leans on
grand presentation. Johnson’s rhetoric appeals to the intellect but gives a shallow peek into
the life of Londoners of his day. Owing to such reasons, his poem is perceived more as a
political and intellectual work than a poetical and emotionally stimulating one. It must also be
noted that Johnson followed the poetic diction of 18th century masters, Dryden and Pope. Just
like them, Johnson too uses the heroic couplet and although his usage is vivid his stature as a
poet, according to T S Eliot, is reduced to a minor one.

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Questions
i) Comment on the significance of the poem’s title.
ii) Write a summary of the problems that plague London, according to Thales.
iii) Write a short note on the autobiographical element in the poem.
iv) Compare and contrast this poem with another poem of the same name, in your course;
“London” by William Blake.
v) Discuss the theme of patriotism in the poem.

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 Unit-3(b)

Thomas Gray, “Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard”

Ankita Sethi

1. Learning Objectives
The objective of this part of the Study Material is to enable you to;
- critically engage with the genre, form, and themes used by the poet;
- comprehend the attitude of the writer towards death, self and class; and
- identify Gray’s unique contribution to English poetry.
2. About the Poet
Major poetic figure of the 18th century and forerunner of the Romantic Age, Thomas Gray,
was born into a prosperous but unhappy family. He was a fragile boy, with a violent father
and an ailing mother. He was sent to Eton when he was eight. There, he founded the
‘Quadruple Alliance’ along with three other boys who shared an affinity for poetry and the
classics. The three members apart from Gray were Thomas Ashton, Horace Walpole, son of
the British Prime minister, and the gifted poet Richard West, who remained his closest friend
for the rest of his life. At Eton, Gray fostered his devotion to study and indulged in reverie
and imagination with his close-knit circle of friends. Gray and Walpole formed a close
friendship at Eton, and both went on a Grand European Tour. However, they had an intense
row which resulted in Gray’s departure and discontinuation of the tour. Historians have
speculated that; the fallout was because of a lovers’ argument. Gray was also closely
associated with a coterie of male friends, where many of them had strong feelings of affection
and desire for the same sex members. Owing to his effeminate behaviour, Gray was also
harassed as ‘Miss Gray.’
In 1734, while at Peterhouse in Cambridge, he started writing Latin verse. In 1742, the
same year Gray settled at Cambridge, tragedy struck him; his long-time close friend, West
died. His death propelled him to pen many English verses, the best of which are “Sonnet on
the Death of Mr. Richard West,” and “Hymn to Adversity.” His poems reflect his sensibility
and his inclination to melancholy. In 1757 he wrote, “The Progress of Poesy” and “The Bard”
that attracted a lot of criticism, due to which he stopped writing. Towards the end of his life,
he formed a very strong emotional bond with a Swiss nobleman, Charles Victor de
Bonstetten. Gray died at 55 and was buried in the country churchyard at Stoke Poges,
Buckinghamshire, celebrated in his “Elegy.”
3. About the Poem
The poem belongs to a genre called the Graveyard School of Poetry. This movement was a
precursor to the Romantic age, and its poetry concentrated on mortality and mourning. The
Graveyard School included poets like Robert Blair who wrote The Grave, and Edward Young

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who penned a blank verse, Night Thoughts. These poems express grief and sorrow and are
melancholic in nature. They often evoke a sense of horror by portraying the physical
manifestation of death and emphasize the transient nature of life. However, it was in Gray’s
“Elegy” that the Graveyard School found its fullest expression. Contemplative, melancholic,
and philosophic in nature, “An Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard” (1751) catapulted
Gray to instant success. It is solemn, steeped in classical diction, and celebrates the graves of
simple, humble, and anonymous rural folk. This was a novel approach as the subject matter
of elegies were usually the high, mighty, and heroic individuals. The central theme of
mortality, that death comes to all, irrespective of stature, was familiar and commonplace.
What sets Gray’s Elegy apart is his interweaving of class into the theme of death. His
addition of his own Epitaph is also a creative touch.
4. Study-Guide
There may be many words in the poem that are unfamiliar. Check the Glossary at the end of
this section.
Lines 1-4
The curfew tolls the knell of parting day,
The lowing herd wind slowly o’er the lea,
The plowman homeward plods his weary way,
And leaves the world to darkness and to me.
The poem starts with the narrator standing in a churchyard, observing the countryside. He
notices several things that indicate that it is evening; the ringing of the church bell, which in
medieval England announced the end of the day, the mooing cows moving slowly across the
land, and the farmer who, exhausted from toil, is now going home. The toll of the curfew bell
is not the usual ring but a “knell”- a term for the bells that ring at funerals. The poet obliquely
brings in the central theme of death in the very first stanza itself. Soon, the narrator finds
himself alone in that idyllic landscape as darkness starts enveloping the sky.

Lines 5-8
Now fades the glimmering landscape on the sight,
And all the air a solemn stillness holds,
Save where the beetle wheels his droning flight,
And drowsy tinklings lull the distant folds;
The following stanza maintains the serious tone of the previous one. Although the narrator is
not grief-stricken, he is in a contemplative state. His descriptions of his surroundings aptly
reflect his sombre disposition. Even the motion of the beetle’s flight and the faint, distant
tinkling bells cannot disturb his meditative state. The air itself has “a solemn stillness.” Note
the use of alliteration by the poet, as in “solemn stillness.”

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Check your progress
i) Mention the sounds that the poet hears around him, standing in the churchyard.
ii) Describe the setting and landscape of the poem.
iii) What is alliteration?

Lines 9-12
Save that from yonder ivy-mantled tower
The moping owl does to the moon complain
Of such, as wandering near her secret bower,
Molest her ancient solitary reign.
The solemn stillness in the second stanza is disturbed by a hooting owl, who complains about
a solitary wanderer. This wanderer is the poet himself who is intruding upon the quiet and
exclusive domain of the owl. Pay special attention to the manner in which the poet, without
directly alluding to death, creates a sombre mood; the isolation of the owl and the ivy that
grows the tower.

Lines 13-16
Beneath those rugged elms, that yew-tree’s shade,
Where heaves the turf in many a mouldering heap
Each in his narrow cell for ever laid,
The rude forefathers of the hamlet sleep.
In this stanza, the poet directly refers to the graves in the churchyard. He describes how,
beneath the shades of numerous elm and yew trees, there are mounds of soil. Under these
mounds, rest humble ancestors from the village, who are sleeping in their “narrow cells;” a
metaphor for coffins. The graves of the villagers are simple, with grass growing over them.
There are no marble slabs placed over them.

Lines 17-20
The breezy call of incense-breathing Morn,
The swallow twittering from the straw-built shed,
The cock’s shrill clarion, or the echoing horn,
No more shall rouse them from their lowly bed.
The poet enumerates a list of things that will no longer have any effect on the dead
forefathers; the rooster’s morning call, the fresh morning air, or twittering birds. Nothing will
disturb them from their “lowly beds.” Note that the “lowly beds” refers to both, their
unadorned graves and their humble beds. The theme of mortality is established, in this stanza,
the emphasis is on the sounds of nature. Again alliteration is used; ‘ . . . swallow . . . straw
built shed.’

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Check your progress
i) Mention some of the sounds that the dead ancestors won’t be able to hear in their
graves.
ii) How is life for the buried ‘rude ancestors’?

Lines 21-24
For them no more the blazing hearth shall burn,
Or busy housewife ply her evening care:
No children run to lisp their sire’s return,
Or climb his knees the envied kiss to share.
From the sounds of nature, the poet shifts to a description of the usual evening rituals that
don’t take place as the father/husband no longer returns home to his family. The dead can no
longer relish the joys of familial life. The focus is on simple and domestic joys such as being
loved by spouse, children, and family in general.

Lines 25-28
Oft did the harvest to their sickle yield,
Their furrow oft the stubborn glebe has broke;
How jocund did they drive their team afield!
How bowed the woods beneath their sturdy stroke!
The poet now shifts the readers’ attention from domestic life to the farmer’s work. The buried
forefathers will no longer work in the fields; ploughing with their horses, harvesting, or
happily chopping wood. The poet here emphasises that despite being lowly and simple, these
ancestors took pleasure in the little joys that life offered. Idyllic and rustic life is thus
idealised in this stanza.
Check your progress
i) Mention a couple of poetic devices used in this part of the poem.
ii) What will the poor farmer miss after death?

Lines 29-32
Let not Ambition mock their useful toil,
Their homely joys, and destiny obscure;
Nor Grandeur hear with a disdainful smile
The short and simple annals of the poor.
The poet begins with cautionary advice for the rich and mighty, who are ambitious and
ridicule the simplicity of the poor. The scornful eyes of the rich, personified as Ambition,
must not look down upon the simple stories of the humble village folk. Implicit in these lines
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is a critique of class divisions and prejudices in society. Gray’s bias is clearly in favour of
simple, rural folk.

Lines 33-36
The boast of heraldry, the pomp of power,
And all that beauty, all that wealth e’er gave,
Awaits alike the inevitable hour.
The paths of glory lead but to the grave.
The narrator in these lines reminds the reader of the inevitability of death. The poem becomes
a sort of memento mori, a reminder of mortality and death. The poet expounds the ephemeral
nature of things; be it power, nobility, glory, wealth, or beauty. The poem moves into serious
territory here. The sentiment expressed here is a religious platitude but not specific to
Christianity.

Lines 37-40
Nor you, ye proud, impute to these the fault,
If Memory o’er their tomb no trophies raise,
Where through the long-drawn aisle and fretted vault
The pealing anthem swells the note of praise.
The speaker instructs the reader not to make fun of the modest and unadorned graves of the
poor. He says that rich people are laid to rest in decorated vaults inside the church and lofty
music is played at their funerals. This thought discomfits the poet. Note how the theme of
mortality is expanded to accommodate class issues.
Check your progress
i) What caution does Gray give to the rich?
ii) Highlight the differences between the humble villagers and the wealthy folks.
iii) “The paths of glory lead but to the grave.” Elaborate.

Lines 41-44
Can storied urn or animated bust
Back to its mansion call the fleeting breath?
Can Honor’s voice provoke the silent dust,
Or Flattery sooth the dull cold ear of Death?
The poet contemplates that nothing in this world can bring back the dead. Grand funeral
processions, accumulated wealth, high honours bestowed, urns with cremated remains, or
commemorative bust are powerless against death. Even flattery, which led many astray from
good sense, cannot cheat death. Here death is personified as a sentient being. The phrase
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‘silent dust’ is reminiscent of the Christian burial service: ‘Dust thou art, to dust thou shall
return.’

Lines 45-48
Perhaps in this neglected spot is laid
Some heart once pregnant with celestial fire;
Hands, that the rod of empire might have swayed,
Or waked to ecstasy the living lyre.
The narrator then turns his attention back to the poor and ponders over the kind of fiery
passion they might’ve had during their lifetime. He wonders if, had they been given the right
opportunity, they could’ve accomplished many wonders. Maybe one of the farm workers
could’ve become a noble king, while another could’ve become a great poet and musician.
This sentiment raises the question of whether social mobility is possible. The poet obliquely
comments that nobility is something that can be acquired; not necessarily inherited.

Lines 49-52
But Knowledge to their eyes her ample page
Rich with the spoils of time did ne’er unroll;
Chill Penury repressed their noble rage,
And froze the genial current of the soul.
The poet, in this stanza, replies to his own speculations and pronounces that the poor could
not realise their full potential because their poverty rendered them incapable of gaining
knowledge, which could’ve helped them realise their passions. “Penury” or poverty not only
crushed them economically and physically, but also curbed their innermost fire and passion—
the very passions that could’ve made them great poets or kings. It is important to note that
Thomas Gray doesn’t take the simplistic view that everything about poverty is good and
noble. In fact, he emphasizes that, the poor miss out on a lot because of their deprivation.
Check your progress
i) What do you understand by the phrase “dull cold ear of Death”?
ii) How could the lives of the poor have turned out, if they had better opportunities?

Lines 53-56
Full many a gem of purest ray serene,
The dark unfathomed caves of ocean bear:
Full many a flower is born to blush unseen,
And waste its sweetness on the desert air.

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This is perhaps the most famous stanza of Gray’s poetry. Here, using the metaphors of a gem
and a flower, Gray compares the unrealized talent of the poor to a gem buried deep in
“unfathomed” oceans and their genius to a flower in a wide expanse of desert. Without proper
education, the poor cannot exploit their talents and, sadly, they waste away, like the flower in
the arid desert.

Lines 57-60
Some village-Hampden, that with dauntless breast
The little tyrant of his fields withstood;
Some mute inglorious Milton here may rest,
Some Cromwell guiltless of his country’s blood.
The speaker’s speculations about these dead ancestors now extend to three of the most
popular figures in English history; John Hampden, a national figure and politician who
opposed arbitrary taxes imposed by Charles I; John Milton, author of the famous epic,
Paradise Lost, who also opposed the monarch; and Oliver Cromwell, English General,
statesman and Lord Protector of England who led armies against Charles I. All these
personalities embody a rebellious spirit, that opposed repression and fought against it.
However, Gray’s mention of Cromwell was meant to highlight his fighting spirit only.
Cromwell is a controversial figure in British and Irish histories owing to his strong anti-
Catholic stance. Although considered as a champion of freedom by Milton, he is seen as a
sharp and regicidal military dictator by likes of Winston Churchill and historian David Sharp.
The poet suggests that there may be some who were in spirit and passion like Hampden,
Milton, and Cromwell but never had the opportunity to actualize their talent.

Lines 61-64
The applause of listening senates to command,
The threats of pain and ruin to despise,
To scatter plenty o’er a smiling land,
And read their history in a nation’s eyes,
The speculation continues as the poet reasons that, with appropriate resources and education,
the buried person might have become a great political leader and earned the applause of
Parliament; or he may have become a generous landlord, giving generously to his
countrymen. The last line is enjambed and thus the theme of unrealized potential is carried
forward to the next stanza.
Check your progress
i) Who are the three famous personalities that the poet mentions? Why?
ii) What is the role of power, according to the poet?

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Lines 65-68
Their lot forbade: nor circumscribed alone
Their growing virtues, but their crimes confined;
Forbade to wade through slaughter to a throne,
And shut the gates of mercy on mankind,
The poet further elaborates that the same poverty that circumscribed their “virtues,” also
prevented them from committing crimes to rise to power; being merciless and killing.
Implicit in these lines is a critique of people in power, especially Oliver Cromwell. It is
important to note that though Gray expresses his preference for the simple, illiterate, rural
villager over the rich and powerful rulers, he is not unaware of the basic flaws in human
nature. The same poverty that deprives the humble villager from attaining greatness, prevents
him from becoming a ruthless tyrant.

Lines 69-72
The struggling pangs of conscious truth to hide,
To quench the blushes of ingenuous shame,
Or heap the shrine of Luxury and Pride
With incense kindled at the Muse’s flame.
Continuing with the enumeration of the advantages that simple, rustic people have, the poet
says that they never have to deal with a guilty conscience, or feel shame for moral
compromises. Poor people, the kind that lie buried in the graveyard, never need to shower
false praise on the rich and powerful. These lines contain a thinly veiled attack on the moral
corruption that inevitably accompanies the rise to position.

Lines 73-76
Far from the madding crowd’s ignoble strife,
Their sober wishes never learned to stray;
Along the cool sequestered vale of life
They kept the noiseless tenor of their way.
The peaceful lifestyle of these rural folk cannot be compared to the maddening life of the
city. Here, the word “Madding” has a double meaning; it can mean something that causes
insanity or “Mad” in which case the mob itself is hateful. The rural folk are far removed from
the rush of city life, their quiet lives have a soothing rhythm.

Lines 77-80
Yet even these bones from insult to protect,
Some frail memorial still erected nigh,

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 With uncouth rhymes and shapeless sculpture decked,
Implores the passing tribute of a sigh.
The villagers were humble, but they too have a memorial, a tombstone with some
unsophisticated homage. According to the poet, a passer-by should at least sigh at the sight of
these graves as a token of his tribute. The phrase “passing tribute” refers to people passing by
these graves but it is also a euphemism for someone ‘passing’ away—thus a bleak reminder
of our mortality. Knowledge of eventual death should invite compassion and empathy.

Lines 81-84
Their name, their years, spelt by the unlettered muse,
The place of fame and elegy supply:
And many a holy text around she strews,
That teach the rustic moralist to die.
The people that lie here have simple gravestones, as modest as their lives. No poet wrote
elegies for them since they were not famous, rich or heroic. Their modest tombstones only
have the years of their birth and death inscribed on them. The village folk may be unlettered
but they are familiar with the Bible and Christian beliefs. Aware of their own mortality, their
outlook towards life and death is moulded by Biblical doctrines. The poet uses them as a
totem for contemplation about the nature of life and death.
Check your progress
i) In line 73, what is understood by the word “madding?”
ii) Why do you think the poor deserve a “passing tribute of a sigh?”

Lines 85-88
For who to dumb forgetfulness a prey,
This pleasing anxious being e’er resigned,
Left the warm precincts of the cheerful day,
Nor cast one longing lingering look behind?
The poet argues that, in the face of death, personified as ‘dumb Forgetfulness,’ people want
to cling to life. This may be because of their fear of falling into obscurity. Gray’s paradoxical
phrase “pleasing anxious being,” suggests that even while facing death it is pleasing to be
alive, that the worries and troubles of life are nothing when compared to death. Again, note
the alliteration in the last line.

