Polite Conversation in Three Dialogues (Annotated)

di Maxwell Clark (Autore)

Jonathan Swift (Autore)

DigiCat, 2022

Jonathan Swift's *Polite Conversation in Three Dialogues* is a brilliant satire of eighteenth-century manners, exposing the emptiness beneath fashionable speech. Presented as a handbook of socially acceptable exchanges, it assembles greetings, compliments, anecdotes, insults, and conversational formulas into comic dramatic scenes. Swift's deadpan arrangement and meticulous attention to cliché create a tension between the promise of "polite" discourse and its actual dependence on vanity, repetition, cruelty, and social display. The work belongs to the Augustan tradition of moral satire, while also parodying conduct books and instructional manuals that claimed to teach refinement. Its seemingly simple dialogue form makes language itself the object of scrutiny: characters reveal their class pretensions and intellectual limitations through stock phrases rather than sustained thought. Swift (1667–1745), Anglo-Irish cleric, essayist, and author of *Gulliver's Travels*, had long regarded fashionable culture and political society with skeptical intelligence. His experience of literary circles, aristocratic sociability, and public controversy gave him an acute ear for the formulas by which status was performed. The book emerges from this broader satirical project, transforming ordinary conversation into evidence of cultural and moral corruption. This concise, theatrically lively work will reward readers interested in Swift, Augustan satire, rhetoric, social history, and the relationship between language and power. It is especially valuable for those who enjoy comedy that gradually reveals its critical force: behind every commonplace lies a sharp diagnosis of politeness as performance. This enriched edition has been carefully crafted to add value to your reading experience. - A succinct Introduction situates the work's timeless appeal and themes. - The Synopsis outlines the central plot, highlighting key developments without spoiling critical twists.

• Autore: Maxwell Clark, Jonathan Swift
• Curatore: , DigiCat, George Saintsbury
• Anno edizione: 2022
• Editore: DigiCat
• Formato: EPUB2 con Adobe DRM
• Lingua: Inglese
• Compatibilità: Tutti i dispositivi (eccetto Kindle)
• Layout: Reflowable
• EAN: 8596547045991