Swift as Poet

Abstract

Of all the books that have come out in late years about Swift, there are few that are up to the subject. Middleton Murry’s biography was, surprisingly, the best; but then Murry had a remarkable critical intelligence and even finer understanding, when away from his hobbies. Professor Louis Landa gave us an excellent specialist book on Swift and the Church. Professor Quintana limited himself to a study of Swift’s mind and art as a writer.¹ This provides a careful survey of Swift’s work, connects it up with the large body of research that has accumulated on the subject, and gives us enough of Swift’s life to make it intelligible.