A recent case of an American man arrested for parodying a police department elicited a supportive brief from “The Onion.”
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Tag Archives: Jonathan Swift
When News Resembles an Onion Headline
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged conspiracy theories, Mark Twain, Modest Proposal, Onion, parody, satire Comments closed
Swift on How to Ignore 115,000 Deaths
Trump and others appear to be shrugging off the 115,000 (and counting) Covid-19 deaths in America. Gulliver in Book IV shows similar insensitivity.
Trump’s Modest Proposal
It may be April Fools’ Day, but there are Republicans who are advocating a version of Jonathan Swift’s “Modest Proposal.” For real.
It’s a Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall
For those of us living in the lull before the COVID-19 storm, Swift’s “Description of a City Shower” captures what we’re experiencing–and about to experience.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "Description of a City Shower", COVID19, pandemics Comments closed
Jigsaw Order Out of Chaos
As one who specializes in 18th century British lit, I’m fascinated with how jigsaw puzzles represent order arising from chaos.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Alexander Pope, Candide, jigsaw puzzles, Moonstone, Voltaire, Wilkie Collins Comments closed
Is Old Age Becoming Overrated?
A “New Yorker” article on aging turns to literature to debunk the notion that aging is a good thing.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "Vanity of Human Wishes", "Sailing to Byzantium", "Tithonous", Aging, Alfred Lord Tennyson, Aristotle, As You Like It, Ecclesiastes, Geoffrey Chaucer, Gulliver's Travels, King Lear, Merchant's Tale, old age, Plato, Rasselas, Samuel Johnson, Ulysses, William Butler Yeats, William Shakespeare Comments closed
Reluctance to Go to School
Friday School has already opened in some states (Tennessee) and has yet to open in others (Maryland) so I’ve split the difference by choosing today to honor the occasion. Jonathan Swift’s mention of a laggard schoolbody in “A Description of the Morning” has always fascinated me. “Description of the Morning” gives an account of the […]
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "Description of a City Morning", schooling, William Blake Comments closed
Gulliver in Trumpland
Tuesday So now Donald Trump, after ramping up war talk with Iran, is magnanimously claiming to be a moderate by calling off his airstrike. Killing 150 Iranians, he tells us, would be a disproportionate response to the downing of an American drone. This time he’s right. Less excusable is that he got us into the […]
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Donald Trump, Gulliver's Travels, Iran, Iranian nuclear deal Comments closed