Jonathan Swift
Born in Dublin on November 30, 1667; father, an English lawyer, died while
his wife was pregnant with Jonathan; after the birth, his mother left him
to be raised by her brother; granted a Bachelor's degree from Trinity College
as a "special grace" (a favor to his uncle); left work on a Master's degree
to join the Glorious Revolution; sought career in the Church of England;
worked as secretary to Sir William Temple, a prominent Whig, for whom he
wrote propaganda; 1708, sent on a diplomatic mission for the Irish Church
to negotiate with the government concerning tax matters; switched political
allegiances when the Tories came to power in 1710, thinking that the Church
might reward him for his work by granting him a bishopric in England; 1715,
returned to Ireland and made dean of St. Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin;
worked for most of the rest of his life as a clergyman/writer/activist;
1724, wrote Drapier's Letters; 1726, Gulliver's Travels;
1729, A Modest Proposal, considered to be the greatest short satirical
piece in the English language; 1742, entered mental institution; 1745,
died.
Alexander Pope--the
greatest of early 18th-century English poets.
Born in London on May 21, 1688; parents were Roman Catholic; self-educated;
denied entrance to Oxford and Cambridge because of religion; crippled at
the age of 12; wrote The Rape of the Lock, the finest example in
English of the mock-heroic epic, at the age of 24; became rich and famous
for translations of Homer; died in 1744; buried at Twickenham, 12 miles
from London.
Voltaire (François-Marie
Arouet)
Born in Paris in 1694; began writing at an early age, though his father
wanted him to study law; enjoyed success in drama, poetry, criticism, and
fictional prose; quarrels with aristocrats sent him to the Bastille in
1717 and in 1726, after which he was exiled to England, where he taught
himself fluent English before he returned to France; served briefly as
official historiographer of France; denied permission to live in Paris
because of his outspokenness; died in Paris in 1778; nephew smuggled his
body out of Paris in order to prevent the Church from denying Voltaire
a Christian burial.