Lines 89-92
On some fond breast the parting soul relies,
Some pious drops the closing eye requires;

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 Ev’n from the tomb the voice of Nature cries,
Ev’n in our ashes live their wonted fires.
The poet says that the dead depend on the living to mourn for them. The desire to be
remembered is natural and the dead call out for it, even from their graves. Here, “ashes” is an
image for death, and it is not a reference to the ritual of cremation. What the poet means is
that our desires live on, even after death.

Lines 93-96
For thee, who mindful of the unhonoured Dead
Dost in these lines their artless tale relate,
If chance, by lonely Contemplation led,
Some kindred spirit shall inquire thy fate,
The speaker now focuses on himself and asserts that he has been respectful and mindful of
the dead, as he commemorates them in his verse. He imagines that when he is long gone,
someone will remember him too. He imagines this “kindred spirit” as someone who wanders
alone, mulling over death, very much like himself. The narrator then visualises his own death
and sees the kindred spirit in his own shoes.

Lines 97-100
Haply some hoary-headed swain may say,
“Oft have we seen him at the peep of dawn
Brushing with hasty steps the dews away
To meet the sun upon the upland lawn.
The narrator continues the visualization of his death. He imagines “the kindred spirit” going
into a reverie about life and death after watching the poet’s grave. He imagines the “kindred
spirit” enquiring about it from a humble farmer who would then describe the speaker as
someone who was often seen at dawn, walking to see the sunrise.

Lines 101-104
“There at the foot of yonder nodding beech
That wreathes its old fantastic roots so high,
His listless length at noontide would he stretch,
And pore upon the brook that babbles by.
The poet continues to imagine how the old villager would describe him to the passer-by; how,
at noon, the poet would lie down under a tree and gaze at a flowing stream; “brook that
babbles.” This apparent act soothes the poet and aids in the meditative process.

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Lines 105-108
“Hard by yon wood, now smiling as in scorn,
Muttering his wayward fancies he would rove,
Now drooping, woeful wan, like one forlorn,
Or crazed with care, or crossed in hopeless love.
The old farmer describes the poet’s mood, which was quite mutable. Sometimes he would
smile scornfully, muttering to himself, and at others he would appear melancholic and
despondent. The farmer thinks that he is burdened with worry or the pain of a lost love.
Though the poet imagines that this is how an old villager would describe him, these lines are
an expression of Gray’s frame of mind while writing this elegy.

Lines 109-112
“One morn I missed him on the customed hill,
Along the heath and near his favourite tree;
Another came; nor yet beside the rill,
Nor up the lawn, nor at the wood was he;
One morning the old farmer did not notice the poet at his usual haunts. Neither under his
favourite tree nor on his favourite hill, or in the woods. Nowhere was the poet to be found,
and did not appear the following day too.

Lines 113-116
“The next with dirges due in sad array
Slow through the church-way path we saw him borne.
Approach and read (for thou canst read) the lay,
Graved on the stone beneath yon agéd thorn.”
On the third day, the old farmer and his friends see the poet’s body being taken for burial. He
invites the passer-by to read the epitaph, as the old farmer is illiterate and cannot comprehend
what is written. According to custom, an epitaph is inscribed on a tombstone, in memory of a
loved one who has died. The following three stanzas are the poet’s own Epigraph, written by
himself.

Lines 117-128
The Epitaph
Here rests his head upon the lap of Earth
A youth to Fortune and to Fame unknown.
Fair Science frowned not on his humble birth,
And Melancholy marked him for her own.

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 Large was his bounty, and his soul sincere,
Heav’n did a recompense as largely send:
He gave to Misery all he had, a tear,
He gain’d from Heaven (’twas all he wish’d) a friend.

No farther seek his merits to disclose,

Or draw his frailties from their dread abode,
(There they alike in trembling hope repose)
The bosom of his Father and his God.
The last three stanzas are the speaker’s epitaph. It is important to note that he refers to
himself as a youth- the poet seems sure that he will die young. The poet would like people to
know that, though he was poor and unknown, it did not stand in the way of his acquiring
knowledge. The poet wants to remind the passer-by and the reader to remember him as
someone who was melancholic, deeply contemplative, and depressed. He also wishes to be
remembered as someone who was deeply empathetic. The narrator cautions the reader to
refrain from praising him any further. He asks that his vices and flaws should be left to God’s
protection as it is with Him that he resides. The poet wishes to be identified, not with famous
people but with the common folk, with whom he wishes to be buried. Thus, this elegy
becomes a commemorative verse, not only for the common people but for the poet as well.
Check your progress
i) How does the epitaph describe the poet?
ii) The “Elegy” is a reflective/contemplative poem. Explain.
iii) Describe the overarching emotion of the “Elegy.”
5. Structure and Style
Strictly, Thomas Gray’s “Elegy” does not belong to the classical, elegiac tradition of ancient
Greece, as it doesn’t lament a person. Structurally, the poem doesn’t incorporate many typical
characteristics of an elegy, such as an invocation, mourners, flowers, or shepherds. The theme
also distinguishes itself from the traditional one as it doesn’t highlight the emotion of loss.
Along with that, the natural setting is also not a central aspect of the traditional elegy.
However, the epitaph at the end places the poem in the category of memorial poem and has
some characteristic elements of an elegy, like mourning.
In his verse, Gray follows conventional practices of 16th century poetry and technique;
the rhyme scheme (ABAB), quatrains and the stanza form. To add ‘Englishness’ to his verse,
he uses monosyllabic words to give a rustic/rural impression. The poem is composed in
heroic quatrains that rhyme in abab pattern, written in iambic pentameter. (An iamb contains
one stressed and one unstressed syllable, while penta means five, thus pentameter means that
each line contains five feet.) Reading the poem aloud helps create a steady rhythm and a still
and meditative mood, appropriate for a poem like this.

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6. Poetic Devices used in the poem
Alliteration
Alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line in quick succession such as
the sound of /w/ in line 3; “The plowman homeward plods his weary way.” In the same way
the sound of /l/ in line 48; “Or wak’d to ecstasy the living lyre”. Similarly, the sound of /h/ in
line 97; “Haply some hoary-headed swain may say.”
Personification
Personification is a literary device which allows the poet to project human qualities to an
object or an idea. For instance, consider line 29, “let not Ambition mock their useful toil,” or
line 44; “Or Flattery soothe the dull cold ear of Death” or this line; “But Knowledge to their
eyes her ample page.”
Metaphor
It’s a literary device in which the poet attempts to compare and relate two unrelated things
with each other. In lines 53-56 Gray employs metaphors to compare the dead in the
churchyard to a gem in a dark ocean cave or a blooming flower in a barren desert.
Anastrophe
It is a literary device in which the usual order of the words is changed or inverted. It is often
used to support the rhyme scheme or to add a sense of insight or profundity to the written
words. In line 24, the poet chose to write the “the envied kiss to share” instead of saying that
the kiss is an enviable one. Again, in line 64 the poet uses the same poetic device.
7. Themes
Death
In the medieval ages, scholars would keep human skulls near them as a reminder of their
mortality and the temporality of life, so that one did not become too attached to it. The skull
is thus an emblem of death and a reminder of our limited time in this world. This emblem is
called a memento mori. In the poem, it is the graveyard that serves as a memento mori, which
reminds the poet of the transitory nature of human existence. The setting of the poem, in a
graveyard adjacent to a church in the countryside is appropriate for the theme. In addition, the
sounds of the village life; the knell of the church bell, the tinkling of the bells on the sheep
returning home and a hooting owl; all these create an overall mood, and the poet begins his
explicit treatment of the theme of death from the fourth stanza onwards, when he points to the
graveyard where the “rude forefathers” sleep. The focus then moves to the poet himself, as he
imagines that one day, he too will be buried in this graveyard and a “kindred soul” would
enquire about him, standing beside his grave, very much like the poet who mulls upon the
graves of the dead villagers.
Class differences
Thomas Gray has managed to interweave the theme of class with the primary theme of death.
When the rich die, their death is marked by fabulous rituals, and their bodies rest in the most
ornate of coffins with intricate gravestones. Literature is full of heroic verses praising the rich

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and mighty but almost none for the poor and humble. The common folk live and die
anonymously, their tombstones as humble as their lives. The poet remarks that death itself is
a great equalizer; it comes to all, irrespective of stature. No amount of wealth, power, or
flattery can prevent its certainty. Death is the great equaliser; the bodies of both rich and poor
are subject to decay. As the poet reminds the reader, “The paths of glory lead but to the
grave”, he comments upon society’s inclination to exalt the rich and ignore the poor. At the
same time, it is important to remember that Gray is not simplistic in his appraisal; he admits
that poverty has many blessings, it stands in the way of the simple rural folk achieving
greatness.
Check your progress
i) How is the poem different from the traditional elegy?
ii) What is a memento mori?
iii) What is the poet’s understanding about death?

Glossary
lowing : mooing/ sound made by cow
lea : meadow
drowsy tinklings : sounds made by the bells tied around the neck of sheep
moping : feeling of dejection
bower : dwelling/retreat
molest : disturb
mouldering heap : decaying
narrow cell(n) : metaphor for coffins
rude : robust/sturdy
clarion : a strong request for something to happen
echoing horn : copper horn of fox-hunters
lowly : humble/poor
envied kiss : a kiss that is enviable
sickle : harvesting tool
glebe : earth
jocund : cheerful
team : of horses
annals : historical records
heraldry : science and literacy of royal lineage
pomp of power : elaborate ceremonies
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trophies : headstones/epitaphs
fretted vault : carved ceiling in church
pealing anthem : lofty organ music
storied urn : urn with scenes painted on it
animated bust : statue of the upper part of the body
celestial fire : lofty ideals and goals
rod of empire : King’s sceptre
rage : enthusiasm/passion
scatter plenty : distribute food and grains
circumscribed : prevented
conscious truth : the truth, that they are aware of
ingenuous shame : compromises made
incense : flattering praise
passing tribute : a passer-by’s tribute
their years : the years of their birth and death
unlettered muse : uneducated engraver
holy text : Biblical quotations
rustic moralist : pious villager
pious drops : tears
voice of Nature : natural desires
wonted : habitual
thee : refers to himself
these lines : this elegy
artless tale : simple, without artifice
Haply : perhaps
hoary-headed swain : grey-haired fellow
nodding beech : drooping branches of a birch tree
pore : gaze
Hard by : close by
custom’d hill : usual hill visited by the poet
rill : stream/brook
dirges : funeral songs
sad array : orderly arrangement
lay : the Epitaph in the poem

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 Paper VIII – British Literature: 18th Century
Unit-4

Joseph Andrews
Henry Fielding

Contents:
Part-1
1. Learning Objectives
2. Henry Fielding (April 22, 1707 - October 8, 1754)
3. Summary of the Novel
Part-2
1. Learning Objectives
2. Themes
3. Characterisation
4. Structure
5. Reading the Text of Joseph Andrews
6. Critical Responses

Edited by: Prepared by:

P.K. Satapathy Dikshya Samantrai

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112
 Unit-4

Joseph Andrews
Henry Fielding
Dikshya Samantrai

Part-1
1. Learning Objectives
After studying this unit you should be able to:
 Understand in detail about the life of Henry Fielding
 Analyse the influence of Don Quixote on Fielding and Joseph Andrews
 Analyse the impact of Richardson on Fielding and Joseph Andrews
 Know in detail the important events that happen in the text, book by book
2. Henry Fielding (April 22, 1707 - October 8, 1754)
2.1 Life and Biography:
He is a successful novelist, playwright and by the time he died, at an age of 43, he was also a
highly respected magistrate. In his time, he was among the select few novelists whose works
did not go out of print and he earned really well from these sales.
During his early career, till his first marriage, his life had been quite regular. But his
childhood had been disturbing, his youth had been wild, and his marriage short lived. So if
we have to understand the farcical, brutal and sombre world created in Joseph Andrews, we
need to know what “powerful moral persuasions” affected him in later life.
His father hailed from a good family and was a successful soldier who had served in
Duke of Marlborough’s army during the Battle of Blenheim. He went on to become a general
later on. He harboured immoral behaviours and spent a lot of money on gambling. His father-
in-law decided not to let him benefit from the inheritance of his daughter and hence when
Fielding’s mother died in the year 1738, and Henry was just 11 years old, money situation
had become difficult.
To get out of the situation, the General remarried a Roman Catholic widow who was
Italian the proprietor of a London eating house. This made him a social outcast and led to the
beginning of a bitter family quarrel. Henry took his grandmother’s side and she won a legal
battle regarding the custody of Henry and five other children. This must have left a
significant impact on the child’s mind.
Fielding ended up in a boarding school whose surroundings were in sharp contrast with
the rural and peaceful surroundings offered in Somerset. Eton, chosen by his father was
barbaric and Henry was flogged many a times. But what saved him were his string physical
features: six feet tall, fearless and powerful.

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 This kind of a strict upbringing coupled with his education in classical literature must
have brought forth the kind of resilience and stoicism which several characters from Joseph
Andrews display when faced with injustice and pain. Fielding, at the age of 19 tried to better
his prospects by running away to London with one pretty and willing heiress. He was
extremely handsome and was vulnerable to beauty “and beauty, it seems, was often
susceptible to him.” although his relationship with his father had improved and he stayed at
home with him, he wanted more money to be able to live alongside the London “high
people”. These high society Londoners whiled away their time gambling, drinking, churning
scandals, and trash talking about “low people”. Initially, Fielding wanted to be accepted into
this high society but still he used farce and subtle satire to criticise the vanity and
pretentiousness of these people. But things were about to get worse for him.
When Fielding started composing political satire and wrote about Walpole, he was
censored by Lord Chamberlain’s office in 1737. That left him with no way of taking care of
his income. His wife and the young family they had was now in financial jeopardy. He had
gotten married in 1734, and whatever money his wife had brought along with her, he had
squandered it off.
Now, he turned towards law as a means of income. He was studying law and editing The
Champion (a periodical). It contains a lot of work that lead to his novels. But Fielding was
under a lot of pressure in terms of work and his ailing wife and his physical health
deteriorated as a result of this. Thus, when he was finally called to appear in the bar in 1740,
it seemed like a small and insignificant achievement.
Society back then had a lot of depravity and sickness. So while reading Joseph Andrews
we need to understand the extreme levels of vagary, the brutality of it and starvation, hunger,
exploitation depicted in it were part of day-to-day scene. As Trevor Johnson puts it: “It was
against a background of grief, illness and painfully acquired experience that Fielding
compiled his novel to be testimony of human values as opposed to inhuman calculation...”
Through Joseph Andrews we get to see how life becomes a tad bit bearable if it is tempered
with humour.
Joseph Andrews reveals to us a lot of Fielding’s religious convictions. In terms of
religion, Fielding held onto the pragmatic belief that human beings were capable of helping
themselves significantly without seeking Divine intervention at every juncture of their live. It
was every individual’s duty to help themselves and their fellow human beings. Parson Adams
reflects this view best when we see that charity is the “acid test of a man’s belief.” he
believes in Providence but with enough common sense.
After the publication of Joseph Andrews, Fielding’s finances weren’t greatly improved
but slowly with the publication of other works he survived well. Meanwhile, his wife
Charlotte died suddenly and he was left grief stricken although he did remarry two years
later. When Tom Jones was published, Fielding saw fame and was also surrounded with
controversy as well as improved his financial condition drastically.
He took his last breath in Lisbon, Portugal and his last book, Journal of a Voyage to
Lisbon was published posthumously only a few months after he died.

