Author · Ireland · 1667–1745
Jonathan Swift
Satire with cold clarity; reason sharpened against pride power and fad.
Jonathan Swift was an Anglo-Irish satirist, essayist, political pamphleteer (first for the Whigs, then for the Tories), poet and Anglican cleric who became Dean of St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin, hence his common sobriquet, "Dean Swift".
Swift and the art of satire in 2026
Jonathan Swift uses wit as public service. He tests schemes and slogans until their cost shows. Anger and mercy share the page and the sentences travel cleanly. Read him today to puncture cant on all sides and to practice judgment that protects dignity while refusing nonsense.
