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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.
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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:
Unlock with LitCharts A+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.
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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.
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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:
Unlock with LitCharts A+The Animosities between these two Parties run so high, that they will neither eat nor drink, nor talk with each other.
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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.
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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:
Unlock with LitCharts A+[T]he Books of the Big-Endians have been long forbidden, and the whole Party rendered incapable by Law of Holding Employments.
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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.
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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.
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