Jonathan Swift (1667–1745) was an Anglo-Irish satirist, essayist, poet, and Anglican cleric, widely regarded as the foremost prose satirist in the English language. Born in Dublin and educated at Trinity College, he worked as secretary to the statesman Sir William Temple before taking holy orders and eventually becoming Dean of St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin. Deeply engaged in politics, Swift wrote pamphlets for the Tory government and passionately defended the Irish against English economic exploitation, earning immense popularity among the Irish people.
Swift's writing is celebrated for its biting irony, dark humor, and moral seriousness. His major works include A Tale of a Tub (1704), a satire on religious corruption; The Battle of the Books (1704); the Drapier's Letters (1724–25), protesting English monetary policy in Ireland; and A Modest Proposal (1729), his shocking satirical essay on Irish poverty. His masterpiece, Gulliver's Travels (1726), remains a cornerstone of world literature, using Lemuel Gulliver's fantastical voyages to satirize human nature, politics, and society. Swift's mastery of satire continues to influence writers and thinkers to this day.