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2.1 Don Quixote and Fielding
Fielding stated on the title page of Joseph Andrews that the novel is “Written in Imitation of
the Manner of Cervantes, Author of Don Quixote.” This is one of the most valued European
works and consists of many novelistic elements. The knight and the hero of the work travels
on his horse Rosinante alongside his reluctant squire Sancho Panza. These characters have
now entered popular myth as he comically attacks windmills by imagining them as giants and
calls an inn-keeper’s daughter “Queen of Hearts”. What is noteworthy in this book is that
through the misguided character of Don Quixote (because he had read too many romances
and could not distinguish between fact and fiction) the hypocrisy of other people comes to the
forefront. One can easily notice that Parson Adams is a descendent of Don Quixote with the
high idealism he carries, his vulnerability to misadventure and mockery, his courage, his
reading habits, his optimism to list some. These similarities so no entirely define the
characters but “they are too numerous to be coincidental”.
In Don Quixote, romantic idealism is explored and society is satirically analysed with a
tone of good humour and a lot of compassion for the protagonist. Amongst all the foolish
acts, Quixote retails a sense of nobility. It is possible to love and laugh at him at the same
time. And these are the qualities Fielding also borrows from Cervantes and makes it his own.
He changed the Don and his squire into Parson Adams and his apprentice. Adams exhibits
several quixotic characteristics but he is not demented and Joseph is a much stronger
character than Sancho Panza. But their journey that begins in London and ends in the country
represents a cross-section of the society of England. It contains “good-humoured treatment of
knaves, fools, and idealists” and “is certainly Cervantean”.
Fielding was undoubtedly impressed by Don Quixote and he had decided to adapt freely
from the quixotic world. Naturally, these personality traits had to be general traits and not
directly associated with satire on chivalry or anything very peculiar. They were qualities
which could be easily adapted and moulded according to him. There are important
distinctions between these Don Quixote and Parson Adams as well hence we can confirm that
Fielding wasn’t trying to copy but merely used Cervantes’s work as stimulus for his creative
work.
They both build these utopic expectations from books. While Quixote read chivalric
romances that were filled with fantastical elements and unrealistic adventures. When he
applied what he read in the book to his world, he was called mad.
Parson Adams too constructed an idealistic world based on his readings, classical poetry
and philosophy. Plato, Aeschylus, Virgil, Seneca were some of the main authors he had read.
Adams begins to think that he is living in the ages described in those ancient books and is
totally ignorant about modern literature of his times. Fielding was also influenced by the
picaresque works. These works describe the exploits of anti-heroes and their periodical
success at flouting societal laws. There is one crucial element of picaresque works that
Joseph Andrews follows: the rapidness of journeys. As rogues who stay static are bound to
get caught, the plots in picaresque works are fast paced. This is true of both Don Quixote and
Joseph Andrews. But other than that the resemblance is limited. Where heroes of picaresque

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worlds are always deceitful, morally tumbling and full of trickery and lies, in Joseph
Andrews we are not left hanging when it comes to moral decisions.
2.3 Samuel Richardson and his influence on Fielding
Joseph Andrews was undoubtedly written as a ridicule of Pamela. He inverted the events of
Pamela by showcasing Joseph as the chaste domestic helper (instead of the chaste and
innocent maid) who Lady Booby is continually pursuing. He ultimately runs away to preserve
his chastity. After this moment, Fielding became so involved in his narrative that he almost
forgets about Richardson. Instead, he ends up writing a series of adventures that happens on
the road with Parson Adams and Joseph Andrews.
Richardson’s Pamela or Virtue Rewarded (1740) is credited with having begun the
traditional of English novel. Without this, Joseph Andrews would not have existed in the way
it does today. It is undoubtedly a huge catalyst in Fielding’s creative process. Hence, it plays
a critical role in his life and we need to have a fair idea about it. Pamela is the story of a
young girl in servitude, Pamela Andrews who served the family of B. This use of just the
initials of a name was a technique employed in 18th century to give the impression that
incidents has actually happened and identities of people involved in it had to protected.
After Mr B’s mother dies, Pamela is still employed. But she thinks Mr B has kept her
around because he eyes her sexually. But Pamela rejects all his advances till they are married.
So in keeping her virtue intact, she was rewarded with a sanctimonious marriage.
It is an epistolary novel i.e. major part of the novel has been written as a series of
exchange of letters between the protagonists of the novel. All of Richardson’s characters
always write detailed letters. Pamela is a very prolific letter writer. This kind of writing
actually brought about a wave of surprise in 18th century England and quickly gained
popularity. It became so popular that even preachers used the subtitle to talk about “virtue
rewarded”. Pamela was the epitome of a person who resisted all kind of temptations and
triumphed by getting properly married and also inheriting a fortune. The moral lesson it
ultimately gave was widely appreciated by his contemporaries.
But, among the less impressed contemporaries was Henry Fielding. He had begun his
career by writing satiric farces and plays that criticised the government and laid bare
hypocritical thoughts. He was quite a famous playwright. In order to stop him from
influencing people, the government actually passed the Licensing Act which put an end to his
career.
When Pamela got published, he got outraged and at the same time saw this as a window
of opportunity to earn some money. Thus he wrote a parody of Pamela and called it Shamela.
This short work claims to reveal the real story behind Pamela and using epistolary format,
Shamela describes Pamela’s story in a new manner.
Fielding found two significant objections in Pamela. One was that while it claimed to
teach a moral lesson, it actually contained quite a few sexually stimulating scenes. If Squire B
had to repeatedly seduce Pamela, seductions scenes have to become a part of it. Fielding
found these scenes hypocritical in nature. He though Richardson was using morality as a
cover to actually talk about immoral acts.

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 Another perspective of drawing a lesson from Pamela was to say that young women
should keep their virginity intact till they found someone who can pay the right price for it
like Pamela. The subtitle Virtue Rewarded sent forth the message that virtue is a commodity
that should be exchanged in return for social and financial gain. Shamela lays bare all these
aspects of Pamela and by doing so makes fun of and mocks Pamela. One can look at the
transformation of Mr B into Mr Booby to get an idea about the tone of the work.
Richardson wasn’t someone who used humour in his works and was displeased by
Fielding’s parody. Years later, when Fielding tried to mend things by complementing him,
Richardson did not budge. But Fielding did not stop after Shamela. He chose to write another
work inspired by Pamela, a work which would determine the path English novel was going to
take. The full title of Joseph Andrews as it appeared in its first edition was “The History of
the Adventures of Joseph Andrews, And of his Friend Mr. Abraham Adams. Written in
Imitation of the Manner of Cervantes, Author of Don Quixote.” Now we simply call it Joseph
Andrews.
While Shamela is an example of an excellent parody, Joseph Andrews is a novel, based
on satire that moves far beyond parody. Joseph Andrews is Pamela Andrew’s brother and in
continuance of the family tradition of writing letters he writes letters too. There is a kind of
cameo appearance of Mr Booby and Pamela as a newly married couple. The plot was also
derived from Pamela as young Joseph Andrews, like his fictional sister is struggling to
preserve his chastity. Most of the female characters of the novel like Lady Booby, Mr
Booby’s aunt and Mrs Slipslop make advances towards him. Poor Joseph struggles among
them to keep his virtue intact, like his sister did.
In one way, Fielding was of course having fun by reversing genders in Richardson’s
story but Joseph Andrews is much more than a parody. The long title of the novel explains
the purpose.
2.4 Homer and Fielding
Another author whose works influenced Fielding is Homer. In eighteenth century, education
was based in the languages of Greek and Latin and hence Fielding utilises many references
from Classical Literature. Parson Adams is a voracious and faithful reader of such classics.
He must have expected the audience to also recognise these references. Other than the
references, Fielding also adapted Homeric style of descriptions especially in the scenes where
battles and brawls take place. For example, when hunting dogs attack Adams, Joseph rescues
him with his cudgel: “it was a Cudgel of mighty Strength and wonderful Art, made by one of
Mr. Deard’s best Workmen, whom no other Artificer can equal; and who hath made all those
Sticks which the Beaus have lately walked with about the Park in a Morning…” (III.6). This
is the shield used by Achilles in The Iliad. Classical references here serve to enhance the use
of satire in his work. Achilles’ majestic shield has been reduced to a plain old walking stick
and the battle of Troy has been substituted by a dog attack. Joseph behaves in a heroic
manner although the heroism he displays is in accordance with the station he holds in life.
Self-Check Questions
 How far did Fielding go in terms of borrowing from the plot of Don Quixote?

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  Do you think Fielding is indebted to Richardson for his writing with respect to Joseph
Andrews?
 What are some of the Homeric elements visible in Joseph Andrews
3. Summary of the Novel
Author’s Preface
Fielding labels his work as a ‘comic romance’ or ‘comic epic’ in prose. The purpose of this
declaration is to distance himself from those dull, lengthy and pointless romances his
audience have been reading and are extremely familiar with. His work will have a lighter
mood and tone and scenes from low and high life will be depicted. Also, all things
‘monstrous and grotesque’ will be avoided but the burlesque (comically exaggerated
imitation/parody) will be employed. His characters will be real, not far from natural
behaviour of human beings as “life everywhere furnishes an accurate observer with the
ridiculous.”
For him, comedy has the capability to produce “exquisite mirth and laughter’ which is
beneficial for our minds and it is something he wants to achieve by portraying believable
portraits like Hogarth does instead of creating monsters.
He will not focus on representing the pitiful or deforms but rather those kinds of people
who appear ridiculous because of their affectation (pretentiousness). Such affectation has
multiple forms and two sources: hypocrisy and vanity.
Hypocrisy is an absurd trait and deserves to be ridiculed because the hypocrite is aware
of his duality. If one objects to their behaviour by calling it a vice, they will immediately
defend it by saying that “truth demands its inclusion’ and that he never allow it to win over
him.
There is no real person in the book and the most prominent character Adams, even if he
is present in undignified scenes, portrays ‘perfect simplicity’ (absolute innocence). All
clergymen should ideally be like him.
The preface is dry in term of narration, argumentative and formally written, but it
informs our understanding of the novel. It shows us what Fielding is trying to do and why he
does so. Fielding takes charge of what he is doing. We are made aware of his vision, his
organisation, and his discernments. He also attempts to describe the real purpose of comedy
just like Joseph Andrews will try to discover reality of nature (people and society) around
him.
Book I
Fielding talks about real examples and their moral purpose and declares that the reader learns
through an amalgamation of entertainment and instruction. Then he gives us concise
character descriptions of Joseph Andrews, Parson Abraham Adams, Mrs Slipslop and Lady
Booby. He declares that Joseph Andrews is actually the brother of Pamela Andrews and that
he has been careful to take care of the virtues upheld by Pamela in Joseph as well. So Joseph
will be a good role model of “male chastity”. He describes Joseph in a heroic manner. Joseph

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became an apprentice to Sir Thomas booby at the age of ten, when he could already read and
write well. He was engaged in taking care of horses and dogs initially. Then he got a kind of
promotion when he stopped working the fields and was now given the charge of stables
because of his outstanding voice. When he was seventeen, Lady Booby laid her eyes on him
and made him her personal help. Then Fielding introduces Parson Adams to us.
He is an intelligent scholar, warm hearted but is unaware of the way world functions. He
is the epitome of simplicity and his earnings are meagre which is insufficient for his large
family of six children and his wife. He is impressed with the knowledge Joseph has about
New Testament. Mrs Slipslop is called as “the gentle waiting woman” and likes using jargon
that she doesn’t understand much. But she wants the Parson to acknowledge her superior
theological knowledge. She then makes Joseph travel to London along with her where Joseph
is exposed to the manners of city servants. But he steers clear of drinking, gambling and all
the other vices. Now, Lady Booby finds Joseph attractive and repeatedly attempts to lure him
by holding his hand, ogling at him and making him bring messages to her room. But Joseph
manages to preserve his chastity but Londoners because of gossip believe that he has become
Lady Bobby’s lover.
After the death of Squire Booby, Lady Bobby mourns him pretentiously and begins
playing cards with her friends. After seven days of his death, she resumes her attempt to
seduce Joseph. When he continues dodging her, she calls him pretentious and foolish and
tells him to get out of her room. Disturbed by Lady Booby’s behaviour, Joseph writes a letter
to Pamela justifying his wish to take up another job elsewhere as London appears to be full of
vices.
Then Mrs Slipslop also makes sexual advances towards Joseph. She is an ugly woman
and has been deprived of a lover so long that he doesn’t care about her reputation anymore.
When Joseph shows respect towards her, she feels offended. Lady Booby and Mrs Slipslop
are both equally disappointed and talk against Joseph. Mrs Slipslop tries to tarnish Joseph’s
character by labelling him a gambler and a drunkard who has made the chambermaid
pregnant. Hearing this, Lady Booby sends her to dismiss the maid and Joseph and fetch
Joseph for her as well. She reprimands Joseph for his alleged misconduct with the maid and
implicitly says that all will be forgotten she is kissed by him and maybe something more than
kissing as well. Joseph sternly says that he will not compromise with his chastity and will
only follow Pamela’s example in this regard.
Lady Booby dismisses him from the house and informs Mrs Slipslop about the same. But
Mrs Slipslop mocks Lady Booby which makes her think if she should also get rid of Mrs
Slipslop because Joseph might have revealed her sexual attraction towards him to her. But
she doesn’t dismiss her and Mrs Slipslop continues working at her house. Joseph again writes
to Pamela revealing how Lady Booby has been making sexual advances towards him but how
he will continue to remain chaste. He then receives his wage and leaves the house. He sets
out for Lady Booby’s home in the countryside because of Fanny, his love who resides in that
parish. She is a poor girl and has been raised by Sir Thomas’s family but they did not get
married due to lack of money.

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 In his journey, Joseph is first offered to use a horse owned by another traveller but later
goes on foot. He is then attacked He is attacked by muggers and after trying to defend himself
gallantly he is stripped, robbed and left to die on the streets. Some passersby travelling in a
stage coach stop there. The passengers have mixed opinions regarding rescuing Joseph. Some
do not want to stop from fear of getting robbed; some find Joseph’s nakedness objectionable
while some are concerned that if he dies, they will face trouble. Not even one of the rich
passengers covers him. The postillion lends him his coat so that he can get inside the coach.
Unfortunately, the coach also gets robbed. Then they arrive at an inn where the maid named
Betty gives Joseph a shirt to wear and makes a bed for him to rest. Mr Tow-Wouse, the inn’s
owner and his wife argue in the backdrop regarding Betty’s charity.
Just then enters a stranger into the inn who is none other than the Parson. Out of the two
thieves, one is caught. Joseph’s clothes and his gold coin are returned to him. Although the
thief was caught and was due to appear before the justice of peace the next day, he is left
unguarded and hence escapes in the night. The Parson is travelling to London to try selling
his sermons. The local clergyman Barnabus introduces him to a bookseller. The bookseller
informs the Parson that the market is already overstocked when it comes to sermons.
Meanwhile, Betty is in love with Joseph but he is not interested. Angered by this she sleeps
with the landlord. Parson Adams meets Joseph on his bed and consoles him. Now friends,
they decide to go back on their journeys. An energetic discussion during dinner is cut short
by an agitated row between the landlord and his wife, Mrs Tow-wouse. She just discovered
that her husband is sleeping with the chambermaid Betty. Mrs tow-wouse had also tried to
corrupt Joseph but had failed. There is a ruckus and Book I closes with Betty getting
dismissed from the inn.

Book II
He begins Book II by laying down the reasons for segregating a book of literature into
chapters and books. Joseph finds out that Adams has forgotten to take his sermons. Adams
considers this as a sign that he should return to the parish so they both travel homewards.
They possess one horse so they decide to take turns between riding and walking, they decide
that after riding a distance, the rider will tie up the horse to some tree and walk on foot while
the other one catches up. Adams rides ahead and waits for Joseph in an alehouse. After
Adams leaves, Joseph who had been detained because he is unable to pay for the horse’s feed
is rescued by Mrs Slipslop who arrives there in a couch from London. Joseph now takes the
horse while Adams takes the coach ride with Mrs Slipslop and they advance towards another
inn. While riding, Joseph falls off the horse and has a sore leg now. At the inn, he is tended
by the innkeeper’s wife who stops cooking food for the passengers of the coach and is thus
reprimanded by her husband. There ensues a quarrel and Adams and Mrs Slipslop also join
in.
Joseph and the others in the coach can see Adams on the road but are unable to catch up
with him (he has left his horse behind again and in trying to race with the coach, he loses
himself as well). Adams meets a sportsman and is seen narrating his life story to him. This
new person he has just met very conveniently abandons Adam when they hear a scream.
Adams alone is left to save a young woman from getting raped. He does knock down the

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perpetrator but this man very slyly labels Adams and Fanny as robbers when some travellers
arrive on the scene. All of them are then hauled to the local Justice of Peace, an ignorant
person; Adams is able to prove his innocence only when he is identified as a clergyman by
chance. Then he goes off with Fanny in search of shelter as a storm approaches and finally
they meet Joseph at another inn.
Mrs Slipslop refuses to identify Fanny after having lived in the same house with her for
years and leaves agitatedly in the coach. Fanny and Joseph ask Adams to have them married
but he wants them to properly follow church regulations and wait till their intention to marry
has been announced thrice publically. All of them have no money now and Adam fails to
borrow money from a “pig like” Parson Trulliber. But a deprived but generous pedlar comes
to their rescue. After they arrive at another alehouse, a squire promises to give them horses
but it doesn’t turn out that way and they walk again.
Book III
Fielding starts this book by talking about biography. He says that literature that qualifies as
good is based on actual people and aims to correct behaviour. Joseph, Adams and Fanny all
wander around in the darkness of the night and finally meet the hospitable Mr Wilson. He
narrates his life-story to them and Adams sits with him all night talking and drinking. He
narrates how he had spent all his money, gotten his daughter married to the same man who
swindled him and how his eldest son was stolen by gypsies, never to be found again. Wilson
says that he vividly remembers a unique strawberry mark on his son’s left breast and can
recognise him through that. All three of them think that the Wilson household is an ideal one.
On the next day, after having rested they continue their journey. A pack of hounds from
a neighbouring hunt attack them and then their owner, a squire, invites them over. Once they
arrive at his place, Joseph and Fanny are instructed to dine inside the kitchen while the
Parson sits with the host. The squire has a dirty intention of raping Fanny and has accordingly
instructed his servants to get both Joseph and Fanny drunk.
There are verbal insults exchanged and then practical jokes played on Adams during
dinner. He, being a civil man, responds in kind and then he, Fanny and Joseph leave the place
hastily. They are then followed and caught by the henchmen sent by the squire. The leader of
these henchmen, the captain goes away with Fanny, leaving Joseph and Adams tied up
behind. But all of them are rescued by Mr Peter Pounce, who is the steward of Lady Booby
and then they all set out for the Booby estate.
Book IV
Lady Booby, having returned from her travel still wants to seduce Joseph. When she hears
that they have received banns (their marriage officially accepted in the parish) in church she
tries to bully Adams by forcing him to break the match between Joseph and Fanny. He of
course refuses indignantly and then she employs Lawyer Scout to get them arrested on false
accusations. But Squire Booby, nephew of Lady Booby has just arrived with Pamela
Andrews, his newlywed wife. So he is obligated to prevent his brother-in-law’s arrest. The
justice then frees the lovers but new objections are soon raised because Joseph is getting
married “beneath” him. Joseph doesn’t agree to this advice so now Lady Booby tries to set up

