Jonathan Swift was born in Dublin, but he came from an English family.
The writer’s father, supervisor at the court buildings of Dublin, died at the age of twenty-five, leaving his wife and daughter penniless. His son was born even months after his death.
He was named Jonathan after his father.
The boy knew little of his mother’s care: she had to go back to her native town of Leicester.
Jonathan hardly saw her during his childhood. He was supported by his uncle Godwin.
At the age of six he was sent to Kilkenny School, which he left at the age of fourteen.
He sailed over to England, and after many years,once again saw his mother at Leicester.
With her help he became private secretary and account keeper to Sir William Temple at his estate not far from London. Sir William was a retired diplomat and also a writer.
At that time he made friends with Hester Johnson, the daughter of the housekeeper.
He taught the little girl English spelling and gave her advice on reading. This friendship lasted all his life. Hester became the prototype of Stella in Swift’s famous work “Journal to Stella”.
Having improved his education by taking advantage of sir William Temple’s library, Swift went to Oxford and took his Master of Arts degree in 1692.
After that he got the place of vicar at a little parish church in Ireland where he remained for a year and a half. Soon he got tired of his lonely life and returned to Sir William Temple’s estate, where he continued to live and work until his patron’s death in1699.
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