• • • • Signature Burial place Jonathan Swift (30 November 1667 – 19 October 1745) was an, essayist, political (first for the, then for the ), poet and cleric who became of. Swift is remembered for works such as (1704), (1712), (1726), and (1729). He is regarded by the as the foremost prose satirist in the English language, and is less well known for his poetry. He originally published all of his works under pseudonyms – such as,, – or anonymously. He was a master of two styles of satire, the styles. His, writing style, particularly in, has led to such being subsequently termed 'Swiftian'.

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This section needs additional citations for. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: – ( October 2017) () Jonathan Swift was born on 30 November 1667 in, Ireland.

He was the second child and only son of Jonathan Swift (1640–1667) and his wife Abigail Erick (or Herrick) of. His father was a native of, but he accompanied his brothers to Ireland to seek their fortunes in law after their father's estate was brought to ruin during the.

His maternal grandfather, James Ericke, was the vicar of Thornton, England. In 1634 the vicar was convicted of Puritan practices. Some time thereafter, Ericke and his family, including his young daughter Abilgail, fled to Ireland. Swift's father joined his older brother, Godwin, in the practice of law in Ireland. He died in Dublin about seven months before his namesake was born. He died of syphilis, which he said he got from dirty sheets when out of town.

At the age of one, child Jonathan was taken by his wet nurse to her hometown of, Cumberland, England. He said that there he learned to read the Bible.

His nurse returned him to his mother, still in Ireland, when he was three. His mother returned to England after his birth, leaving him in the care of his Uncle Godwin, a close friend and confidant of whose son later employed Swift as his secretary. The house in which Swift was born; 1865 illustration Swift's family had several interesting literary connections. His grandmother Elizabeth (Dryden) Swift was the niece of, grandfather of poet. The same grandmother's aunt Katherine (Throckmorton) Dryden was a first cousin of, wife of Sir. His great-great grandmother Margaret (Godwin) Swift was the sister of, author of which influenced parts of Swift's. His uncle Thomas Swift married a daughter of poet and playwright Sir, a godson of.

Swift's benefactor and uncle Godwin Swift (1628–1695) took primary responsibility for the young man, sending him with one of his cousins to (also attended by philosopher ). He arrived there at the age of six, where he was expected to have already learned the basic declensions in Latin. He hadn't and so started at a lower form. Florida drivers handbook in portuguese. Swift graduated in 1682, when he was 15. He attended Dublin University () in 1682, financed by Godwin's son Willoughby.

The four-year course followed a curriculum largely set in the Middle Ages for the priesthood. The lectures were dominated by Aristotelian logic and philosophy. The basic skill taught the students was debate and they were expected to be able to argue both sides of any argument or topic. Swift was an above-average student but not exceptional, and received his B.A.

In 1686 'by special grace.' Swift was studying for his master's degree when political troubles in Ireland surrounding the forced him to leave for England in 1688, where his mother helped him get a position as secretary and personal assistant of at. Temple was an English diplomat who arranged the. He had retired from public service to his country estate to tend his gardens and write his memoirs.

Gaining his employer's confidence, Swift 'was often trusted with matters of great importance'. Within three years of their acquaintance, Temple had introduced his secretary to and sent him to London to urge the King to consent to a bill for triennial Parliaments. Swift took up his residence at Moor Park where he met, then eight years old, the daughter of an impoverished widow who acted as companion to Temple's sister Lady Giffard.

Swift was her tutor and mentor, giving her the nickname 'Stella', and the two maintained a close but ambiguous relationship for the rest of Esther's life. In 1690, Swift left Temple for Ireland because of his health but returned to Moor Park the following year. The illness consisted of fits of vertigo or giddiness, now known to be, and it continued to plague him throughout his life. During this second stay with Temple, Swift received his M.A. From,, in 1692. Then he left Moor Park, apparently despairing of gaining a better position through Temple's patronage, to become an ordained priest in the Established. He was appointed to the of Kilroot in the in 1694, with his parish located at, near in.