Audio only
Length4h 42m
About this audiobook
“A Tale of a Tub” was the first major work written by Jonathan Swift, composed between 1694 and 1697 and published in 1704. It is arguably his most difficult satire, and perhaps his best. The Tale is a prose parody divided into sections of "digression" and a "tale" of three brothers, each representing one of the main branches of western Christianity.
Swift wrote “A Tale of a Tub” not only to expound upon the hypocrisy of religion in early 18th century England, but to explore ideas about critics, oration, ancient and modern philosophies, digressions, and the nature of writing itself. These themes are all underscored with a satirical tone that takes religion, authors, and critics to task. The title refers to the tub that sailors used to toss out to distract whales from tipping their ships. The ship represents the status quo of the English government and its religious structure, while the whale is a symbol for the new ideas and controversies attempting to rock the ship: The government must keep dissent like Swift’s at bay.
Although it’s been suggested that Swift intended to write a piece that was supportive of Protestantism (he was a clergyman in the Church of England), the structure of the piece and the consistent use of satire made it seem like he was denouncing all religion. The Anglican Church disapproved of his treatise, as did the monarchy. Even though he avoided admitting authorship of the piece, many assumed he had written it and it stunted his rise in the Church. A satire on the Roman Catholic and Anglican churches and English Dissenters, it was famously attacked for its profanity and irreligion. The work continued to be regarded as an attack on religion well into the nineteenth century.
Audiobook details
Rating★★★★ 3.9 (2.7K)
Includes LibraryThing, Goodreads, StoryGraph, Amazon
GenreHumor, Young Adult, General Fiction
Length4 hrs 42 mins
Narrated byListen with 1,000+ voices
FormateBook with Audio
Publish dateJan 25, 2022
LanguageEnglish
Table of contents
1Dedication
2The Epistle Dedicatory To His Royal Highness Prince Posterity
3The Preface
4Section I. The Introduction
5Section II
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6Section III. A Digression Concerning Critics
7Section IV. A Tale Of A Tub
8Section V. A Digression In The Modern Kind
9Section VI. A Tale Of A Tub
10Section VII. A Digression In Praise Of Digressions
11Section VIII. A Tale Of A Tub
12Section IX. A Digression Concerning The Original, The Use, And Improvement Of Madness In A Commonwealth
13Section X. A Farther Digression
14Section XI. A Tale Of A Tub
15The Conclusion
16The History Of Martin
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