Jonathan Swift is known as one of the greatest satirists in literature. His experience in religious, political and scientific matters allows his works to be considered geniuses in the world of writing. Swift's writings laid the foundation for several satirical successors. Swift was born in 1667 in Dublin, Ireland. His father had died “just before he was born” (Draper 3531). He was left "in the care of relatives" for the first three years of his life, while his mother returned to England to tend to his affairs (Cody). Swift's parents, Jonathan and Abigail, were both Protestants. His religion played a major role in his life, which later led to his career as a Protestant pastor. Jonathan Swift began his education at the age of six, when he attended Kilkenny Grammar School, "which was, at the time, the best in Ireland". » (Cody). He graduated from Trinity College at the age of nineteen, but he was not the best student at the school. Shortly after his graduation, Trinity College closed during the Glorious Revolution. In 1689, Swift became secretary to Sir William Temple. In addition to becoming Temple's new secretary, Swift also met and fell in love with a woman named Esther Johnson. Esther is better known as “‘Stella’ from her famous Journal to Stella” (Byers 52). Surprisingly, she was thirteen years younger than Swift. At age 25, Swift "returned to Ireland to take holy orders" and it was there that he established his career in the Anglican church (Cody). Swift had also begun writing several pieces in the genre of satire. One of his early satires includes A Tale of a Tub which mocks Western Christianity. Writing an article like this was very risky for Swift, mainly because his position in any church would be threatened. The next s...... middle of paper ......wift truly deserves to be called "the greatest prose satirist in the English language" (Byers 51). Works CitedBloom, Harold. Jonathan Swift. New York: Chelsea House, 1986. Print. Byers, Paula K. and Suzanne M. Bourgoin. Encyclopedia of World Biography. [Volume 15], Studi-Visser. Detroit: Gale, 1998. Print. Cody, David. “Jonathan Swift: A Brief Biography.” Np, June 2000. Web. November 17, 2013. Draper, James P. and Gale Research Company. Criticism of world literature. [Volume 6], Stoker-Zola, index: 1500 to the present: a selection of major authors from Gale's literary criticism series. Detroit: Gale Research, 1992. Print. Swift, Jonathan. Gulliver's travels to several distant countries of the world. Waiheke Island: Floating Press, 2008. Print.Swift, Jonathan. A Modest Proposal and other satirical works. New York: Dover, 1996. Print.