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Literary Devices
Definition of Allegory
An allegory is a work that conveys a hidden meaning—usually moral, spiritual, or political—through the use of symbolic characters and events. The story of "The Tortoise and The Hare" is... read full definition
An allegory is a work that conveys a hidden meaning—usually moral, spiritual, or political—through the use of symbolic characters and events. The story of "The... read full definition
An allegory is a work that conveys a hidden meaning—usually moral, spiritual, or political—through the use of symbolic characters and... read full definition
Book 1, Chapter 4
Explanation and Analysis—English Laws:
Throughout Gulliver's Travels, Jonathan Swift contains a number of allegories that satirize the English legal system, and the novel contains many veiled references to English acts and laws.
In Book 1, Chapter 4, Gulliver learns about the historical conflict between Lilliput and Blefuscu, which is intended as an allegory for the conflict between England and France. The source of this conflict is a disagreement over whether to break eggs on the bigger or smaller end, which informs many aspects of law and politics:
[T]he Books of the Big-Endians have been long forbidden, and the whole Party rendered incapable by Law of Holding Employments.
This law forbidding Big-Endians from holding employment is a reference to the Test Acts, a series of English penal laws that served as a religious test for holding public office. As a result of these acts, Catholics and other individuals who did not belong to the Church of England were rendered incapable of wielding political power. This reference serves as a clue to the reader that the struggle between the Big-Endians and the Small-Endians is meant to allegorically represent (and satirize) the conflict between the Catholic Church and the Church of England.
Book 3, Chapter 3, which details the rebellion of Lindalino against Laputa, contains another reference to English law:
By a fundamental Law of this Realm, neither the King nor either of his two elder Sons are permitted to leave the Island.
This Laputian law parallels the English Act of Settlement, which prevented English monarchs and heirs from leaving England, Scotland, or Ireland without the consent of parliament. George I, a native of Hanover, Germany, controversially convinced parliament to repeal this part of the Act. Swift likely included this allusion as a jab at George I, whom he opposed politically.
Swift's use of allegory demonstrates that lands like Lilliput and Laputa, despite their fantastical nature, are more similar to England than they initially appear. By referring to English laws without explicitly naming them, Swift is also able to highlight their inherent absurdity.
Related Themes:
Explanation and Analysis—Big-Endian/Little-Endian:
In Book 1, Chapter 4 of Gulliver's Travels, Swift satirizes a well-known British conflict through the use of an allegory. In this section, Gulliver learns that the ancient conflict between the nations of Lilliput and Blefuscu is rooted in a petty disagreement over whether to break eggs on the bigger or smaller end. Redresal, the principal secretary of Lilliput, explains that the struggle began when the great-grandfather of the current Lilliputian emperor passed a controversial law commanding all of his subjects to break their eggs on the small end:
The people so highly resented this Law, that our Histories tell us there have been six Rebellions raised on that account; wherein one Emperor lost his Life, and another his Crown.
The conflict between the Big-Endians and Little-Endians is intended as a satirical allegory of the historic conflict between the Catholic Church and the Church of England. This conflict began in 1534, when King Henry VIII separated the Church of England from papal authority in order to divorce his first wife, Catherine of Aragon. This event resulted in decades of political upheaval in Great Britain, including the execution of King Charles I (the emperor who lost his life) during the English Civil War and the deposition of King James II (the emperor who lost his crown) during the Glorious Revolution.
By grounding the conflict between Lilliput and Blefuscu in something as trivial as a disagreement over eggs, Jonathan Swift implies that the religious differences that have inspired so much bloodshed in Europe are equally inconsequential.
Related Themes:
Explanation and Analysis—England and France:
In Book 1, Chapter 4 of Gulliver's Travels, Gulliver receives a visit from Redresal, the principal secretary of Lilliput, who explains the nation's ongoing conflict with the neighboring country of Blefuscu. This conflict is intended as an allegory for the historic animosity between France and England.
After explaining the original cause of this animosity—a disagreement over whether to break eggs on the bigger or smaller end—Redresal claims that Blefuscan propaganda is to blame for internal conflict in Lilliput and that Big-Endian exiles in Blefuscu are responsible for the ongoing war:
"[T]he Big-Endian Exiles have found so much Credit in the Emperor of Blefuscu's Court, and so much private Assistance and Encouragement from their Party here at home, that a bloody War hath been carried on between the two Empires for six and thirty Moons, with various Success."
Redresal's claim that propaganda from Blefuscu has intensified the conflict between Big-Endians and Little-Endians is an allegorical reference to King Louis XIV of France, who encouraged King James II of House Stuart to advance the cause of Catholicism in England. This encouragement contributed to the Glorious Revolution, which ended when James II was deposed and exiled to France. France later allied itself with the Jacobites, a predominantly political group that supported the restoration of House Stuart to the British throne. In 1708, France even planned to invade England in order to support a Jacobite uprising in Scotland, but the plan was abandoned.
