Swift As Priest and Satirist

by Todd C. Parker (editor), Robert Mahony, Brian A. Connery

One of the most tendentious and enduring questions of Swift scholarship concerns his faith. What did Swift believe? Was his career in the Church primarily a means of political and social advancement? Did Swift subscribe to a coherent theology, or were his beliefs simply expedient? How did the turbulent streams of eighteenth-century Anglican and Protestant theologies influence Swift's satiric vision? In the light of recent work on his tenure in the Church of Ireland, this volume presents a timely critical appraisal of Swift's role as a priest vis-a-vis his identity as one of the Enlightenment's premier satirists. The essays in this volume cover four broad

231 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2009