Notes and discussion questions on Swift's "Verses on the Death of Dr. Swift"
Miscellaneous Notes:
- line 12: "Let reason and experience prove" = "let reason and experience put Rochefoucauld's maxim to the test"
- line 35: "Emulation," the desire to equal or surpass a great example (such as Vergil emulating Homer), was generally thought to be a good thing.
- line 45: "title" = right, claim
- line 118: "And by their fears express their hopes": "fears" = "what people say they 'fear'," as in "I fear that he is getting worse."
- line 159: "Mere envy, avarice, and pride"; I don't know that it is the public which has been motivated by these drives in its relationship with Swift, or whether it's Swift who is motivated by these drives in giving his all to public uses.
- line 305: "indifferent" = neutral, judicious, NOT uninterested.
- line 380: "By solemn League and Covenant bound" -- This is an allusion to the Solemn League and Covenant, by which in 1643, the English rebels bought the military aid of the Scots by promising to impose the Scottish form of church government on the Church of England.
My leading idea is that this piece is Swift's defense of satire in general and of his own satires in particular.
Some Leading Questions:
- lines 1 - 4:
—Assuming that Swift viewed Rochefoucauld as a fellow satirist, what is the point of these lines?
- lines 5 - 72:
—Why do we get pleasure in the misfortunes of others?
—What does Swift have to say about himself and his relationship to Rochefoucauld's maxim?
- lines 73 - 298:
—What is the point of this section, and how is it related to the preceding?
- lines 299 - end: This is Swift's self-justification:
—What points does Swift make in his favor?
- —Sum up: What is society's criticism of satirists, and what is Swift's reply to that criticism?