Jonathan Swift's first major work, A Tale of a Tub, was composed between 1694 and 1697 and published in 1704. It is probably his most difficult satire, and possibly his most masterful. The Tale is a prose parody which is divided up into sections of "digression" and "tale". The "tale" presents a consistent satire of religious excess, while the digressions are a series of parodies of contemporary writing in literature, politics, theology, Biblical exegesis, and medicine. The overarching parody is of enthusiasm, pride, and credulity. From its opening (once past the prolegomena, which comprises the first three sections), the book is constructed like a layer cake, with Digression and Tale alternating. However, the digressions overwhelm the narrative, both in terms of the forcefulness and imaginativeness of writing and in terms of volume. Furthermore, after Chapter X (the commonly anthologized "Digression on Madness"), the labels for the sections are incorrect. Sections then called "Tale" are Digressions, and those called "Digression" are also Digressions.
Read the rest of this article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Tale_of_a_Tub
Today's selected anniversaries:
1851 Herman Melville's novel Moby-Dick was first published. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moby-Dick)
1940 World War II: Coventry was destroyed by 500 German Luftwaffe bombers. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coventry)
1971 Mariner 9 reached Mars, becoming the first spacecraft to orbit another planet. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mariner_9)
1990 The Federal Republic of Germany amended its constitution to confirm the Polish border at the Oder-Neisse line. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oder%2dNeisse_line)
Wikiquote of the day:
"Anyone who believes in God and the Last Day should not harm his neighbor. Anyone who believes in God and the Last Day should entertain his guest generously. And anyone who believes in God and the Last Day should say what is good or keep quiet." ~ Muhammad (http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Muhammad)