Swift's anatomy of misunderstanding

the long version

This book is a detailed examination of one of Swift's most central concerns, man's capacity for misunderstanding. Underlying Swift's satiric fiction is the belief that man, while capable of reasoning, is not a rational animal. After reviewing the pertinent Swift scholarship in her introduction, Dr. Louis relates some of the older views of the satires to the one she proposes, namely that judgement -- or lack of it -- is the crux of Swift's satiric fiction. - Jacket flap.