Gulliver’s

Travels
by Jonathan Swift
 Gulliver’s Travels, original title Travels into
Several Remote Nations of the World, four-part
satirical work by Anglo-Irish author 
Jonathan Swift, published anonymously in 1726
as Travels into Several Remote Nations of the
World.
 Lilliputia
o…Gulliver is the
only survivor of a
shipwreck, and he
swims to Lilliput,
where he is tied up
by people who are
less than 6 inches
(15 cm) tall.
Brobdingnag
oGulliver’s second voyage takes him to Brobdingnag, inhabited by a race
of giants. A farm worker finds Gulliver and delivers him to the farm
owner.
Laputa and Balnibarbi
oThough they are greatly
concerned with mathematics
and with music, they have no
practical applications for their
learning.
o Laputa is the home of the king
of Balnibarbri, the continent
below it.
oGulliver is permitted to leave
the island and visit Lagado, the
capital city of Balnibarbri.
Later Gulliver visits Glubbdubdrib, the
island of sorcerers, and there he speaks with
great men of the past and learns from them
the lies of history. In the kingdom of
Luggnagg he meets the struldbrugs, who
are immortal but age as though they were
mortal and are thus miserable.
Houyhnhnms
oGulliver visits the land of the Houyhnhnms, a race of
intelligent horses who are cleaner and more rational,
communal, and benevolent.
Analysis
oConsidered Swift’s masterpiece, Gulliver’s
Travels is the most brilliant as well as the most bitter
and controversial of his satires.
o Perhaps the key aspect of the novel here is its
satire: it means that we can never be sure
when Swift is being serious and when he is
pulling our leg, when he is inviting us to
share Gulliver’s views and when he wishes
us to long to clout the silly fool round the
head.
Swift’s disgust with his fellow humans was real, especially
in the last few decades of his life when he wrote Gulliver’s
Travels, but this does not mean he was not acutely aware of
the dangers attendant on such misanthropy.
Cultural and Historical Context
oAt the time the novel
was written there was
great political conflict
between the Irish church
and the Whig's party.
Personal & Social Context
oBased on these facts and on a
comparison between Swift’s
fate and that of his character
Gulliver, some people have
concluded that he gradually
became insane and that his
insanity was a natural
outgrowth of his indignation
and outrage against
humankind.
Thank
You!
Subject: Anglo-American Literature