For more information
Call 1-800-351-0222
Call 1-800-351-0222
TWO SATIRICAL ESSAYS.
Term Paper ID:28964
Get This Paper Free! or
Essay Subject:
Jonathan Swift's "Prediction for the Year 1708" & "The Accomplishment of the First of Mr. Bickerstaff's Predictions" in which he caustically satirizes an Almanac-Maker & astrology.... More...
5 Pages / 1125 Words
5 sources, 22 Citations,
MLA Format
$20.00
More Papers on This Topic
Paper Abstract:
Jonathan Swift's "Prediction for the Year 1708" & "The Accomplishment of the First of Mr. Bickerstaff's Predictions" in which he caustically satirizes an Almanac-Maker & astrology. Swift's purpose to expose sin & folly. Reasons Swift targeted almanac-makers & astrologers including exploitation of gullible people. Discusses Swift's satirical methods such as incongruity, mockery, exaggeration.
Paper Introduction:
In “Predictions for the year 1708” and “The Accomplishment of the First of Mr. Bickerstaff’s Predictions,” Jonathan Swift lashed out at Partridge, the Almanac-Maker, and astrology in general. By using a variety of satirical techniques, such as incongruity, sarcasm and exaggeration, Swift captured the deception of almanac-makers who pretended to make accurate predictions of the forthcoming year in their annual publications. The satire works even more successfully because of its realism: Swift imitated the writing style of a rival maker of Partridge (Mayhew 278). Furthermore, Swift literally stabbed at the heart of astrology by predicting the death of Partridge and then consolidated his “death” in the subsequent piece, “Accomplishment,” in a deliberate attempt to play a joke on him (Mayhew 276-278).
Text of the Paper:
The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper.
This statement captures the gullibility of thebelievers who anticipated events by consulting the almanacs. The use of incongruity can be seen in Bickerstaff's prediction of thedeath of a "famous Buffoon of the Play-House" by a "ridiculous death,"which is placed amidst predictions of great and celebrated statesmen, thusundermining the distinguished positions of these individuals (Swift 431).In a way, by positioning the prediction of the actor's death alongsideimportant statesmen, Bickerstaff reduced all these people into buffoonswhose lives and deaths are easily "manipulated" in the hands of theastrologer. In a witty and thorough fashion, Swift accomplished his purposeof exposing the "sin and folly" of the almanac-makers and their followers. Furthermore, he accused them of being unableto write "intelligible English" (Swift 427). While this statement can beconstrued as a criticism of a rival, Swift cemented this criticism in hissubsequent essay, "Accomplishment." Here, in his deathbed confession,Partridge revealed the fact that most of the almanac-Makers "can hardlywrite or read" (Swift 435). New York: W. Thus, Swift also targeted the believers who trusted thealmanac-makers based on the accuracy of their predictions. Once again,by mocking his persona's incongruous modesty and outrageous conceit, Swifthighlighted with humor the unreliability of astrologers. In another instance, by using Bickerstaff, Swift poked fun at thepresumption of almanac-makers who claimed to be able to predict futureevents accurately. The Tatler: The Making of a Literary Journal. Piper, eds. Furthermore, it is also likelythat Swift targeted the almanac-makers because of their important positionin the eyes of rich and prominent Gentlemen in the country. whom I look upon as undoubtedly the wisest of uninspiredMortals" (my italics)(Swift 427). W. However, the satirical attack against astrology becomes more evidentwhen the reader realizes that Bickerstaff was not only Swift's voice forcriticizing other almanac-makers; he also exhibited the same qualities ofthe other almanac-makers. In "Accomplishment," the second essay, Swiftsealed the fate of almanac-makers with the deathbed confession ofPartridge. In "Predictions for the year 17 8" and "The Accomplishment of theFirst of Mr. Bickerstaff's Predictions," Jonathan Swift lashed out atPartridge, the Almanac-Maker, and astrology in general. Bickerstaff even went as far as to make a predictionof a non-event. For example, he predicted that in August, no changes wouldoccur within the political administration in France (Swift 432). "The Accomplishment of the First of Mr. Bickerstaff's Predictions." Greenberg & Piper 434-436.Mayhew, George P. In"Accomplishment," Swift directly unveiled the lies and treachery of almanac-makers with Partridge's "confession" on his deathbed. Even before Bickerstaff listed his predictions,he was already trying to cover up the reality that he could not makeimportant predictions. in Mayhew 271). If that eventoccurred, then he would believe that all of Bickerstaff's predictions wouldcome true (Swift 436). In thisincongruous juxtaposition of individuals from radically different classesof society, he not only diminished the importance of the importantindividuals, but also highlighted the haphazard quality of almanacs thatincluded deaths of anybody, including an anonymous "Goldsmith in LombardStreet" (Swift 43 ). Many ofBickerstaff's satirical techniques described in Richmond Bond's The Tatler(164-166), can be seen in the two essays. With his invented persona of asuperior rival almanac-maker, Swift had a knowledgeable voice that he coulduse to attack the prevalent practices of the almanac-makers. Swift employedexaggeration to create a genial satirical effect. Works Cited.Bond, Richmond P. "Swift's Bickerstaff Hoax as an April Fool's Joke." Modern Philology May 1964: 27 -28 . Instead of being skilledastrologers with the ability