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an affair between Beau Didapper (her guest) and Fanny (who detests him when he is in her
sight). The vagrant who had lent money to Adams returns to claim his debt. He also provides
irrefutable evidence regarding Fanny’s lineage. She is actually Joseph’s sister, who was
stolen by some gipsies as an infant. The gypsies then sold her to now dead, Sir Thomas
Booby who had ordered the Goodwills to raise her as their own child. While some are
delighted by this revelation, some are appalled. There occur several farcical mishaps
involving Slipslop, Joseph, Adams, Fanny and Didapper.
After the arrival of the Andrews, there is again a twist in the story, Mrs Andrews reveals
that Fanny is her real daughter and Joseph is not her son but rather a baby who the gypsies
(who had stolen Fanny) had abandoned. It was a part of an exchange that she had hidden
from her husband who was away fighting for the army. Mr Wilson’s arrival then brings
further clarification regarding Joseph’s identity. He is his son, given an unusual birthmark
that Mr Wilson mentioned. Finally, all the loose ends are tied up, the lovers get married, Mr
Booby bestows Adams with a good living and all of them live happily, far from the “high-
life”.
Self-Check Questions
 What is the importance of the Author’s preface?
 How is the character of Joseph Andrews portrayed by Fielding?
 What is the role of Parson Adams in Andrew’s life?
 What purpose does Lady Booby serve in Andrew’s life?
 What influence does Pamela have on Joseph’s life

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 Joseph Andrews

Part-2
1. Learning Objectives
After reading this unit you will be able to
 Identify different themes in the novel
 Critically analyse the important characters
 Know the differences between reading a modern text and reading Joseph Andrews
 Critically evaluate the structure of the novel
 Know about the critical reception of the novel
2. Themes
I. Affectation and its effects
In his Preface and his first chapter, Fielding has established what his concern is going to be in
the text Joseph Andrews: “affectation” (pretension/artificiality). He differentiates between the
kind of affectation that is born out of vanity and the other kind born out of hypocrisy. The
first one, he thinks, is mostly unconscious and harmless (for example: Adam calling himself
“the greatest of all school masters, Book III, Chapter 5). The second one is manipulative,
premeditated and is done with the intension of deceiving others.
Fielding lays down many examples and varieties of affectation that exist around us. They
start with the trivial like the quarrel between the inn-keeper who used to be at sea and Adams
where one is proud about his reading and the other one of his travelling onto monstrous lands.
Another example is Justice Frolick and his affectation of concern he displays o Fanny. For
Fielding, hypocrisy is many times worse than vanity. The characters that exhibit vice make a
fool out of themselves. They are hypocritical and keep causing damage to other people as
well.
For instance, both Mrs Slipslop and Lady Booby always pretend to be chaste while
sexually making advances towards Joseph. They make his life miserable because he doesn’t
entertain either of them. Mr Trulliber is a parson and has kept all his parishioners terrified.
It is also worthy to take note of the fact that the characters of Joseph, Fanny and Adams
represent many kinds of virtues like humility, chastity, charity, patience while the rest of the
characters like Mr Tow-wouse, Lady Booby, Diadapper all represent different kinds of vices.
II. Ideas of Religion and Charity
One theme that runs through Joseph Andrews is the fact that charity is the virtue through
which a true Christian can be marked out. Fielding draws the distinction between the
formality of Christian doctrines as exemplified by Adam’s parish and true charity that is

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shown by the benevolent Parson. He advocates the idea that religious duty should be reflected
in day to day activities of an individual. Someone who is compassionate, kind and believes in
the welfare of mankind without any hidden motives is a true Christian. Rather than focusing
on rituals and theology, Fielding stresses on ethics and morality.
There are so many instances where Joseph falls prey to lack of charity in people and even
encounters maliciousness. For instance, Lady Booby dismisses him for rejecting her
advances; he is robbed and left to die. He is rescued very hesitantly by some passersby
because they are fearful of the law. Kindness is shown to him only by people who are from
relatively lower classes as the high society people are portrayed as lacking empathy and
charity,
Both the Parson and Joseph give speeches about charity, Joseph is unable to understand
the general lack of charity among people because it is an admirable thing to practice. He
exclaims that, “all men should consent in commending goodness” but “no man endeavour(s)
to deserve that commendation.” Similarly everyone seems to rally against wickedness but
eagerly carry out wicked deeds.
But Parson Adams is one such person who not only preaches about charity but also
practices it. He is extremely benevolent to all his parishioners even if he earns a meagre sum
of money and is poor. When Parson Trulliber denies him any help he says that any individual,
“void of charity.....he is no Christian”. Whenever he is helped, it is by people who do not
have enough themselves.
III. Representation of higher and lower classes
People belonging to the upper strata of the society have been portrayed as immoral and full of
vices, while the low people have been mostly depicted as having high moral and ethical
values. Mr Wilson is the only exception to this rule. He is a true gentleman and genuinely
helps the parson, Joseph and fanny when they were in trouble. But we must note that he has a
moderate income and is not very rich. Also, he had been a rake once but was reformed after
he met a woman he loves. This kind of characterisation is radical for 18th century England as
literature portrayed the aristocracy in a positive way and all bad elements came from the poor
part of the society. In Joseph Andrews, the upper class is seen constantly exploiting the poor.
Lady booby misuses her aristocracy to get Fanny and Joseph arrested. The corrupt judge
sentences them falsely. They are rescued by squire booby who is a decent man because he
has married a servant girl Pamela. A Squire and Didapper, both try to rape Fanny and think
they have a right to given their high stature in society.
IV. The Law
Fielding, who had worked really hard to become a barrister himself, was very well informed
about the workings of the law and the lawyers. According to his perception, the English
common law was imperfect in many ways and gave in to corruption as well. It sometimes
came across as an “absurd instrument of justice.” But regardless of its weaknesses, it was the
sole instrument available to give protection to people (police force did not exist, only the
Watch in London and village constable, amateur and ineffective). So Fielding has accorded a
significant amount of time to criticise lawyers. For example, “the self-seeking

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professionalism” of the lawyer in the stage coach (Book 1, Chapter 12), the antics of
Barnabas and the surgeon (Book1, Chapter 15), the wretched quackeries of the Scout in Book
IV, Chapter 3. The justices of the peace are not any better. In book ii chapter 1 we see an
ignorant and prejudiced justice and Justice Frolick who is an amalgamation of all the vices in
Book IV, Chapter 8. As Fielding’s representation aims at corrective measures, the status of
law is very depressing but not very inaccurate.
Self-check Questions
 What do you understand by Affectation? How is it important to the novel?
 How is religion and chastity represented in Joseph Andrews?
3. Characterisation
Although Fielding has made sure that Joseph Andrews is filled with many characters, and
each of them have their own set of contributions in the novel, the story revolves around five
principal characters. They are Parson Adams, Joseph Andrews, Fanny Goodwill, Mrs
Slipslop and Lady Booby.
I. Parson Adams
Parson Adams is the most engrossing character of all whose story keeps every reader hooked.
He carries with him a host of contradictions. He is at once scholarly and simple, a pedant and
has credulity. He is extremely knowledgeable about Latin and Greek language, and other
contemporary European languages like Italian and French. He very deftly uses Latin
expressions in his day to day speech. While he is travelling, he carries along Aeschylus’s
Greek plays along with him. Although he continually advices Joseph to persevere in adverse
situations, he is befallen with grief when his child drowns. When he gives speeches about
marriage, discipline and faith, he is extremely sensible but on the other hand, all his
theoretical knowledge fails when he gets deceived by almost every other rogue he meets. He
is gullible and very easily believes in Peter Pounce’s principles and Trulliber’s humanity.
He is a simple man, lacking any kind of envy and malice. He is warm, good natured but
lacks all kinds of practical knowledge regarding the world. He is a fifty year old man with a
wife and six children who he is barely able to support given his minimal income as a parish
priest. He enjoys beer. For him, all his parishioners are like his own children, especially
Fanny and Joseph. He is quite careless and eccentric; he keeps leaving things behind
including his hat and his sermons which he was going to sell and then returns for them.
In the first appearance, Adams seems like a stock character that we encounter in
literature, the “typical absent-minded scholar”. But Fielding has given this typical character
some individuality of its own. The misadventures that Adams falls into, one after another and
the way he keeps travelling from inn to inn, getting robbed, cheated, beaten, mocked; all fail
to rid of his innate simplicity and goodness.
II. Joseph Andrews
The only child of Gaffer and Gamer Andrews, Joseph is also the brother of Pamela Andrews.
He is in reality, the son of Mr Wilson which is revealed to us only in the last book. He was

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stolen by a moving band of gypsies and was left with Mrs Andrews who raised him as her
own. Mr Wilson is able to recognise him by a strawberry shaped birthmark on his breast.
When he is merely ten years old, he becomes an apprentice of Sir Thomas Booby and by the
age of seventeen he becomes a footman. His voice is musical and his cries attract the birds
instead of scaring them away. Even hunter hounds follow his tune. He is extremely virtuous
and attractive. As he is well versed with the Bible and also follows Parson Adam’s advice, he
is able to preserve his chastity even in the most difficult and tempting situations. When the
novel is being written, he is 21 years old. He is courageous and fights back without hesitating
for his life, especially when it comes to Fanny.
Initially, Joseph was just a figure of amusement: a young lover, frank and simple,
physically and morally vigorous. But after spending some time travelling he turns into a man.
The young boy who used to write meek letters to Pamela transforms into the man who is able
to defend Fanny in every situation. He carries genuine emotion and hence is able to preserve
his virtue throughout.
III Fanny Goodwill
Like Joseph, Fanny is beautiful inside out. She is sweet, sensible and gentle. She possesses a
depth of emotions which makes her storm out onto the road after she learns of Joseph’s
misfortune. Fanny’s character is almost too perfect. Fielding has also used her to show us
some comic contrasts. Like Mrs Slipslop very conveniently forgetting her name or Lady
Booby plotting her revenge and getting envious of Fanny’s beauty.
IV. Lady Booby
Lady Booby represents everything that Fanny and Joseph do not uphold. She is addicted to
the vices filled city life, shallow when it comes to emotions, spiteful of extreme emotions,
envious of others and disregards others feelings. She is dangerous because she misuses her
power to harm others and her legal actions in Book IV show us how damaging the
consequences of her spite can be. In the course of the novel, Lady Booby is seen struggling
between passion and reason. She is the character through which confusion is brought about in
the novel. Her chaotic emotions goes against the tide of what Fielding is trying to prove, thus
proving him right. She is conscious of her high stature in society and uses it to achieve what
she wants, good or bad. She is proud, vain, hypocritical, immoral and selfish.
V. Mrs Slipslop
Slipslop is Lady Booby’s companion and is ridiculously funny. She is forty five, heavy, large
nosed, pimple covered, red faced woman. She is the daughter of a curate and is therefore
more respectful towards Parson Adams than Lady Bobby is. She often argues with Adams on
the subject of theology. Fielding has mentioned in book I, chapter 5 as to how Mrs Slipslop
acts as a foil to Lady Booby. Both of them try to seduce Joseph. She is a coarser echo of who
Lady Booby is. She is also proud of herself and uses harsh words for people who she
considers are beneath her like Fanny Goodwill.
Self Check Questions:
 Why is the character of Parson Adams as important as Joseph Andrews?
 What roles do Mrs Booby and Mrs Slipslop play in the novel?

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4. Structure
I. Joseph Andrews and Drama
For many critics, Joseph Andrews is more like a play because Fielding had written many
plays before writing novels. The categorisation of Joseph Andrews into four books is similar
to four acts where the first book talks about the problem, the second and third talk about
complications and the fourth book talks about revelation of the action.
But in the beginning of every chapter there is a preface which is informal in tone, an
attribute exhibited by a person who wrote for periodicals in the 18th century. Because
Fielding was a seasoned actor, he has conveniently segregated his actions into many scenes
which allow him to juxtapose characters and incidents so that they comment on one another.
When he wants to slow down his action, he does through simple events like storm or rain that
make his characters take shelter at some inn or when they are unable to travel due to lack of
money or get robbed. But even with such simplistic devices, everything is explained. The
novel is in a way structured like a drama that makes it more alive even if it is “a novel of
character.”
II. Carefully organised novel
The care that has been taken in organising the novel is visible in its structure. The story
begins in a country house owned by the Boobys’. This village is the same as Adam’s parish.
Four characters; Parson Adams, Joseph, Lady Booby and Mrs Slipslop are introduced to us.
Fanny’s entrance is kept as a surprise. Then the action shifts from the countryside to the city
of London for some time. Then the reverse journey takes place when Joseph starts returning
to the parish and Adams and Fanny join him later. The novel opens with many characters that
are initially spread out but end up in the same parish by the end of the novel with other
additional characters. Finally, the set of five principle characters with Pamela and her
husband, Mr and Mrs Andrews, Mr Wilson, the pedlar are reassembled for the marriage of
Joseph and Fanny.
There are symmetries that can be found within the narrative. For example: Lady booby’s
similar conflict between passion and emotion found in Book I and Book IV: Pamela’s
appearance in Book I and then the end of Book IV: Joseph and Fanny reunite at inns in
Chapter 12, Book I and Chapter 12, Book III: the abduction and rape of Fanny happens in
Chapter 9, Book II and Chapter 9, Book II. There are well drawn contrasts as well: Lady
Booby’s unfaithfulness vs. Fanny’s faithfulness: Adam’s behaviour in contrast with
Trulliber’s behaviour.
III. The Ending
It has been noted more than once that the end of Joseph Andrews is a weak one as it appears
contrived. Joseph is discovered to have been the son of a well-to-do gentleman, Mr Wilson
while fanny is actually the daughter of Gaffar and Gammar Andrews. The proprieties of the
bourgeoisie class are fulfilled and hence there is no opposition to the marriage now and thus
there is a happy ending in the book. This denouement is arrived at clumsily as Fielding is
building up the surprise slowly. Fanny is at first discovered to be the daughter of the Andrews
and hence everyone believes she is Joseph’s sister and the different characters show us their
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reactions as well. Fanny and Joseph and Pamela, all engage in moralising the situation, Lady
Booby becomes hopeful. But finally Mr Wilson identifies Joseph through his birthmark as his
long lost son.
Self-check Questions
 How is Joseph Andrews similar to a drama?
 Is the novel carefully organised?
5. Reading the Text of Joseph Andrews
We may confront the very fact that reading Fielding and maybe his contemporaries isn’t the
same kind of occurrence as reading a contemporary or maybe a Victorian novelist. But, the
passing of some 250 years has had a smaller effect than expected: the difficulties arise due to
the lack of knowledge about certain trends of the 18th century.. It is really no harder to get
accustomed to eighteenth-century prose than it is to acclimatize to driving on the right seat in
Europe. Initially everything appears confusing and complicated; within an hour
approximately the driver will have adapted to the new rules. Although they will have to be
more alert for a short time, they are unlikely to be confused again. Something like this applies
to reading Joseph Andrews as well. The main difficulty arises in three areas. They are:
i) Unknown Vocabulary
ii) Unknown language constructions
iii) Unusual style
I) Vocabulary
A very small proportion of the words employed by fielding have become obsolete. Some of
them are rarely used but using a dictionary will bring clarity. Some examples are green-
sickness, ratafia, to asperse, a modus. Very rarely he does use a word in a different sense
than what we understand by it today. Example: mere English reader, Here by mere he is not
belittling his readers, rather he simply means that his readers can only read in English. But
this kind of usage is extremely rare.
II) Language conventions
With one overview of the text, one can spot many differences in the style of sentences and
grammatical usage that it is markedly different from ours.
He wrote in the 18th century hence he usages the older forms of words like hath (has),
writ (written), durst not (dare not), canst not (cannot), doth (does), thou art (you are) and
some other similar words. But these words are not obscure. One can understand their
meaning while reading the text. He also uses commas and capital letters much more
judiciously than we do.
III) Style
The first notable difference in terms of prose is the length of sentences created by Fielding.
They are much longer in comparison to our contemporary prose. Here is one of the typical
examples:
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 “And here I solemnly protest, I have no intention to vilify or asperse anyone; [for
though] everything is copied from the book of nature [and] scarce a character or action
produced which I have not taken from my own observations and experience; [yet] I have used
the utmost care to obscure the persons by such different circumstances, degrees, and colours,
that it will be impossible to guess at them with any degree of certainty; [and] if it ever
happens otherwise, it is only where the failure characterized is so minute, that it is a foible
only, which the party himself may laugh at as well as any other.”
If we delete the bracketed words and place full stops before them and add capital letters
after them then it will show how our modern writers can break it up into shorter sentences.
But it doesn’t mean that shorter sentences are superior to longer ones. It is just a different
style of writing and we have to concentrate more to be able to follow the arguments laid
down by Fielding. During his age, ‘balanced’ sentences were used by showcasing “a series of
logical steps” i.e. by using phrases like yet I have, and if, for though, and scarce. This kind of
connecting arguments through conjunctions can be spotted everywhere in his works. It is not
used nowadays, except in legal areas.
Fielding also employed another device which is found commonly in the official version
of the Bible. It is known as ‘parallelism’ and can be spotted in th following excerpt: (the
‘parallel’ words have been italicised)
“It is a trite but true observation, that examples work more forcibly on the mind than
precepts: and if this be just on what is odious and blameable it is more strongly so in what is
amiable and praiseworthy.” (Book 1, Ch. 1)
This might appear quite formal and rigid to us, but Fielding uses this kind of writing only
when he is giving his comments as an author on the events occurring in the novel. But when
he is simply narrating, he is very lively and straightforward.
He uses authorial interjection quite freely and keeps inserting his reflections through
digressions.
IV) The Story of Joseph Andrews
There are two major points that can be raised when it comes to the story and both their
origins are not entirely original.
A) Derivation from the novel Pamela
Many critics have said that Joseph Andrews was written as another satirical attack on
Richardson. He is said to have begun the novel with that motive in mind but it went on to
become one of the first English picaresque novel. Shamela was a very effective parody. He
needn’t have written any other work to satire Richardson. So Joseph Andrews is not a
derivation of the novel Pamela. It cannot be similar to Pamela because Fielding’s ideas was to
write a comic romance demands a different setting altogether, an outdoor instead of indoor
one. And Joseph is not a character we ridicule or laugh at. He has been individualised to
encompass much more than be a character you just laugh at. After the first few chapters,
Joseph Andrews doesn’t have any connection with Pamela’s characters. The author in his
digressions does take jabs at Cibber and Richardson but they don’t affect the story/plot.

