The author Jonathan Swift Life Jonathan Swift (1667-1745) is one of the greatest satirists1 of the English language. He was born in Dublin, but both his parents were English. He never knew his father, who died the same year his son was born. In 1682, he attended2 Dublin University (Trinity College), 3 receiving his B.A. in 1686. Because of the troubles in Ireland after the Glorious Revolution4, he and his family had to leave for England in 1688. There, his mother helped him get a position as secretary and personal assistant to Sir William Temple, an English diplomat, at Moor Park5. When Swift lived at Moor Park, he met Esther Johnson, then 8 years old, the daughter of one of the servants. Swift was her tutor and called her Stella , and the two had a close6 relationship for the rest of Esther s life. In 1694, Swift left Temple and went to Ireland where he became a priest of the Anglican Church7, but he soon returned to England to work with Temple again. When Sir William died, Swift had problems finding a job. So he returned to Ireland, but made frequent visits to London, where he worked a lot to help Ireland. He was a pacifist and hated cruelty, imperialism and war. Swift became politically active in these years and from 1707 to 1709 and again in 1710, he was in London. He had Whig8 1. satirist: a writer who uses humour to criticize people. 2. attended: went regularly to. 3. B.A. (Bachelor of Arts): a first University degree. 4. Glorious Revolution (1688): the overthrow of King James II. 5. Moor Park: large impressive house about 40 miles from London. 6. close: near. 7. Anglican Church: the Church of England. 8. Whig: a British party that opposed the Tories. 4