Thanks to Gulliver's intervention, Lilliput finally wins the war against Blefuscu, and the ensuing uneasy peace between the two nations is an allegory for the Peace of Utrecht, which put an end to the War of Spanish Succession. Just as the Lilliputian emperor and his ministers are dissatisfied with the lenient terms of the treaty, the Peace of Utrecht was despised as weak by the Whig party in England.
Related Themes:
Explanation and Analysis—Tories vs. Whigs:
In Book 1, Chapter 4 of Gulliver's Travels, Gulliver receives a visit from Redresal, the principal secretary of Lilliput, who explains certain aspects of Lilliputian politics. He describes the struggle between the nation's two major political parties: the Tramecksan, who wear high-heeled shoes, and the Slamecksan, who wear shoes with low heels. This superficial difference is the cause of fierce conflict, and it's ultimately a satirical allegory of the conflict between the Tory and Whig parties in England:
The Animosities between these two Parties run so high, that they will neither eat nor drink, nor talk with each other.
The high and low-heeled shoes worn by the Lilliputians is a nod to the "high" and "low" churches in Anglican Christianity. The Tories were the high church, meaning they supported a Christian tradition that emphasized formality and ritual. The Whigs, by contrast, placed little emphasis on ritual and were regarded as the low church. Redresal goes on to note that the current Lilliputian emperor wears low-heeled shoes and only employs members of the Slamecksan party in his administration. The emperor's preference symbolically references King George I, who favored the Whig party.
By making Lilliput's main political conflict a trivial disagreement based on superficial differences, Jonathan Swift implies that the Tories and Whigs are far more similar than they appear. Although Swift himself identified as a "high-churchman" and was a member of the Tory party, he sympathized with many Whig political causes.
Related Themes:
Book 1, Chapter 7
Explanation and Analysis—Articles of Impeachment:
After George I ascended to the throne in 1714 and installed a Whig government, many formerly influential Tories fell from grace, and some even became targets of persecution by the Whigs. Some of these Tory ministers were close political allies of Jonathan Swift, and part of Gulliver's Travels serves as an allegory of their treatment.
In Book 1, Chapter 7, the Lilliputians draft Articles of Impeachment against Gulliver, in which they accuse him of various crimes against the state. These articles are a direct parody of charges pressed against Tory ministers like Robert Harley, the Earl of Oxford, and Henry St. John, the Viscount Bolingbroke, who were both accused of treason. The fact that the charges against Gulliver are largely spurious indicates Swift's belief that Oxford and Bolingbroke were similarly innocent.
Redresal, the Principal Secretary of Lilliput, convinces the king that Gulliver should be blinded instead of killed. This suggestion alludes to a Whig proposal that Oxford and Bolingbroke be stripped of their titles as punishment for high misdemeanors rather than be put to death for treason. Skyresh Bolgolam, the Lilliputian Admiral, opposes this plan and argues that Gulliver's crimes are worthy of a death sentence:
"[H]e had good Reasons to think you were a Big-Endian in your Heart; and as Treason begins in the Heart before it appears in Overt Acts, so he accused you as a Traitor on that account, and therefore insisted you should be put to death."
Bolgolam's assessment of Gulliver's character is an allusion to Oxford, whom the Whigs accused of being a Catholic. Since Gulliver is not a native of Lilliput or Blefuscu, he cannot be a Big-Endian or a Little-Endian, so Bolgolam's claim is ridiculous. Swift seems to be suggesting that the accusations against Oxford are equally absurd.
Finally, just as Gulliver flees to Blefuscu in order to avoid persecution in Lilliput, Bolingbroke fled to France to avoid his impeachment trial. Although this self-imposed exile is often regarded as a massive blunder, Swift seems to argue that it was necessary for self-preservation.
Related Themes:
Book 3, Chapter 3
Explanation and Analysis—English Laws:
Throughout Gulliver's Travels, Jonathan Swift contains a number of allegories that satirize the English legal system, and the novel contains many veiled references to English acts and laws.
In Book 1, Chapter 4, Gulliver learns about the historical conflict between Lilliput and Blefuscu, which is intended as an allegory for the conflict between England and France. The source of this conflict is a disagreement over whether to break eggs on the bigger or smaller end, which informs many aspects of law and politics:
[T]he Books of the Big-Endians have been long forbidden, and the whole Party rendered incapable by Law of Holding Employments.
This law forbidding Big-Endians from holding employment is a reference to the Test Acts, a series of English penal laws that served as a religious test for holding public office. As a result of these acts, Catholics and other individuals who did not belong to the Church of England were rendered incapable of wielding political power. This reference serves as a clue to the reader that the struggle between the Big-Endians and the Small-Endians is meant to allegorically represent (and satirize) the conflict between the Catholic Church and the Church of England.