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B) Folk Tales
According to Trevor Johnson, Fielding might have borrowed a few things from folk and fairy
tales of his time. He knows them well. Joseph, born in a poor family has nothing in his favour
other than his good nature and courage is the “archetypal folk-hero”. He strikes friendship
with one old magician (Parson Adams), has enmity with an evil with (Lady Booby) who tries
to spell-bound him and faces many trials to see how he survives in his quest. There is also the
ideal princess (Fanny) whom he must rescue by defeated his rival (Didapper) and is then
bestowed with his ‘rightful inheritance’. He is also reunited with his father with the help of a
mysterious pedlar as the fairies (gypsies) had stolen him from him and so was Fanny. This
material might not have been consciously incorporated into the text, but folk tales often have
quests and happy endings to them.
Self-check Questions
 What are some of the problems you might encounter while reading the text of Joseph
Andrews?
 What are the two sources that the story might be heavily borrowed from?
6. Critical Responses
Joseph Andrews has attracted many critical responses not only in its time but in our
contemporary society as well. Many found this novel to be microcosmic representation of the
Augustan age, its principles and beliefs. It presented these mannerisms in a way that the
populace could easily understand it. But there were some critics who thought that Joseph
Andrews was poorly structured. These critics who gave a negative review of this work were
unhappy with the way a few of the characters were portrayed and how other texts were
parodied within the text.
But overall, there were more positive responses than negative and now it is taken as an
exemplary text that represents Augustan age quite accurately.
Human Nature
In the 18th century, human nature was something of a constant quality. It could be observed
and reasoned with and hence helped with the advancement of knowledge. It is one of the
attributes that Fielding’s Joseph Andrews is praised for as well. This novel represents human
nature in its raw form and not its ideal form as it was found in all the strata of society.
Fielding successfully captures different types of people in this work. William Shenstone
wrote to Lady Henrietta Luxoborough that “I see no Character yet y is near so striking as Mr.
Abraham Adams. That was an original, I think; unattempted before & yet so natural y most
people seemed to know y Man” (396) He further describes how the characters found in the
novel are relatable and recognisable for the people reading it. They could easily juxtapose it
with their own lives. The way Fielding drew a parallel between real life and the novel
impressed many critics of his day. It is interesting to note here is the fact that seven year
before Shenstone wrote this letter, he has called Joseph Andrews as an “unnatural and
unhumorous” work in a letter to some friend. Throughout that letter he had questioned the

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novel’s qualities. He had firmly held the belief that it wasn’t worthy of any praise and should
never be read among high class people.
Apart from depicting human nature accurately, the audience could also gain knowledge
about the different cultures and costumes of the English society through the novel. There are
lucid descriptions of different locations and its residents, William Hazlitt says, “I should be at
a loss where to find in any authentic documents of the same period so satisfactory an account
of the general state of society, and of moral, political, and religious feeling in the reign of
George II as we meet with in the Adventures of Joseph Andrews and his friend Mr. Abraham
Adams” (401).
This kind of representation helped people who belonged to other countries as well. A
Frenchman named Pierre Francois Guyot Desfontaines said that “it instructs the reader in the
costumes of the English which are not at all known in France, and it apprises us of a hundred
curious particulars worthy of the attention of the most serious persons” (397). He edited the
Parisian periodical called Observations sur les ecrits modernese and had written the
translation of the novel Joseph Andrews in French in 1744. Both Hazlitt and Desfointaines
praised the novel because of the authentic representation of people and society. People from
all kinds of social status are given space in the novel. Fielding did not stop at displaying
virtues but showcased all kinds of vices as well.
Mr. Abraham Adams
When the novel first got published, many people had divided opinion on one particular
character: that of Parson Adams. Fielding had constructed his personality very carefully and
he is without any doubt one of the most well-developed characters in the novel. Adams
becomes a close friend and also a mentor of Andrews. He is absent-minded but is riddled
with other traits like that of honesty, piety, wisdom, selflessness as well as some amount of
vanity and moral high ground.
This contradictory attribute becomes the basis of the contentions that surround this
character. In The Oxford and Cambridge Miscellany, it is stated that “I have heard the
character of Mr. Adams the clergyman, highly condemned, because, it seems, he knew not
the world. . . his ignorance of the world and its ways, demonstrates him not to have been a
child of it, and if so, what they, his brothers of the cloth, who are so thoroughly knowing in
this point, are, who is not able to guess?”
Sarah Fielding wrote her response to these kinds of hostile responses to Parson Adams.
She says, “Nor less understood is the character of parson Adams in Joseph Andrews, by those
persons, who, fixing their thoughts on the hounds trailing the bacon in his pocket (with some
oddness in his behaviour, and peculiarities in his dress) think proper to overlook the noble
simplicity of his mind, with the other innumerable beauties of his character” (399). She
elaborates on what she believes further by saying that often the best and virtuous men are the
ones who incite banter amongst their friends because of their peculiarity. But in actuality, the
real objects that should be ridiculed are those people who ridicule honest and undeserving
individuals like the Parson.

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Fielding’s Parody and Satire
Because of the way in which Fielding had utterly and unflinchingly parodied Pamela in his
work Shamela, it did affect the reception of Joseph Andrews and other works that he
subsequently wrote. Some of the audience disliked the way he disregarded Richardson and
his works. George Cheyne, friend to Richardson and physician by profession said that Joseph
Andrews was a “wretched Performance” and would “entertain none but Porters or
Watermen” (395). This kind of an insulting comment was suggestive of the fact that
Fielding’s work wasn’t fit for proper society and the way he used humour and satire was unfit
to be read among educated masses. Richardson’s protagonist Pamela is connected to Joseph
through a family relationship and Joseph’s description matches with that of Pamela in many
ways. Fielding also makes light of the virtue of chastity by making Joseph vulnerable to
women and struggling to preserve his chastity. He formally brings Pamela into the novel in
Book IV. Richardson, responding to Fielding’s parody wrote, “Nothing but a shorter life than
I wish him, can hinder him from writing himself out of date. The Pamela, which he abused in
his Shamela, taught him how to write to please, tho’ his manners are so different” (397).
But not every reader found Fielding’s satire offensive or malicious. According to
Elizabeth Carter, “It must surely be a marvellous wrongheadedness and perplexity of
understanding that can make any one consider this complete satire as a very immoral thing”
(396). For her, the novel brought forth a “spirit of benevolence” that could make it amiable to
anyone reading it. She was also perplexed by the fact as to how so many people could find it
negative in tone. These kind of contradictory opinions show us the sheer range of opinions
that exist on this novel.
It is noteworthy here that in general, Joseph Andrews was received well among his
contemporaries. It is more on the positive spectrum that the negative one. There were of
course a few people who were extremely hostile towards the novel, they were outnumbered
significantly by those people who praised the novel quite highly. One of these people was
Beattie, James who said that, “the Comick Romance has been brought to perfection in
England by Henry Fielding; who seems to have possessed more wit and humour, and more
knowledge of mankind, than any other person of modern times”(400)
The ability of creating an equally intellectual and entertaining story that closely
represented reality was unique to Fielding. This skill made him earn a lot of appreciation
from many 18th century readers in England. Desfointaines declared that, the English place
[this novel] above all novels that have ever existed, or at least that they rank equal to the
Adventures of D. Quixote and Scarron’s Roman comique” (397). Further, he states that, I
have no fear of affirming that England has never before produced anything so perfect of this
kind” (397).
Pierre Desfointaines opinion goes on to reflect that Fielding’s works were not only
praised and appreciated in England but in other European countries like France as well. These
kinds of opinion show us that he was considered a genius in his age as well. For Hazlitt,
Fielding was “As a painter of real life, he was equal to Hogarth; as a mere observer of human
nature, he was little inferior to Shakespeare” (402).

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Self-check Questions
 Was Joseph Andrews received well by all its reader?
 What was the opinion regarding Parson Adam’s character?
References
 “Critical Responses to Joseph Andrews.” British Literature Wiki,
sites.udel.edu/britlitwiki/critical-responses-to-joseph-andrews/.
 Johnson, Trevor, and Henry Fielding. Joseph Andrews by Henry Fielding. Macmillan
Education, 1987.
 Nokes, David. Joseph Andrews. Penguin Books, 1989.
 Steinberg, Theodore L. “Chapter 7: Henry Fielding, Joseph Andrews.” Literature the
Humanities and Humanity, Open SUNY Textbooks, 11 Sept. 2014,
ecampusontario.pressbooks.pub/lithumanities/chapter/chapter-7-henry-fielding-
joseph-andrews/.
 http://www.tmv.edu.in/pdf/Distance_education/MA(English)/English%20Fiction/Ch-
2.pdf

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 Paper VIII – British Literature: 18th Century
Unit-5
Contents
(a) John Locke 'Of Ideas in General and Their Original'
(b) Addison and Steele (i) Addison, Essay No. 10, Monday, March 12, 1711
(ii) Addison, Essay No. 69, on the Stock Exchange, Saturday,
May 19, 1711
(c) Daniel Defoe 'The Complete English Tradesman' (Letter XXII),
The Great Law of Subordination Considered' (Letter IV), and
'The Complete English Gentleman, in Literature and Social
Order in Eighteenth-Century England
(d) William Hay From Deformity: An Essay (1754)
(e) Olaudah Equiano 'The Middle Passage'

Edited by: Prepared by:

Dr. Seema suri Renu Koyu

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 Unit-5(c)

“TheComplete English Tradesman” (Letter XX11)

“The Great Law of Subordination Considered” (Letter 1V)
“The Complete English Gentleman”
Daniel Defoe
Dikshya Samantrai

1.1 Learning Objectives

After reading this unit you will be able to:
 Know in detail regarding the economic progress of 17th and 18th century England
 Understand the social hierarchies existing in England during Defoe’s time
 Identify Defoe’s views on English trading, its tradesmen, and the nobility
 Critically analyse Defoe’s’ views on servants and servitude
 Know in detail about the changing relationship between being a gentleman and
education
1.2 Short Introduction to Trade and Commerce in 17th and 18th Century England
England was prospering in several sectors during this time period. Britain was expanding
more and more and trading had become global in nature. It was the time of the “New World”
and British called themselves an “island race”. Mr Spectator describes the 1711 London as
the hub of global trade and commerce as a lot of produce from the world is available to the
British. There was Agricultural Maximisation that was rapidly advancing in 1700s, mining
industries were expanding and the cloth industry was a huge market. English businessmen
had started building large-scale enterprises and around half of the merchant fleet was based in
London. Wool, food, fish, lead, tin and other products were being exported while pepper was
being imported from the East, sugar from West Indies, calico (cheap cotton cloth from India),
and tobacco. All of these imports were also re-exported thereby increasing the wealth of
English merchants.
This kind of transformation in trading was well settles by 1680s and then it continued to
grow at a steady rate till the middle of the 18th century. Legislations like the Navigation Acts
made sure that England monopolised trade as there were particular goods that could be
exported to colonies only in English ships while other goods could only land in England
before getting re-exported elsewhere. And London occupied the central position here. All
shipbuilding and repairing happened there, and around three quarters of overseas trade had to
pass through London. Sugar was refined, tobacco was processed and many other important
processes linked to clothing trade also happened here.

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1.3 The Author
Daniel Defoe (1660-1731) is a famous English novelist, journalist and pamphleteer who
wrote voraciously. Although he is widely known for his novel Robinson Crusoe, few have
given him credit for his economic and business writings. He was a tradesman, an
entrepreneur and a journalist as well. He lived at a time when commerce was rapidly evolving
and many literary figures were directly influenced by it. But Defoe is singular because he had
firsthand knowledge of commerce and trade having succeeded and failed at it multiple times.
He was the son of a staunch non-conformist (Puritan) who went by the name of James
Foe. He was a hard worker and was fairly prosperous candle-maker and maybe a butcher later
on. When he turned 30, Daniel called himself Defoe, trying to revive the original name his
father's family carried. Because his father was a non conformist, he sent him to excellent
academy, situated in Newington Green to be tutored under Reverend Charles Morton. Thus
Daniel received a broader and better education than what he would have received at any other
prominent English university of his day like Cambridge or Oxford. But they were anyway
barred for dissenters of that day. His father had sent him to an academy for dissenters so that
he would enter the Presbyterian ministry but Defoe decided to enter trade and became a
merchant. Although he did not enter the ministry, he wrote a great deal of pamphlets talking
about the ongoing relationship between Anglicans and non-conformists.
He did not follow is father’s footsteps, rather he was invested in stocking trade along
with two brothers: James and Samuel Stancliffe. Also lawsuits reveal that tried his hand in
other dealings like tobacco and wine. One of the most notable things about Defoe is that he
had first hand and extensive knowledge regarding trade and when he started writing about it
in his forties, it gave him an “air of authority”. He was always fascinated with trade. He
writes “Writing upon trade was the whore I really doted upon”. But he had a major
shortcoming as a businessman: he was interested in too many things which made him take
some unnecessary risks and hence was guilty of “over-trading'.
He was wound up with a significant number of unprofitable and experimental; ventures
like civet cats and diving engine. He also left his business to join the Monmouth Rebellion in
1685 and taken prisoner. He was thankfully pardoned. Another mishap put him in severe
debt: ships in which he had invested were captured in France when war broke out with the
French. As a result of these losses, Defoe went bankrupt and had a debt of 17000 pounds in
1692. Although he was a defaulter, he bounced back and paid his creditors by setting up a
brick and tile factory in Tilbury. Now, he has lessened his debt to around 5000 pounds albeit
another round of troubles hit him. As a staunch dissenter, Defoe wrote many controversial
pamphlets. In one such pamphlet published in 1702, called “The Shortest Way with The
Dissenters”, he mocked Anglicans and the way they used extreme language. He played one of
these high church Anglicans and seemingly endorsed violence against nonconformists. This
led to his arrest on charged of sedition. He remained in Newgate prison and again went
bankrupt. He could never entirely repay the outstanding amount to his creditors now.

