Jonathan Swift was born on November 30th 1667 in Dublin. He was the second child and only son of Jonathan Swift (1640-1667) and his wife Abigail Erick of Frisby on the Wreake. Swift’s father died in Dublin about seven months before he was born. His mother returned to England after his birth, leaving him in the care of his uncle Godwin.
Uncle Godwing Swift took primary responsibility for the young man, sending him with one of his cousings to Kilkenny College. He attended Dublin University in 1682. When Swift was studying for his master’s degree, political troubles in Ireland surrounding the Glorious Revolution forced him to leave for England in 1688. There, his mother helped him gain a position as secretary and personal assistant of Sir William Temple. He was an English diplomat who arranged the Triple Alliance of 1668.
In 1689, Swift met Esther Johnson, then eight years old, the daughter of an impoverished widow who acted as companion to Temple’s sister Lady Giffard. Swift became her tutor, giving her the nickname “Stella”. The two maintained a close but ambiguous relationship for the rest of Esther’s life.
In 1690, Swift left Temple for Ireland because of his health but returned to Moor Park the following year. The illness is now known to be Ménière’s disease and it continued to plague him throughout his life. Swift received his M.A. from Hart Hall in 1692. Then he left Moor Park, being afraid of not gaining a better position through Temple’s patronage, to become a priest in the established Church of Ireland.
In 1696, Swift returned to England and Temple’s service at Moor Park. He remained there until Temple’s death in 1699. That year, he was employed in helping to prepare Temple’s memoirs and correspondence for publication. During this time, he wrote The Battle of the Books, which is a satire responding to critics of Temple’s Essay upon Ancient and Modern Learning. However, Battle was not published until 1704.
His work made enemies among some of Temple’s family member and friends, including Temple’s sister Lady Giffard. Swift decided to approach King William directly, based on his connection through Temple and belief that he had been promised a position. This failed so miserably that he accepted the lesser post of secretary to the Earl of Berkeley, one of the Lords of Justice of Ireland. However, when he reached Ireland, he found that the place hade already been given to another.
After 1700, Swift had residence in Trim. He wrote many of his works during this time period. In February 1702, Swift received his Doctor of Divinity degree from Trinity College. In October, Esther Johnson, now 20, and his friend Rebecca Dingley joined him in his residence in Ireland. There is a great mystery and controversy over Swift’s relationship with Esther Johnson. Many believed that they were secretly married in 1716. Others dismissed this story as absurd. Swift certainly did not wish her to marry anyone else. In fact, in 1704, when William Tisdall informed Swift that he intended to propose to Stella, Swift wrote to him to dissuade him from the idea.
During his visits to England in these years, Swift published a Table of a Tub and The Battle of the Books and began to gain a reputation as a writer. This led to close, lifelong friendships with Alexander Pope, John Gay, and John Arbuthnot, forming the core of the Martinus Scriblerus Club, which was founded in 1713.
Swift became politically active in England, where his career became very important. However, in 1627 he returned to Ireland, as he received word that Esther Johnson was dying. In fact, on January 28th 1628, Stella died. From that point on, death became a frequent feature in swift’s life. In 1731 he wrote Verses on the Death of Dr. Swift. In part VIII of his series, The Story of Civilization, Will Durant describes Swift’s last years as such ("The Story of Civilization", V.8., 362):
Uncle Godwing Swift took primary responsibility for the young man, sending him with one of his cousings to Kilkenny College. He attended Dublin University in 1682. When Swift was studying for his master’s degree, political troubles in Ireland surrounding the Glorious Revolution forced him to leave for England in 1688. There, his mother helped him gain a position as secretary and personal assistant of Sir William Temple. He was an English diplomat who arranged the Triple Alliance of 1668.
In 1689, Swift met Esther Johnson, then eight years old, the daughter of an impoverished widow who acted as companion to Temple’s sister Lady Giffard. Swift became her tutor, giving her the nickname “Stella”. The two maintained a close but ambiguous relationship for the rest of Esther’s life.
In 1690, Swift left Temple for Ireland because of his health but returned to Moor Park the following year. The illness is now known to be Ménière’s disease and it continued to plague him throughout his life. Swift received his M.A. from Hart Hall in 1692. Then he left Moor Park, being afraid of not gaining a better position through Temple’s patronage, to become a priest in the established Church of Ireland.
In 1696, Swift returned to England and Temple’s service at Moor Park. He remained there until Temple’s death in 1699. That year, he was employed in helping to prepare Temple’s memoirs and correspondence for publication. During this time, he wrote The Battle of the Books, which is a satire responding to critics of Temple’s Essay upon Ancient and Modern Learning. However, Battle was not published until 1704.
His work made enemies among some of Temple’s family member and friends, including Temple’s sister Lady Giffard. Swift decided to approach King William directly, based on his connection through Temple and belief that he had been promised a position. This failed so miserably that he accepted the lesser post of secretary to the Earl of Berkeley, one of the Lords of Justice of Ireland. However, when he reached Ireland, he found that the place hade already been given to another.
After 1700, Swift had residence in Trim. He wrote many of his works during this time period. In February 1702, Swift received his Doctor of Divinity degree from Trinity College. In October, Esther Johnson, now 20, and his friend Rebecca Dingley joined him in his residence in Ireland. There is a great mystery and controversy over Swift’s relationship with Esther Johnson. Many believed that they were secretly married in 1716. Others dismissed this story as absurd. Swift certainly did not wish her to marry anyone else. In fact, in 1704, when William Tisdall informed Swift that he intended to propose to Stella, Swift wrote to him to dissuade him from the idea.
During his visits to England in these years, Swift published a Table of a Tub and The Battle of the Books and began to gain a reputation as a writer. This led to close, lifelong friendships with Alexander Pope, John Gay, and John Arbuthnot, forming the core of the Martinus Scriblerus Club, which was founded in 1713.
Swift became politically active in England, where his career became very important. However, in 1627 he returned to Ireland, as he received word that Esther Johnson was dying. In fact, on January 28th 1628, Stella died. From that point on, death became a frequent feature in swift’s life. In 1731 he wrote Verses on the Death of Dr. Swift. In part VIII of his series, The Story of Civilization, Will Durant describes Swift’s last years as such ("The Story of Civilization", V.8., 362):
Definite symptoms of madness appeared in 1738. In 1741 guardians were appointed to take care of his affairs and watch lest in his outbursts of violence he should do himself harm. In 1742 he suffered great pain from the inflammation of his left eye, which swelled to the size of an egg; five attendants had to restrain him from tearing out his eye. He went a whole year without uttering a word.
On 19 October 1745, Swift, at nearly 80, died. He was buried in his own cathedral by Esther Johnson's side, in accordance with his wishes.