Swift (September)

Swift’s a voracious reader. Has access to big libraries. He targets hyper-rationalism, the tone of science. Swift doesn’t declare himself ironic. It’s not just satire, but pessimism. Things cannot be immediately improved. People shuffle and want to cut him off. He is anonymous. Someone rational proposing something unmoored. Swift gets on the news next day. Swift hates Ireland and defends Ireland. He lost on the South Sea Bubble. He mocks and scorns.  Exposes the gap between what people say and what they do. At strategic moments, the mask slips. Swift lives till 78. [Ronan McDonald lecture notes, 26 September 2018]