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 When he turned 43, he had to begin his life again. He was released by Robert Hartly who
was a speaker in the House of Commons and thought that Defoe had the capacity to prove
useful to the government. Because of his active involvement in trade for around twenty years,
Defoe took in everything that affected trading. Hence he had a lot of knowledge regarding
domestic and foreign policies and kept a track of them. He had an active imagination that
made him invested in distant countries and concocted some schemes for colonization.
Throughout his travels, he kept taking notes of how the local markets and manufacturers
functioned. In his fictional works, we see Defoe talking about merchants, shops, tradesmen,
bank bills, and stocks. He had a commercial bent of mind and his morality is also governed
by those principles.
After that, he began a newspaper called Review and kept it operational till 1713. Because
he owed his life to Harley, he started writing pro government articles and had also acted as a
spy. When Harley returned to power as Chancellor, South Sea Company was created to
manage public debt. A firm was handed over monopoly over British Trade in South Atlantic
and several creditors were asked to exchange bonds for stocks in this company. This firm saw
an expansive boom in the stock market but it collapsed and it is one of the most famous
market crashes in history and Defoe was an insider witness to these events.
2. ‘The Complete English Tradesman’
2.1 Introduction
After having written quite a few numbers of successful novels, Defoe chose to put his
knowledge about business into a book. The Complete English tradesman was published in
two volumes. This work instructs tradesman in numerous ways: about keeping one's emotions
in control, maintaining accurate record book and marrying wisely. The first volume was
supposed to help amateur merchants and the second was meant for amateurs and
professionals in the field. it was practical in approach and his teachings reveal significant
information on maintaining business relationships.
He kept his focus on domestic commerce in these books which he thought was being
completely neglected in other works that were written on trade during his time. Defoe says,
“What is the reason that there are so many bankrupts and broken tradesmen now among us,
more than ever were known before?” On a practical level, this book reveals a lot about
trading and business techniques and psychologically, it reveals to us information regarding
the “highs and lows of the trading life”. He is fully aware of the implications of choosing to
pursue a trade or business. As an entrepreneur, one is subjected to a certain degree of risk,
both material and emotional. Drawing heavily from his personal experiences and the loses he
had encountered; Defoe chose to write The Complete English Tradesman. Other than these
personal experiences, he had also been a trading theorist in the numerous pamphleteers he
had written till date.
The Review dealt extensively with the subject of trade and he gave some serious
recommendations about the contemporary legislations that existed on trade. he has written

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about banking, insurances, trade law, pensions, stock trade and policies regarding free trade.
Through this book we get a detailed account of Britain's economic world in the later 17th and
early 18th century with “its street-life, shops and markets, its jargon of trades, its managing of
debt and credit and its sometimes bizarre bookkeeping.”
2.2. Letter XXII: Of the Dignity of Trade in England more than in other Countries
Although the tradesmen were people who became wealthy, the elite frowned on them. These
tradesmen were significant economic contributors to the growth of England but socially, they
were despised by the elite and this is the issue that Defoe chooses to highlight in this letter.
He explains how tradesmen are proponents of high moral and material values and deserve to
be respected for their contribution to the society.
This letter can be divided into three major parts:
I: England's Greatness as a trading country
II: The Attitude of the gentry towards tradesmen
III: The desire to become a gentleman and stand as tall as the nobility
I: He speaks of England and its trade very highly. He thinks that England is the “greatest”
county in the world when it comes to trading and the “Englishmen are one of the best kind of
men who exist in the world”. He goes on to justify these claims with reason and not to come
off as partial to his nation. But without any doubt, Defoe is speaking with nationalistic pride.
First,
agriculturally, Britain was advancing much more rapidly than any other country because
of certain interrelated factors like the land was being managed in a better way, the climate
was favourable and there was more crop yield and better quality livestock.
In the industrial sector, shipbuilding and trade took off. In the cottage industry, products
were handmade (clothes, buttons, shoes, nails, etc) and were being manufactured and traded
by merchants in both domestic and international markets. Simultaneously, the roads and
railways and canal routes were being developed and due to the absence of toll gates or any
kind of tariff collection, domestic trade increased significantly.
Also, England a huge reserve of coal and iron was manufactured in 1709. Technical
modifications were still far but there was a steady amount of growth and expansion when it
came to production and consumption. All these factors laid the groundwork for Industrial
Revolution.
Mercantilism: According to the Act of Union of 1707, Ireland and Scotland were included in
Britain. It also secured the right to import slaves in the Spanish colonies of America. The
Treaty of Utrecht let England capture many land and colonies in the Mediterranean and
Americas. The British also gained many military victories and its naval fleet kept expanding
which formulated the idea of the Englishman as being highly masculine, with a “stiff upper
lip and “stoutest men”.

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 England also took advantage of the newly established colonial empires in West Indies,
India and America through the East India Company. It also passed a few mercantilist acts like
the Navigation act to monopolise trading routes. Thus the markets of the colonies were held
captive by the British. Overseas trade, including that of slavery was significant for the growth
of the economy of England.
II: After paying much attention to the commercial expansion of the British, Defoe moves
towards the core issue i.e., the protection of the mercantile class against societal prejudice.
Defoe tries to establish the relationship between the gentry and tradesmen in the society and
how tradesmen are looked down upon as “the meanest of our people”.
But there are many noble families that have a lineage that links them to tradesmen. They
were “rais’d by and derived from trade”, and were not always from the military in accordance
with the feudal tradition.
The younger children of these noble families tried their hands in trade many a times
because they were not entitled to inherit. He gives a lot of examples where the tradesmen
have been related to gentry across multiple generations.
The nobility used to have strict norms regarding marrying within their class to maintain
the purity of their class. But driven by financial need, they were now conducting interclass
marriages with richer but lower class groups to maintain their standards of living. Thus, these
alliances were proof of more ongoing interaction between the nobility and the tradesmen.
Although the nobility were proud of their heritage, tradesmen were the ones who
contributed largely to the economy of England. Defoe gives the instance of funding during
war with France and Spain. The tradesmen relieved the government of the debt it had
accumulated that led to the successful establishment of stock market in the city of London.
They also funded the procuring of equipment required by the navy and the army as well their
general investments in the form of loan, banks, taxes. The tradesmen and merchants had now
become “backbone of England”.
Defoe also talks about the kind of work ethic the tradesmen follow by not indulging
themselves in any kind of extravagance like the nobility. The gentry had now “fallen into
decay” due to their lavish lifestyle. They exhibited rakish behaviour that was quite popular as
well as infamous. They engaged in spending money carelessly, laxity in terms of morals and
gambling and prostitution.
The tradesmen on the other hand had high ethical values and were hard working, Defoe
even goes on to say that the tradesmen actually outdid the gentry. He proves his point through
an extended metaphor of how a country estate generates limited employability whereas trade
is an inexhaustible source of employability as there is continuous investment and
development.
III: Regardless of his attitude towards the gentry and their lifestyle, he exhibits a strong
desire to be a part of the high society. According to Defoe, all tradesmen deserve to be on

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equal footing with the high class society. Acquiring the brand of a gentleman is something
that is extremely sought after. The idea of the perfect gentleman, chivalric and gentle
disposition has been always associated with the nobility who owed large tracts of land. The
aristocracy took extreme pride in their way of life like politeness, civility, etiquette and code
of conduct. All the other classes, especially the emerging middle class imitated their manners
and wanted to be included in aristocracy,
The nobility always looked at the business class as being money-minded and base. The
idea of aristocracy promoted the leisurely way of life, while merchants and traders worked
very hard to procure wealth. The elite shunned any and all kinds of outsiders. There was a
need to be accepted by the elite so that the rest of the society also follows. Nobility was
directly associated with birth but Defoe was pushing forth the idea of nobility due to virtue
and not due to birth. He wanted it be an inclusive term even if it was still associated with
money.
Then Defoe comments on the education received by aristocrats. They used to be trained
in Latin and Green in order to become a gentleman. The middle classes did not receive much
formal education nor the practical kind of education imparted in academies run by dissenters
(like Defoe had). The tradesmen are well versed in the knowledge of the world and that is the
best kind of education.
Through this letter we get an insider's view into the social dynamics of that time when
the middle class was constantly rising up the economic ladder. The merchant class and
traders were challenging the existing social order and the gentry's unthreatened dominance
was now under threat.
2.3. Self-Check Questions
a. What does Defoe think regarding the status of trade and commerce of England?
b. Why are the tradesmen not a part of the nobility in England?
c. Why does Defoe think that the tradesmen should be a part of aristocracy?
3. ‘The Great Law of Subordination Considered’
This is a work that Defoe wrote during his last years. By then, he had turned his mind
towards the abusive side of the society he inhabited. He realised how the world wasn't
actually turning any better but had actually deteriorated in comparison to the time of his
youth. He dealt with the subject of pride and insolence of servants and the labour class in The
Great Law of Subordination Considered. It is a work which contains over 300 pages and has
been written like “a series of letters from a Frenchman resident in England to his brother in
France”. Sutherland says that the title indicates an abstract discussion but in actuality, it is a
very particular work focussing on the servant issue. It holds an account of several stories
highlighting the insolent, sometimes outrageous attitude of servants’ narrated with a lot of
liveliness. He narrates the tricks that servants play on their employers, their collective
protests to increase wages, raking off tradesmen, their thievery etc.

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3.1 Letter IV
Defoe starts with the practical observation he has made regarding the behaviour of servants
after their pay has been increased. One would expect them to be obligated and diligent, but
instead they think that they deserved this raise and their behaviour subsequently worsens. He
also states that gratitude is an attribute that is not found in “the labouring Poor of England.”
In the matter of the extant legislation about the wages Defoe observes that there is no
Government Sanctioned Legislature or Law that talks about increasing wages of servants.
Yet, it is commonly done: either because the servants protest or because it has become like a
passed down custom. Instead of making the servants more favourable, it ruins them further.
Defoe's tone if that of disappointment while talking about the servants. In his opinion,
the servants engage in merry making and drinking when their wages are increased, hence
their problematic behaviour. He cites the example of Woollen trade and the wage increase
associated with it. As the manufacturing of wool increased, so did the wage. Now, the
labourers had become lazy, drunk, wicked and instead of working happily, they spent
majority of their time in Alehouses. The manufactures are distressed because they do not
have diligent workers. They are forced to beg for hands but these labourers while away their
time with extra money in their pockets. Instead of bettering their lives, they engage in such
practices that damages them. They just work “hand to mouth” and spend their extra money
“in Riot and Luxury.” This kind of behaviour produces “bastards” who choose to waste away
their lives: be it in villages, cities or London.
Defoe then goes on to give an example of a case against a worker by his employer of not
having finished his work. Through the example, he points out the loopholes in the Justice
system when it comes to wages and servants as well as shows us the imprudent behaviour of
the worker who did not finish his work. While being questioned by the Justice of Peace, the
worker in question kept on giving all sorts of explanations but ultimately he could not be
forced to finish his work.
3.2 Self-Check Questions
1. What is the work the Great law of subordination considered about?
2. What does Defoe think about increasing the wages of workmen?
3. Through which example does Defoe try to prove that workmen need to be paid less? Do
you agree with Defoe?
4. ‘The Complete English Gentleman’
4.1 Introduction and Analysis
It was first published in the year 1890 is an unfinished treatise on education. He was trying to
push his educational theories in the evolving society of 18th century England through this
work. For Defoe, education held paramount importance as there was a direct relationship
between morality and meritocracy. He wanted to find a way for the emerging middle class to
be able to become a part of the nobility and he intended to do that by legitimizing education
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rather than birthright. Defoe discuses here how many people belonging to the nobility and
gentry continued to live their lives in utter ignorance in terms of good education. He wants
the future generation to receive quality education.
In the second part of the book, which is left incomplete, Defoe talks about how
“gentlemen by breeding” are increasing in numbers by socially moving up the ladder from
being wealthy merchants. The distinction of being a gentleman was based on the ownership
of landed estates. Defoe wants the term to be more inclusive to include people who are truly
polite and educated and rich. It shouldn't be a birthright but should be dictated by virtue of the
person in concern. He talks about the worth of true learning and education. Not everyone who
has an education and wealth should be called a gentleman. He says that “the knowledge of
things.... And not words, make a scholar.”
The classical education in Greek and Latin isn't required to become an aristocrat as there
are many good English translations of educational be books one can learn from. So there can
be someone who doesn't know these languages but is learned and there can be a gentleman
who knows the languages but lacks true learning. He wants the tradition of teaching imparted
in Latin to go away as that was keeping the gentry ignorant. He also repeatedly mentions the
attitude that gentry and nobility held towards people involved in trade and commerce.
Defoe stresses on the fact that although there are many people who call themselves
gentlemen because of their good birth, they cannot become “compleat gentleman” without
receiving proper liberal education. Through this work, he keep his focus on book learning and
it's acquisition and he in a way forgets to talk about the moral elements that also govern the
determination of a real gentleman.
Defoe has talked about nature and instruction when it comes to any individual. He
acknowledges that nature does play an important role in making an individual but due to lack
of good instructional knowledge, the intellect remains underdeveloped in several cases. No
one pays enough attention to Intellectual hereditary as oppsed to the heredity of physical
attributes. Defoe tries to prove that education has an impact on both the bright ones and not
so bright ones. For him, education mattered even for the dullest ones. He thinks eveyone is in
need of instruction but he is more concerned about educating the brighter ones. According to
him, education can raise a fallen man from their depraved state. Education can be remedial.
The gentry of England needed to be enlightened. There are many bright individuals among
the gentry who continue to stay ignorant because of the lack of proper education.
In Defoe’s mind, a gentleman cannot be someone who is generous and an intellectual.
The factor of having immense wealth is important to him. A considerable amount of wealth
and quality education can combine to form a true gentleman who belongs to a lower
class/order by birth. He points out to the large scale ignorance ha had encountered in majority
of nobility and gentry. It is directly related to the way they received their education. Till the
reformation, the upper classes were taught at the houses of fellow noblemen, especially
manners and courtesy.Book learning was one area they did not focus on. Nor were they

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taught to write properly. Home tutoring was also prefered as an effective method begire these
nobility in the making could go to the university. But many a times this kind of educational
was superficial and elementary in nature. The parents deemed this enough for their son to be
able to run the estate.
A better education was considered necessary only for the younger children who had to
ultimately go out into the world to fend for themselves and “the son who was to inherit the
title grew up in idleness along the groom's and gamekeepers; if he was taught to read and
write a little, it was thought enough of him.” Therefore the need for proper schooling and
university education was deemed unnecessary for most of the elder children of the nobility.
The tutors were not capable enough and their morals were lose. Defoe blames them for
corrupting the morals of children and ruining their heads. Individuals involved in tutoring
them received a liberal amount of salary and did not actually care much about the education
of the cold. There have been instances where tutors have told their children that they will
readily inherit the estate and there is no requirement on the part of the child to mind the book.
The elder children were rarely sent to the universities. Mostly the younger ones attended.
Hence the elder ones grew up in a dull environment of the estate. And another prominent
feature of being a gentleman was travelling. While the younger ones travelled, the elder ones
did not as they did not need to.
The curriculum of both schools and universities was deemed imperfect. Many writers
had called to reform the curriculum by choosing to move beyond the study of dead languages.
And the gentry disapproved of the existing system of education, thus staying far from book
learning. All these factors contributed to the decline of aristocracy. They did not care about
educating their children properly, and the eldest ones turned out to be the most ignoble. They
shunned public schools, and even if they were debt ridden, they did not stop squandering
away their lives. Defoe wanted to unveil the reasons behind this rising ignorance and thereby
change the definition of who a gentleman is. The nobility considered knowledge as
superfluous, could barely write their name, had no connections with books and library was a
place they never visited. Defoe blames the aristocrats for possessing a kind of destructive self
love trait in them. Their entire lives were spent in gambling, idling around and hunting
without ever utilising their brains. For Defoe, this “hereditary stream of folly” needed to stop
before they became a burden on the society. He called upon the nobility to move along with
time, to stress on education, stop looking down on scholars and books and merchants and
tradesmen. Their sense of superiority needed to be broken now and Defoe was trying to do
just that. Virtue did not come with the inherited titled and cannot automatically make anyone
a gentleman. It needs to be acquired through liberal learning and education which should be
the primary investment. It will also help in redistribution of wealth and thus make the social
order more flexible.
He says that the nobility needs to step up and act like proper gentlemen. They are being
manipulated by politicians and engage in corrupt practices for money while there are others
with decent education acting like gentlemen through their merit. These emerging individuals

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have no family lineage but made their fortunes themselves. Defoe was trying to put forth a
remedy for recovering the declining aristocracy and also making it more inclusive as a class
in terms of defining who a gentleman is. He did not distinguish between the social and the
economic, so for him, virtue should follow the title. Basically “Defoe was asking the nobility
to become the educated bourgeois in the reform process he was mapping out “. He was
pointing out the qualities of an accomplished tradesman. So in a way he was saying that
although commerce can survive without nobility, the nobility cannot live without trade and
commerce.
While the nobility was serving no significant purpose to the state other than boasting of
their class and estate, the merchants and tradesmen were continuously contributing to the
welfare of the nation. The society considered them inferior while they were actually much
more than self serving money minded individuals working for both the society and
themselves. These individuals were morally well behaved, questioned the existing social
hierarchies and were in tandem with the modern civilization.
In this work, Defoe recognises the differences that exist between individuals. He knows
that there were many worthy people in the nobility who helped the country to progress but
there are also many who are “grovelling in the dirt of ignorance, and learning nothing but to
glut themselves in plenty...” He was trying to establish a new class of individuals who were
qualified enough to inherit the title of being a gentleman. Where there is a lack in either
education, virtue, manners or learning, the individual doesn't qualify for becoming a
gentleman. Defoe respected education too much. He said “the want of learning, the
deficiency of education is a disease.” But he did think that this disease was curable. His
recommendation of studying books written in the vernacular offer a doable approach towards
gaining knowledge and wisdom.
Defoe tried to be futuristic in this book. He was serving the modern world which was
constantly emerging by making himself the spokesperson for “the compleat gentleman” who
talks about credit and capital in the morning and goes about as a gentleman in the evening. In
his view, the thoroughly educated man will be the next generation of modern nobleman. He
wanted to see a business aristocratic setup which should be a combination of merit, talent and
tenacity.
4.2 Self-Check Questions:
1. How is Defoe trying to change the definition of being a gentleman?
2. What is the importance of education when it comes to becoming a true gentleman?
3. Is Defoe futuristic in his approach? Why?
Further readings
Defoe, Daniel, et al. Religious and Didactic Writings of Daniel Defoe: General Ed.: W.R.
Owens and P.N. Furbank. Pickering & Chatto, 2007.

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The Great Law of Subordination Consider'd: or, the Insolence and Unsufferable Behaviour
of Servants in England Duly Enquir'd into. ... In Ten Familiar Letters. ... As Also a
Proposal, Containing Such Heads or Constitutions, as Wou'd Effectually Answer This
Great End, and Bring Servants of Every Class to a Just ... Regulation.,
quod.lib.umich.edu/e/ecco/004843571.0001.000/1:6?rgn=div1%3Bview.
“Gentleman vs. Tradesman According to Daniel Defoe ( The Complete English Tradesman,
1726).” BUZZ... Littéraire : Critiques Livres, Romans Et Analyse, 15 June 2020,
www.buzz-litteraire.com/gentleman-vs-tradesman-according-to-daniel-defoe-the-
complete-english-tradesman-
analysis/#:~:text=In%20his%20letter%20XXII%20in,social%20%C3%A9lite%20who
%20despised%20them.
LEINSTER-MACKAY, DONALD. “The Compleat English Gentleman: Perspectives on
Defoe’s Major Unfinished Work.” The Journal of Educational Thought (JET) / Revue De La
Pensée Éducative, vol. 49, no. 3, 2016, pp. 233–252. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/26372376.
Accessed 2 Apr. 2021.
Pire, Luciana. The Future on Credit: The Compleat English Gentleman by ... American
International Journal of Social Science, Dec. 2015,
www.aijssnet.com/journals/Vol_4_No_6_December_2015/11.pdf.