Book 3, Chapter 3, which details the rebellion of Lindalino against Laputa, contains another reference to English law:
By a fundamental Law of this Realm, neither the King nor either of his two elder Sons are permitted to leave the Island.
This Laputian law parallels the English Act of Settlement, which prevented English monarchs and heirs from leaving England, Scotland, or Ireland without the consent of parliament. George I, a native of Hanover, Germany, controversially convinced parliament to repeal this part of the Act. Swift likely included this allusion as a jab at George I, whom he opposed politically.
Swift's use of allegory demonstrates that lands like Lilliput and Laputa, despite their fantastical nature, are more similar to England than they initially appear. By referring to English laws without explicitly naming them, Swift is also able to highlight their inherent absurdity.
Related Themes:
Book 3, Chapter 5
Explanation and Analysis—The Royal Academy:
Book 3, Chapter 5 of Gulliver's Travels, in which Gulliver visits the Academy of Lagado, is intended as an extended satirical allegory for the actions of the Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge. During the 18th century, the scientists of the Royal Society were viewed as supreme arbiters of good science and held a large amount of power and prestige. Jonathan Swift, by contrast, viewed these scientists as out of touch with the real world and questioned whether their work had any practical use.
At one point, Gulliver encounters an academy Projector who has for the past eight years been attempting to devise a method to extract sunlight from cucumbers. Although the Projector has great confidence in his project, he complains of a lack of funds:
[H]e entreated me to give him something as an Encouragement to Ingenuity, especially since this had been a very dear Season for Cucumbers. I made him a small Present, for my Lord had furnished me with Money on purpose, because he knew their Practice of begging from all who go to see them.
The Projector's attempt to extract sunlight from cucumbers is a reference to a real set of experiments conducted by Stephen Hales concerning plant respiration. In making this veiled comparison, Swift indicates that he views the real-life experiment to be just as impractical as the fictional one. Swift's depiction of the Projectors as money-grubbing is also an attack on the Royal Society, which relied on sponsorship by the government and other contributors to sustain itself. Swift makes it clear that he regards this spending as a waste of money.
Related Themes:
Book 3, Chapter 6
Explanation and Analysis—Bishop Atterbury:
Book 3 of Gulliver's Travels contains numerous satirical allegories for the 1722 trial of English politician and bishop Francis Atterbury. Atterbury was an influential member of the Tory party and enjoyed the favor of Queen Anne, but he was treated with distrust by the Whig party after King George I took the throne. In 1721, Atterbury led a conspiracy to depose George I and install James Francis Edward Stuart, the son of the exiled King James II, on the throne of Great Britain. The plot was discovered before it could come to fruition, and although there was insufficient evidence to convict Atterbury of treason, he was exiled.
Atterbury was a close friend and admirer of Jonathan Swift, with whom he shared many of the same political and religious views. Swift published a satirical poem about Atterbury's trial in 1722, and he also satirizes certain aspects of the proceedings in Book 3, Chapter 6 of Gulliver's Travels, which details some of the ridiculous projects being conducted by the Projectors at the Academy of Lagado. One professor in the School of Political Projectors has developed a method for discovering conspiracies against the government:
He advised great Statesmen to examine into the Diet of all suspected Persons; their times of eating; upon which side they lay in Bed; with which Hand they wiped their Posteriors; To take a strict View of their Excrements, and from the Colour, the Odour, the Taste, the Consistence, the Crudeness, or Maturity of Digestion, form a Judgement of their Thoughts and Designs.
The concept of using a person's excrement as evidence of treasonous behavior is an allegory for the fact that the prosecutors in the Atterbury trial used letters found in the bishop's chamber pot as evidence against him. This allegory, which implicitly compares these prosecutors to the vain, ineffectual Projectors, is likely meant to ridicule Atterbury's Whig enemies.
In response to hearing the professor explain his project, Gulliver tells him about a similar method employed in the fictional nation of Tribnia:
"[E]ffectual Care is taken to secure all their Letters and Papers and put the Criminals in Chains. These Papers are delivered to a set of Artists very dextrous in finding out the mysterious Meanings of Words, Syllables, and Letters. For Instance, they can discover a Close Stool to signify a Privy Council, a Flock of Geese a Senate, a lame Dog an Invader."
"Tribnia" is an obvious anagram of "Britain," and the "lame dog" in this passage is a reference to Atterbury's dog Harlequin, which was given to him as a gift by one of his co-conspirators. The prosecution used mentions of the dog in Atterbury's correspondence as evidence against him during his trial. With this allegory, Swift suggests that the Whigs, due to an absence of legitimate evidence against Atterbury, were obliged to invent some through elaborate means.
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