Self Representation and the Self-Defeating Speaker in Jonathan Swift Es

Because Swift constructs a speaker who is meant to be seen as himself in â€Å"Verses on the Death of Dr. Swift, D.S.P.D.†, his approach to the satire changes, taking on a more playful approach. The poem is more personal than political, and is more comedic in the sense that he satirizing himself as well as other people groups. The self-defeating rhetorical approach is embodied in this poem in the way that he puts himself down and exposes his own follies throughout the poem. While this is no doubt somewhat tongue-in-cheek, this in some ways frees Swift from criticism from outside sources. It is difficult to wager criticism at someone who has already wagered it against himself. While this could also be seen as poking fun at other writers who are self-deprecating, this self-defeating narration is used mostly comically in â€Å"Verses on the Death of Dr. Swift, D.S.P.D.†. In spite of this, it does effectively build a narrator who is well defended in the sense that he cannot easily be criticized from outside sources. The self-defeating speaker can be used rhetorically either directly or indirectly. In a case where it is truly against oneself that the author wagers criticism, I consider this to be a directly self-defeating narrator; in cases where the narrator’s errors in morality or logic project on to someone or something else, I consider this to be an indirectly self-defeating narrator. While â€Å"Verses on the Death of Dr. Swift† eventually moves into satirizing Swift’s friends and readers, Swift opens the text by satirizing himself. The poem begins with Swift as a directly self-defeating speaker, in the sense that it is truly against himself that Swift is wagering satire. In the following lines, we see Swift present himself in a comically negat... ...n. "Swift And Mimetic Sickness." Eighteenth Century: Theory & Interpretation (University Of Pennsylvania Press) 54.3 (2013): 359-373. Academic Search Complete. Web. 30 Mar. 2014. â€Å"satire." http://www.oxforddictionaries.com.com. Oxford Dictionary, 2013. Web. 29 March 2014. Swift, Jonathan. â€Å"A Modest Proposal.† The Longman Anthology of British Literature. Ed. David Damrosch and Kevin J. H. Dettmar. Vol. 1c. New York: Pearson Education, 2010. 2544-2548. Print. Swift, Jonathan. â€Å"Verses on the Death of Dr. Swift, D.S.P.D.† The Longman Anthology of British Literature. Ed. David Damrosch and Kevin J. H. Dettmar. Vol. 1c. New York: Pearson Education, 2010. 2544-2548. Print. Uphaus, Robert W. "Swift's "Whole Character": The Delany Poems And ‘Verses On The Death Of Dr. Swift.’† Modern Language Quarterly 34.4 (1973): 406-416. Academic Search Complete. Web. 31 Mar. 2014.