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 Unit-5(d)

William Hay, Deformity: An Essay (pp.1-11 & pp.44-51)

Renu Koyu

1. Introduction
Deformity: An Essay was written by William Hay in 1754. Written in the quintessential
eighteenth-century fashion, it attempts to “teach and delight” readers at the same time-
teaching the readers to be sensitive towards people with deformities, by giving them a first-
hand account of what living with deformity feels like; while delighting them with an almost
dark humour. It is surprisingly original and is an influential work that has become a mainstay
of disability studies. Pages 1-11 and 44-51 are prescribed in your course. You will find a pdf
copy of the essay on many websites.
Learning Objectives
After reading this study material, you will;
– have a better understanding of how disability has been perceived through the ages; and
– appreciate the originality of Hay’s attempt to change the way people with disability are
seen and treated.
2. About the Author: William Hay
William Hay was born at Glyndebourne, Sussex in 1695, a hunchback dwarf from birth. Both
of his parents died before he was five years old and he was raised by his relatives.
Throughout his life, he suffered from severe scoliosis- a condition in which the spine
becomes curved- and at full height he was scarcely five feet tall. In addition to his physical
deformity, an attack of small pox during his twenties left him scarred and severely injured his
eyesight. However, he didn’t let these physical inconveniences hinder him from travelling
across Britain and Scotland in 1718; followed by a tour of France, Germany, and Holland in
1720. He married Elizabeth Pelham in 1731; with whom he had three sons and two
daughters. He eventually became a member of parliament and represented the Whigs in the
House of Commons from 1734 till his death in 1755. Throughout his career, he passionately
advocated for poor law reform and prison reform and defended the interests of the poor but
without much success. Along with his Parliamentary duties he wrote and published a few
poems and essays on a wide range of subjects. However, he is best remembered for
Deformity: An Essay, which he wrote in 1754. It was well received at publication for its
pioneering thought and remains an influential work in the study of disability in the eighteenth
century.
3. Summary
pp. 1-11
Hay starts his autobiographical essay by alluding to Montaigne’s1 Essai and its
autobiographical style. He spells out his intention in writing this essay; to deal with the
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subject in a ‘philosophical [l]ight’; stating famously that bodily deformity is visible to
everyone but only a few know about its effects, known intimately only by those who
experience it; who are anyways not comfortable discussing it. Since he himself knows the
subject closely through experience, he will discuss this “uncommon subject” and view it in a
philosophical light. He hopes it will be instructive for people with deformities, whilst also
entertaining others. He admits he is not as ingenious as Montaigne but claims that “it is in my
power to be ingenious” (1). He wants to lay bare his mental and physical form for the readers
and be judged as a person with an untainted heart and with honest and sincere intentions.
Since there is no frontispiece on the cover of his book, he describes his physical features for
the readers’ benefit; telling them that he is “scarcely five feet tall,” with a back bent in his
mother’s womb. He compares himself to a number of famous historical personalities, both
real and fictional- like Esop2, Pope3, Luxemburg4, Lord Treasurer Salisbury5, Thersites6, and
Richard the Third7. He claims that he doesn’t consider the last two as members of society as
one is a fictional character and the second one is falsely represented by historians, who
wanted to “draw a devil in a bad shape” (5). So, he refuses to believe the historians and even
Shakespeare in their description of Richard the Third and believes only his biographer who
describes him as handsome. Hay is thankful that he was born in Britain and not in Sparta,
where he would have been thrown into a cavern by Mount Taygetus8, immediately after birth,
for his bodily deformity. He condemns this barbarity on one’s own species and asks if the
body-which he calls a “carcass”-is the best part of a man and be valued by weight, like cattle
in the market.
He recalls that instead of this “Lacedemonian” (Spartan) severity his caretakers took
another extreme path- trying, in vain, to correct the “errors of nature” (6). When his relatives
could not mend his crooked back, they tried to hide it and taught the young Hay to be
ashamed of his body, instead of strengthening his confidence and acceptance of himself, so
that he could despise any ridicule or contempt for his deformity. He admits that this caused a
lot of problems for him as a young man and it took a lot of time for him to overcome them.
The relatives’ “ill management” of his deformity gave Hay an insufferable shyness and made
him acutely conscious of the image he produced in court. He admits that such self-
consciousness limits a man’s advancement in the world but at the same time helps to keep a
check on worldly ambitions. He tells the readers that unkind remarks about a person’s
physique hurt more than other forms of verbal attack. Pope had reportedly admitted that he
felt the attack on his deformity more than any other; ranking it among the “most atrocious
injuries” (8). Hay is grateful that he has never been targeted like this by any gentlemen of his
acquaintance. However, he says the situation changes when he walks in to a crowd “where
insolence grows in proportion as the man sinks in Condition.” and there is rarely a time when
he doesn’t hear an insult. But he says such vulgarity doesn’t affect him as much as it used to
when he was young.
Observing the difference in the way the educated people treat him versus how the
uneducated treat him, taught him the value of education and to “set a right value upon it.” He
declares that education is a stamp on a man’s character; it separates a good man from the
vulgar and is a “barrier between the Mob and the Civilised part of Mankind.” Education has

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also helped him move from the company and conversation of the vulgar to that of his
“superiors,” with whom he is the most at ease.
pp. 44-51
Hay states that descriptions of cities and its people ravaged and destroyed by wars and natural
calamities do not move him as they are the “usual storms” to which humankind is exposed; a
result of God’s just judgement or the mistaken and false principles of rulers. His compassion
is great for the sufferers of persecutions, tortures, murders, massacres but his tears are
stopped by resentment and indignation against the contrivers and perpetrators of such crimes.
However, he is brought to tears, against his will, when he reads of the virtue and innocence of
people in distress, or the story of a good man, helpless and forsaken, or someone who stands
courageous in the face of oppression or in the face of death. Searching for a reason for his
emotional responses to such narratives, he supposes that maybe he weeps because these
stories remind him that vice triumphs whereas virtue goes unrewarded in life. He presumes
that few “sincere” Christians would be able to read about the sufferings of Jesus or
Englishmen read the accounts of their national heroes like Crammer, Ridley, or Latimer9
without weeping. His friends and family know that his voice changes and he tears up when he
reads about generosity and profound sayings, action, or character; especially when they are of
people whose example and command have influenced mankind. He believes that his reaction
comes from a concern that such people are too rare or maybe because he isn’t in a situation to
do something like them. He says he is entertained but not moved when he reads Voltaire’s10
History of Charles XII but he is reduced to tears when he reads Hanway’s11 depiction of the
character of Peter the Great. He also compares Henry IV12 of France to his grandson Lewis13
(King Louis XIV), who differed as rulers; exclaiming “How little is Lewis compared to
Henry the Great!” (50). He empathises with the animals suffering from cruelty and claims
that God did not create the world for men to rule over them like tyrants but to live in harmony
with all His creations. He feels uneasy witnessing cruelty among men; like witnessing a man
bruised in a boxing match or cut to pieces to win some prize. He makes it clear that violence
exerted in passion and wantonness is brutality and can be termed bravery only when it is
facilitated by necessity and justice. For Hay, the popularity of such cruel sports is not choice
but pretension; in the same way people who don’t like music still go to the opera houses to
gain the reputation of being connoisseurs.
4. Analysis
Hay’s Deformity: An Essay was written in 1754; a year before his death. It was a result of his
experiences and reflections as a deformed man, living in eighteenth century England. The
essay is strongly influenced by Montaigne’s Essai, and his autobiographical style. He
considers himself fit to philosophically discuss this “uncommon subject” as, being deformed
himself, he can articulate its effects on the psyche; in hopes that it will help other deformed
people, and enlighten readers about the awkwardness and public humiliation faced by the
deformed.
Thus, Hay reclaims the narrative spun around deformity in western civilisation, from
antiquity to his own time. Historically, disability has been perceived as a monstrosity in
popular imagination. Writers and philosophers claimed to know the characteristics and lack
of spirituality in such people and wrote scathingly about them. In 1612, Francis Bacon14
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wrote and published Of Deformity, which set forth the thesis that deformed people are
naturally scornful and devoid of affection. Such unfair stereotypical narratives put people
with disability at the receiving end of ridicule and discrimination in society. The eighteenth
century was no different; with Samuel Johnson’s15 iconic dictionary equating deformity with
ugliness. More than a hundred years after the publication of Bacon’s essay, the persistence of
his influence and bias against deformity led Hay to write Deformity: An Essay; in reply to
Bacon’s callous presumptions. Hay asserts his right to discuss his disability, based on his
personal experience and rejects dominant perceptions that associated outward deformity with
inward emotional and spiritual poverty.
Hay’s autobiographical address directly connects him to his readers; enabling him to talk
on an intimate level. Exposing his mental and physical form to his readers; he appeals to
them to judge him accordingly, and recognise that his heart is untainted by evil and his
intentions are sincere and honest. Such an appeal is a sad reflection of the age; where it was
almost inconceivable that a physically deformed person could have a good heart and soul.
The essay becomes Hay’s attempt to reconcile people to the idea that deformity does not
warrant a deformed mind or an evil soul. He tells his readers that he is scarcely five feet tall,
with a back bent in his mother’s womb. This was another pseudo-scientific belief quite
prevalent in the eighteenth century; that deformity developed in the womb during pregnancy.
He associates himself with other deformed people, both real and fictional, in Western history;
Lord Salisbury, Pope, Luxemberg, Thersites, Richard the Third, and others; people who
contributed significantly to their society and live on in popular imagination. He refuses to call
Thersites and Richard the Third part of society as the former is fictional and the latter has
been wrongfully represented by historians and writers (like Shakespeare) who wanted to
show him as a devil with a bent back. By mentioning these names, he disputes the
presumptions that a deformed person is incapable of contributing anything positive to society.
He also does not hold back from pointing out how deformity has been unfairly depicted as a
physical manifestation of evil in people, and how such claims were used to damage a
person’s reputation and discredit any good quality possessed by them.
Such perceptions about the physical form made people go to extreme measures in order
to “cure” physical deformity. Hay’s relatives had also tried, unsuccessfully, to cure his
hunched back in his childhood, failing which he was taught to be ashamed of his body and
advised to conceal it at all times. Hay reproaches them for not helping him accept his
different physique, and despise those who made fun of it or attacked him for such a
superficial shortcoming. He tells us that such an upbringing made him shy and bashful in his
youth and held him back from progressing socially or in his career as a politician. Hay is
clear that it is not deformity but the historical, psychological, and cultural burdens associated
with deformity that hold back a deformed person from getting ahead in life. Hay is firm in his
belief that social ridicule and contempt affects a deformed person’s chance to live a normal
and fulfilling life, with a healthy amount of ambition.
It was common practise in the eighteenth century to joke about physical deformity. It
was also seen as an acceptable and effective way to attack political and literary rivals
publicly, by making fun of their deformity (in case they had any) in poems and essays.
Alexander Pope, the most famous hunchback of the eighteenth century, was no exception.

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His literary rivals regularly attacked his disfigured back in their caricatures of him; to
embarrass and humiliate him. Hay tells his readers that Pope had reportedly admitted that
being attacked thus was one of the most humiliating experiences of his life. Physical
deformity was viewed as an aberration of nature: unnatural, ugly, and monstrous. Thus,
pointing out deformity became a way to attack a person’s character and explain their actions
as those of a deformed personality; naturally scornful and jealous of everyone around them.
Hay is thankful that he is spared such insults by the people he knows but amidst crowds, he is
not so easily spared. He reflects that such public humiliation helped him develop a thick skin,
an insightful sensitivity, and the ability to empathise with others facing unfair accusations and
tyranny. And he learnt to reflect wisely on such social ridicule from a position of educated
detachment. He states that these experiences helped him appreciate the role of education in
determining a person’s moral position with respect to others, and in separating the refined
from the vulgar. Thus, he is hardly affected by the vulgar comments of people in crowds-
whom he calls “mobs”- who show a lack of morality and education. The emergence of the
middle class in the eighteenth century made education an important determinant of a person’s
social class and moral character. Both Hay and his readers belonged to the educated upper
class and with the emerging class consciousness among the educated readers, Hay used this
opportunity to speak against the popularity of ribald and insensitive jokes about deformed
people and suggested that the educated class should not participate in such vulgarity.
Education, he states, can help people be less insensitive towards people with physical
deformities and, at the same time, arm deformed individuals with knowledge and a quick wit
to deflect insults.
Since most literature of the age supported the belief that God’s design presupposed
proportion and beauty, a person with any physical deformity was automatically seen as a
freak of nature, having no redeeming qualities or character. The eighteenth-century
sensibility exalted the idea that since beauty is truth and goodness, deformity implies
wickedness and falsehood. The deformed body was a literal manifestation of a deformed
mind and soul, according to this argument. Hay refutes such presumptions and argues that he
deserves to be treated as a human; if not a beautiful creation of God, then as a rational
creature with a sensitive soul. He shares his rich emotional capacity with his readers by
showing how virtuous and self-sacrificing acts by people forsaken by family, friends, and
society move him more than the description of cities and people ravaged by wars and natural
calamities; which he states are “usual storms” that men must inevitably face. He repeatedly
declares that, above everything else, he prioritises morality, integrity, and goodness in a
person. By giving the example of two rulers (King Henry V, of France and his grandson,
King Louis XIV) who differed greatly in their style of governance and personality, he shows
that he admires and exalts virtue and selfless service to humanity as the highest aspiration for
man. Hay believes that deformed people have more capacity for sympathy and kindness
because of their own personal battles against societal injustice and cruelty meted out to them,
all the time. Taking a dig at the pretentions in society, he attacks the popularity of boxing
clubs where people pay to see men hurt and kill each other for a prize. Hay ridicules able
bodied people who take pleasure in watching violence and who condone such activities as
entertainment. Hay suggests that their prejudices and ideas of entertainment are much more
crooked than the visual presence of a physical deformity.
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 Hay’s sense of self negates the popular belief that a deformed person cannot have a
beautiful soul or a beautiful character with a rich inner life. Helen Deutsch acknowledges
Hay as “the first writer in the history of English literature to conceptualise and articulate
physical disability as a personal identity.” Hay’s positioning of his identity brings human
dignity to the lived experiences and subjectivity of a deformed person. Hay’s first and
foremost intention is to educate his readers about the historical burden that the deformed
carry within themselves, by simply existing. The idea that the deformed are incapable of
contributing anything palpable or positive to society still persisted in Hay’s time. Hay proved
such prejudices wrong by living a full and successful life himself. His essay also lists many
historically relevant personalities who were hunchbacked but, in spite of the challenges, they
did not let it stop them from contributing to their society. Admittedly, physical deformity
makes it inconvenient for people to engage in physically demanding activities, but it does not
stop the deformed from contributing intellectually to society. Rationality, wit, and
intelligence were increasingly seen as important attributes of a person’s character. Thus,
education became an important determinant of one’s social class, morality, and intellectual
character. Hay echoes similar ideas in his essay by claiming that education- that develops a
man’s personality and intellect- is a more important quality to consider in measuring people’s
worth than the beauty of their physical form. Most importantly, Hay believes that a person
with deformity, given the right education and treated with the dignity due to all men, is as
likely as any other person, to be a sensible and sensitive human being, with the potential to
serve humanity.
Notes
1. Montaigne, or Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592) was a significant French philosopher
of the French Renaissance. He popularised the essay as a literary genre and wrote in an
autobiographical style. His anthology Essai contains some of the most important essays
ever written.
2. Esop, or Aesop was a Greek storyteller who is credited as the man behind Aesop’s
fables.
3. Alexander Pope (1688-1744) is considered to be one of the greatest English poets and
the foremost poet of the eighteenth-century.
4. Luxemberg, or Luxembourg (1628-1695) was a celebrated French general who led
many military conquests against France’s enemies. He was also called “The Upholster
of Notre-Dame” because of his hunched back. He is remembered as one of France’s
greatest generals.
5. Lord Treasurer Salisbury, or Robert Cecil (1591-1668), first Earl of Salisbury was a
noted English statesman. He suffered from scoliosis and was a hunch back.
6. Thersites was a soldier in the Trojan war of Greek mythology.
7. Richard the Third (1452-1485) was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1483
until his death in 1485. Shakespeare’s famous play Richard III describes him as a
tyrant.

