THE BATTLE OF THE BOOKS
Jonathan Swift is one of the best satirist
of English literature. He belongs to the 18th century England. He is always
remembered for his ‘A Tale of a Tub’, ‘Gulliver’s Travels’ and ‘The Battle of the
Books’. All these satires earned wide acclaim. In these three satires, he
vehemently satirised the follies and vices of the life of the time. The
political, religious and literary controversies are treated as major themes in
these satires. His satires are full of imagination, inventiveness and
rhetorical skill.
‘The Battle of the Books’ is written on the
famous controversies on the relative matters of the ancient writers. In this
controversy Swift took the side of Sir William Temple, his patron. Temple
favoured the merits of the ancients. Bentley and Wotton challenged Temple's
views. The battle started. In this battle the author favoures the ancient
writers.
Swift has given this controversy a shape of
satire. This controversy is the major theme of ‘The Battle of the Books’. This
beautiful satire deals with five incidents. The first of the five incidents
form the main body of the satire. This incident deals with the dispute between
the ancients and the moderns for the write to live on the highest peak of Parnassus.
This has been treated in allegorical manner. The second part of this incident
takes a serious turn. In a corner of the St. James Library the battle among the
books takes place. This incident has been treated in mock- heroic manner.
The second incident concerns the episode
of the spider and the bee. The spider is the symbol of the moderns and the bee
represents the ancients. With the help of this fable Swift wants to say that
like spiders the moderns put forth dirt. Like bees the ancients spread honey
and sweetness. Thus here Swift has proved the superiority of the ancients.
Later on the satirist presents the picture of the battlefield. Both the groups
stand against each other. The battle starts. These groups use all sorts of
weapons. On the one side there are Pollas, Homer, Pindar, Euclid, Aristotle and
Plato. Bacon, Dryden and some others are on the other side. At last the
ancients win the battle.
Thus ‘The Battle of the Books’ is full of
criticism and satire. But it is rarely bitter. It is fluent and witty. Swift
has regarded the moderns as spiders and the ancients as bees.
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