to read the future, they were merely poorpeople trying to make a living by exploiting gullible people. According toPartridge, almanac-makers did not have any astrological skills; theirpredictions were conjured from their imagination in order to make a livingthat was more substantial than "mending Old Shoes" (Swift 435). The subordinateconcluded his letter by asserting strongly that he would look out for thefulfillment of the next prediction in Bickerstaff's list. By gently mocking hisown persona, Swift indicated that his target was not only almanac-makers,but also astrology itself. Norton, 1973.Swift, Jonathan. With this prediction, Bickerstaff sought todemonstrate that these almanac-makers did not even have skills to predicttheir own death (Swift 43 ). Even moreimportantly, by making his own almanac, Bickerstaff was a perfect model ofthe lying almanac-maker who wove together unreliable, irrelevant andnonsensical predictions. The Writings of Jonathan Swift. Sometimes genial, sometimes scathing, sarcasm also abounds in"Predictions". Bickerstaff created the same effect when he listed the peoplewho would die in April, in short choppy lines, as though each individualwas no better than another (Swift 43 ). In reality, the individuals werepositioned in order of decreased importance, starting with a Cardinal andthe young Prince, down to an old Layman and a Goldsmith. In "Accomplishment," supposedly written by asubordinate of a lord, this obsession with the precise fulfillment of theprediction is also seen in the statement that Bickerstaff was incorrect inhis prediction of the timing of Partridge's death by "almost four Hours"(Swift 436). By using a varietyof satirical techniques, such as incongruity, sarcasm and exaggeration,Swift captured the deception of almanac-makers who pretended to makeaccurate predictions of the forthcoming year in their annual publications.The satire works even more successfully because of its realism: Swiftimitated the writing style of a rival maker of Partridge (Mayhew 278).Furthermore, Swift literally stabbed at the heart of astrology bypredicting the death of Partridge and then consolidated his "death" in thesubsequent piece, "Accomplishment," in a deliberate attempt to play a jokeon him (Mayhew 276-278). By writing in the style of a rivalalmanac-maker of Partridge and other quack almanac-makers, Swift enhancedthe credibility and the satirical effect of his work. Bickerstaff's description of his credentials and thesuccess of his past predictions is a hilarious portrait of an almanac-makerand his inaccuracies: "I exactly foretold the Miscarriage at Toulon...although I was mistaken as to the day" (Swift 428). In adramatic transformation, within the very next sentence, he over-exaggeratedhis importance by claiming that should he be found to be lying to thereaders, he would be a "Mark of Infamy to Mankind" (Swift 429). However, he conjured a clever excuse that he couldnot reveal important secrets of State for his safety (Swift 429).Furthermore, towards the middle of his list of predictions, his predictionshad become as vague as those of his fellow almanac-makers, such as "On the15th News will arrive of a very surprising Event, than which nothing couldbe more unexpected" (Swift 43 ). After claiming his superior ability,Bickerstaff informed the reader that at the very minimum, the reader wouldconsider his ability to be no better than the common almanac-maker. Throughout the two essays, Swift employed a variety of satiricalmethods to achieve his purpose of exposing the sins of the almanac-makersand the folly of their believers. Some of the predictions also becamenonsensical and could not be proven to be true or otherwise, such as theevent that "there will be a false Report of the French King's Death" (myitalics)(Swift 431). These gentlemenwho held the reins of power in Parliament actually anticipated theoccurrences of public events by using these almanacs. A versatile satirist, Swift considered it his duty to attack signs of"sin and folly" (qtd. In "Predictions," under the guise ofhis creation, Mr. Bickerstaff, Swift pinpointed the vagueness andambivalence of the almanac-makers' predictions that could be interpreted asaccurate in any circumstance. Another satirical technique Swift used is exaggeration. Cambridge: Harvard UP, 1971.Greenberg, Robert A., & William B. For example, within asingle paragraph, Bickerstaff both under-exaggerated and over-exaggeratedhis significance as an almanac-maker. In a more scathing criticism, Bickerstaffnoted how "ignorant those sottish Pretenders to Astrology are" bypredicting Partridge's death. "Predictions for the Year 17 8." Greenberg & Piper 426- 433.Swift, Jonathan. Others allowed theirengagements to be dictated by the predictions (Swift 427). Furthermore,Swift also revealed the follies of the rich people who depended upon thesealmanacs to decide the course of action. Thus, through the effective use of a variety of satirical techniques,which produced both criticism and humor, Swift succeeded in unveiling thelies perpetrated by the almanac-makers. For example, according to Bickerstaff, aprediction such as "This Month a certain great Person will be threatenedwith Death, or Sickness," did not require any astrological skills sincethere were many old distinguished people who were bound to die during the"sickliest Season of the Year" (Swift 427). For example, Bickerstaff deliberately qualified his praiseof Socrates by wittily undercutting the latter's greatness at the sametime: "Socrates...
If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again:
or
We can write a Custom Essay just for you.
Browse Essays by Subject