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8. Mount Taygetus is a mountain range on the Peloponnese peninsula in Southern Greece.
9. Crammer, Ridley, and Latimer are known as the Martyrs of Oxford. They were burnt at
the stake in 1555 for believing and promoting Protestantism.
10. Voltaire was the pen name of Francois Marie Arouet (1694-1778). He was a French
Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher who wrote on socio-political issues;
from criticism of Christianity to advocacy of freedom of speech. He is known for his
wit and versatility as a writer of different forms of literature.
11. Hanway, or Jonas Hanway (1712-1786), was an English philanthropist and traveller.
12. Henry IV, King of France (1553-1610), also known as ‘Henry, the Great,’ was King of
France from 1589-1610. He ended the Wars of Religion and brought prosperity to his
country, allowing churches of different denominations to exist in the country.
13. Lewis, or King Louis XIV of France (1638-1715): grandson of King Henry IV of
France and also known as Louis the Great. He was King from 1643-1715; longest
serving monarch in Europe. Unlike his grandfather, he did not believe in religious
tolerance and used military might to establish French supremacy.
14. Francis Bacon (1561-1626) was an English philosopher and statesman. His works are
credited for developing the scientific method. He is called the Father of Empiricism.
15. Samuel Johnson (1709-1784) is one of the most popular figures in the history of
English literature. He was a poet, a playwright, essayist, moralist, literary critic,
biographer, and lexicographer.
Bibliography
https://enlightanddis.wordpress.com/spectacles-of-deviance/physical-deformity/william-hay-
deformity-an-essay/
http://writersinspire.org/content/world-writing-18th-century/
https://the-rambling.com/2019/02/14/valentines-lau/
https://pastxxxcaring.wordpress.com/2018/09/05/dishist-in-80-objects-3-deformity-an-essay-
by-william-hay-esq/
Frye, Northrop. Varieties of Eighteenth-Century Sensibility. Eighteenth Century Studies,
Winter, 1990-1991, Vol. 24, No. 2, pp. 157-172.
Hay, William. Deformity: An Essay. Second Edition. London. 1754.
Lund, Roger. Laughing at Cripples: Ridicule, Deformity and the Argument from Design.
Eighteenth Century Studies, Fall, 2005, Vol. 39, No. 1 (Fall, 2005). pp. 91-114.
Questions
i) “Bodily deformity is visible to every eye; but the effects of it are known to very few;
intimately known to none but those, that feel them.” Discuss.
ii) What are the arguments that Hay makes to prove that a deformed person does not
necessarily suggest a deformed mind and soul?

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 Unit-5(e)

Olaudah Equiano, “The Middle Passage” (Ch. 2, pp. 54-58)

Renu Koyu

1. Introduction
“The Middle Passage” is an excerpt from the second chapter of Olaudah Equiano’s
autobiography, The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano; or Gustavas Vassa,
the African, Written by Himself, published in 1789. It recounts his first contact with
Europeans, in the form of white slavers and the subsequent horrors he witnessed and
experienced under them during the voyage from Africa to the Caribbean, through what is
popularly known as the Middle Passage.
Learning Objectives
After reading this study material, you will;
– learn about the horrendous voyages of slave ships through the Middle Passage that
transformed captured Africans from people into commodities; and
– learn about the paradox of eighteenth-century Enlightenment thinking that endorsed the
slave trade but also provided the rhetoric for its abolition.
2. Olaudah Equiano: About the Author
Olaudah Equiano was the Igbo name of the former slave and abolitionist who officially went
by the name of Gustavus Vassa; the third name given to him by a white slave master. Born in
Nigeria, he was kidnapped when just eleven years old and sold three times before he finally
purchased his freedom for 40 pounds in 1766. He worked as a slave in the Caribbean and in
Virginia before purchasing his freedom for 40 pounds in 1766. He made his way to London
and lived there as a free man. In London, he became a member of the Sons of Africa, an
abolitionist group composed of Africans living in Britain. He was also an active leader of the
anti-slavery movement in the 1780s. He wrote and self-published his autobiography, The
Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano; or Gustavas Vassa, the African,
Written by Himself in 1789. It gives an eyewitness account of the horrors of slavery and the
slave trade.
His book is the earliest known example of literary publication by an African writer to be
hugely successful. In fact, it is considered the earliest example of a slave narrative; of what
eventually became a large and influential literary genre. The book had a huge impact on the
conscience of its target white readers and helped gain support for the abolitionist movement.
The book went through eight editions in his lifetime and was translated into several
languages. He married an English woman named Susannah Cullen in 1792 and they had two
daughters. He died in 1797 in Westminster. His passionate activism and powerful
autobiography helped gain passage of the British Slave Trade Act 1807, which abolished the
slave trade in Britain and its colonies.

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3. Summary
After the eleven-year-old Olaudah Equiano (hereafter “Equiano”) is sold to white slavers and
brought aboard a slave ship, he is horrified to see a large furnace burning and the expressions
of dejection and sorrow in the faces of “a multitude of black people of every description
chained together” and consequently faints. He fears that the horrible looking white men with
red faces and loose hair will eat him but is reassured by African slave traders that they won’t.
Equaino soon loses all hope of ever returning to his native country and the horror of his
present situation is heightened by the uncertainty of what lay ahead. Soon after, he is taken
under the deck. Its horrible stench and his continuous crying make him so sick that he loses
his appetite and wishes for death to relieve him of his miseries. When he refuses to eat, he is
held down and flogged mercilessly by two white men. Later, Equiano discovers that some of
the captives are from his country. When asked, they tell him that they are being taken to the
white men’s country to work for them. This revives Equiano’s spirits as working for them
doesn’t sound too bad a prospect. However, he still fears for his life and is appalled by the
savagery of the white men, whose brutality is not exclusive to the chained Africans but to the
whites as well. Once, he witnesses a white man being flogged to death and thrown into the
sea. Equiano is amazed by how the ship sails- his untrained mind thinks it is done using
magic or some spell- and is convinced that their captors are spirits.
After the ship is loaded with cargo, the captives are put under deck so they can’t see how
the vessel is operated. During the loading on port, some of them had been allowed on deck
because of the loathsome stench in the hold. But now, herded together in a closed space, after
all the cargo is loaded, it becomes insufferable- “absolutely pestilineal.” Perspiration among
the captives makes the air unfit for breathing. The air becomes so noxious that many fall ill
and die. The inconceivable horror of the situation is intensified by the shrieks of the women
and the moans of the dying. These conditions put Equiano in such low spirits that he is almost
always brought on deck to breathe the fresh air of the sea; unchained, as he poses minimal
risk. On deck, he sees dying captives brought up from the hold. He envies the dead their
freedom and often wishes to change places with them.
He recounts some episodes of white brutality and savagery on the voyage. Once, the
white crew members had caught some fish. After taking what they needed, instead of giving
the remaining fish to the starving captives on deck, they threw it back into sea. Some of the
captives who tried to steal some of the fish were flogged mercilessly for doing so. Once, three
captives on deck somehow manage to jump into the sea. Many more would have followed
their example if preventive measures were not taken by the alarmed crew members. A boat is
lowered to bring back the slaves. Two drown but the crew succeed in bringing back one; who
is flogged mercilessly for his transgression. Many more captives die due to the suffocating
stench and the unhygienic conditions in these slave ships. Equiano observes that “hardships .
. . [are] inseparable from this accursed trade.”
When the ship finally reaches the island of Barbados, the crew exclaims in joy, to the
perplexity of the captives. In the evening, merchants and planters come to the ship to inspect
the captives, who are put in separate parcels to be inspected thoroughly and also made to
jump. The bewildered slaves think that they will be eaten by these “ugly” men and, once

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under the deck, the captive Africans cry and lament their collective doom the whole night.
Eventually, some old slaves from land are brought to pacify them. These slaves reassure the
captives that they will not be eaten but rather made to work for the white men. After a few
days in captivity, the Africans are sold. Equiano describes the “usual manner” of selling the
slaves- once a sound is made, buyers rush to the yard where the slaves are confined and
choose the “parcel” they like best. Equiano recalls witnessing heart wrenching partings
between relations and friends separated from each other, sometimes never to meet again. This
is done without much scruple and a lot of excitement and eagerness by the whites. Here, he
directly addresses his white readers and asks them if this is what they have learned from their
God. He asks if it’s not enough that the Africans are snatched from their communities and
countries to toil “for [the whites’] luxury and lust of gain” and why “must every tender
feeling be likewise sacrificed to your avarice?” He calls this is a “new refinement in cruelty
which, while it has no advantage to atone for it, thus aggravates distress, and adds fresh
horrors even to the wretchedness of slavery.”
4. Analysis
Olaudah Equiano’s The Interesting Narrative (1789) recounts the sufferings and tragedies of
a former slave who was abducted from his village at the tender age of eleven and sold to
white slavers. Renamed thrice by three different white masters, Equiano went by the third
name given to him- Gustavus Vassa- for all intents and purposes. He reclaimed his Igbo (an
ethnic group in Nigeria, Africa) name Olaudah Equiano in his autobiography. After years of
living as a slave under different slave owners, he finally bought his freedom for forty pounds
in 1766. As a free man, he somehow made his way to England and became a powerful voice
for the abolitionist movement there. He wrote and self-published his autobiography in 1789,
in his forties; to give a true account of the horror and oppression faced by Africans under
slavery. The impact of his autobiography was far reaching. It brought the reality of the
sufferings of the slaves at sea and in the colonies to the gentile classes of the mother country,
to read and agonise over. The narrative transcends genres and represents a variety of styles;
such as slave narrative, contact narrative, travel narrative, and spiritual narrative; among
others. Moreover, the structure and rhetorical strategies of the book influenced the creation of
a model for subsequent slave narratives.
His autobiography was the first to offer an eyewitness account of the Middle Passage;
the phase of the voyage, where Africans were densely packed like cattle into ships on the
African ports and transported across the Atlantic; from the coasts of Africa to the Caribbean.
Millions of Africans died during voyages through the Middle Passage. Historians consider
the middle passage as a time of “inbetweenness” for those being traded from Africa to
America- a transition of Africans from people to commodities. The sufferings of these
millions conveniently got overlooked or omitted in the European narratives of high adventure
and colonial conquests; catering to European readers back home. It was apparent that people
living in Europe and not involved with the slave trade knew little of its cruel practises.
Equiano’s intention was, through his autobiography, to let the experiences he had as a slave
speak for him and the abolitionist movement. His powerful and evocative narrative counters
the claims of animality and barbarity of the African race. In fact, it shows how they were
dehumanised and animalised under the savagery of the white slave traders and slave holders.

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 European travel narratives established the stereotype of indigenous groups as being
primitive and, in most cases, described them as cannibals-without evidences to support it.
These stereotypes became established truth for readers in Europe and helped colonial
missions conquer more lands and cultures- on the pretext of civilising these “uncivilised
heathens” and bringing them under the fold of Christianity. In his autobiography, Equiano
subverts the narrative in eighteenth-century European writings, that describe cultures
different from their own as animalistic, uncivilised, and cannibalistic. He does this by
showing how the fear of the ‘other’ also exists among the African captives- and with good
reason. He recounts how the moment he came in contact with the white slave traders, the idea
of being eaten by them immediately came to his mind and he fainted with fear. We are
provided with an alternate perspective here- that of the slave, who fears the cannibalistic
nature of his masters.
Throughout the voyage, Equiano fears that he will be eaten by these strange white men
who are uncommonly violent- to the Africans and their own kind. Cannibalism, in a different
form, is easy to associate with the European slavers. Every new circumstance makes his state
more painful than the last, heightens his apprehension, and makes him wonder afresh at the
cruelty of the whites. Europeans consumed the culture, identity, and history of the people
they enslaved and colonised. As the African captives remain huddled together in the ship’s
belly under the most agonising and atrocious conditions- shackled in chains and breathing in
the hot, putrid air mixed with sweat and human waste, it eats away at their will to live and
death becomes a tempting option. Even Equiano, a mere child of eleven, desires death to
escape his tormenting captivity. But he is denied the sweet release of death as he is force fed
to be kept alive. Historians and researchers have noted that such practises of force feeding
made the captives believe that they were being fattened to be the white men’s food. This fear
is revived again on the evening they reach the shore of Barbados. Merchants and traders flock
the ship to inspect each captive separately. They examine their agility and intelligence by
making them jump up and down and point to the land, to indicate that they will have to work
there. The transition is complete. The Africans have been successfully dehumanised and are
treated like commodities; judged only by their usefulness as slaves. Here again, the metaphor
of cannibalism is used with full force. Equiano blatantly suggests that the European slavers
have consumed the humanity of the Africans in their insatiable greed and quest for power.
Equiano and other abolitionist Black writers of the eighteenth century used the trope of
cannibalism as a critical and strategic one. Alan Rice observes that, “Equiano uses the white
fear of cannibalism . . . not to indict a savage other race to which he of course belongs, but to
point out the savagery of the Europeans’ own everyday practices.”
The scientific advancements of western civilisation in the eighteenth century- lauded as
freeing men from the limitations imposed by nature- and the promotion of rational thinking
are weapons in their colonising mission. Pseudo-scientific writings during the eighteenth
century created a hierarchy of races- with the European race as the highest and the African as
the lowest in the paradigm. In fact, popular opinion at the time claimed Africans were no less
than animals. Equiano recalls how the captives were taken under the deck when the ship
starts to sail; so that they cannot learn how the ship is operated. Here, the ship is a symbol of
the scientific advancement of the Europeans; used not to empower humanity but to enslave

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and rule over them. The slave ships evolved over decades to be better able to accommodate
human cargo, without losing too many of them to disease, starvation, and suicide; iron fetters
limited movements and netting on the sides of the ship foiled suicide attempts. A cold and
cruel rationality propelled such innovations. Scientific advancements seemed to serve
European savagery and animal cruelty.
Force feeding the captives so that they do not die of starvation; throwing away the extra
fish instead of offering them to the dying captives on deck, and flogging people to death are
some of the cruel actions Equiano witnesses aboard the ship. However, it is as if he can no
longer contain his repulsion at their greed and an absolute lack of conscience when he
recounts the selling of the slaves and the heart wrenching parting of friends and relations. He
questions their lack of compassion and the absence of Christian values in their conduct
towards fellow humans; asking if this is what their God teaches them. Gallego states that
Equiano invokes true Christian beliefs to condemn the sort of practices followed by white
slave-owners.
Paradoxically, if the Enlightenment witnessed the institutionalisation of slavery and the
slave trade, it also provided the rhetoric for its abolition. The Enlightenment led to a radical
change in the philosophy of morality and politics during the eighteenth century. Most
importantly, philosophers of the age propounded and advocated the Lockean belief that
natural rights of individuals precede legal rights. This caused many people to question the
legitimacy of the slave trade and begin the discussion on its merits and demerits. Ultimately,
Enlightenment values gave fodder to the growth of anti-slavery sentiment among the English.
Equiano tapped into the opportunity that this critical debate offered and presented a first-hand
account of the horrific experiences of Africans in the slave trade and the practises of slavery.
Before long, former slaves started writing their own experiences and directly appealed to the
white reader for empathy and action. That is, slave narratives took into account the white
readership to which these narratives are mainly addressed to and written for; to educate and
bring attention to the immoral and cruel practises associated with the accursed trade. It
brought a new perspective to the discussion on race and colonialist agendas; from the point of
view of aggrieved victims of colonial conquest.
Equiano’s careful and detailed description of the horrors inflicted by the white slavers on
the helpless Black captives begs the question of who really is the savage here. In fact, he asks
this question repeatedly, as he recalls his bewilderment as each horror surpasses the other.
His autobiography initiated a dialogue that did not exist before. He forcefully took part in a
conversation that the European colonisers were having among themselves about colonising
and subjugating millions of peoples and cultures on the basis of flimsy arguments like the
hierarchy of races, converting heathens into pious Christians and civilising the primitive
savages. Equaino’s evocative description of the horrors aboard a slave ship on a voyage
through the Middle Passage forces his white readers to reconsider their arguments and asks
for a justification for such savagery and bestiality on the parts of the Europeans who claimed
racial and moral superiority. The power of the narrative doesn’t merely come from an
admirable penmanship. It comes from depicting the lived experiences of a man through
unspeakable horrors under an institution that had support from monarchies and governments.
It comes from peeling away the layers of the supposedly civilised European countries and

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forcing the people to confront the darkness on which their society’s very foundation is built
on. The raw truth is sometimes enough to bring down empires. Equiano’s activism and
autobiography contributed to bring down the empire of the slave trade.
Bibliography
Davidson, Cathy N. Olaudah Equiano, Written by Himself. NOVEL: A Forum of Fiction,
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Equiano, Olaudah. The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, OR Gustavas
Vassa, The African. Written bu Himself. 1789. The Project Gutenberg. March 17, 2005.
Equiano, Olaudah. The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, OR Gustavas
Vassa, The African. Written bu Himself. ed Robert J Allison (Boston, 1995). pp 54-58
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Equiano. Revista de Estudios Norteamericanos. 2000. pp 141-151.
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Mortality: The Slave Trade in Comparative Perspective.” The William and Mary
Quaterly, Jan 2001. Vol 58 No 1. pp. 93-118
Rice, Alan. “Who’s Eating Whom”: The Discourse of Cannibalism in the Literature of the
Black Atlantic from Equiano’s “Travels” to Toni Morrison’s “Beloved”. Research in
African Literatures, Winter 1998, Vol 29, No 4, pp 106-121.
Simmons, Caitlin. “The Sea as Respite: Challenging Dispossession and Re-constructing
Identity in the Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano.” Iowa Journal of
Cultural Studies. Vol 18, Issue I. 2018
Questions
i) Critically analyse the suggestion of cannibalism in Equiano’s description of the Middle
Passage.
ii) The Middle Passage was a place of transition, from human to sub-human, for the Black
slaves being transported from Africa to America. Explain.

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