Today's prompt said "we'll try to give everybody a question to explore between now and Monday. Reports of explorations -- with works consulted listings, of course -- will need to be posted on the Swift Questions forum by class time on Monday."

On the basis of the questions we got from the ten people who brought in questions, with some editing and expansion, here are some proposals for questions to explore about Swift.

[Claimants are listed as of Monday morning; check the list archive to see if there are later ones.]

1. Does A Tale of a Tub attack the church in general, or specific denominations?
• Tom Creagh
• Sarah Reicker
2. Why did Swift attack Partridge the astrologer in the Bickerstaff Papers?
3. Why did Swift publish A Tale of a Tub anonymously?
• Michael Taggart
• Jenna Hamilton
4. Did Swift publish anything under his own name?
• Paige Guptill
5. Why did Swift write A Tale of a Tub? What is the religious argument behind it?
• Nicole DeMerchant
• Matt Pain
6. Was Swift really involved in politics (other than writing about them)?
• Kirsten Graham
7. Apparently A Tale of a Tub belongs to the classical genre known as "Menippean Satire." What is that genre, and what aspects of the Tale put the work into it?
• Amber Carroll
• Elizabeth Harrison
8. Did Swift write periodical journalism? What kind?
9. A Tale of a Tub and The Battle of the Books are always published together. Why?
• Jeremy Fowler
10. In his Journal to Stella and his sermons, Swift uses his own voice rather than a persona. Which elements of his own voice do critics most comment / talk about? Why?
• Andréa Peters
11. How was A Tale of a Tub received at the time that it was written?
• Kale Robinson
12. How were the Drapier's Letters received at the time they were written?
• Elora Arsenault
13. How was the Argument Against Abolishing Christianity received at the time that it was written?
• Colin Belyea
• Ianic Roy Richard
14. How was the History of the Last Four Years of the Queen received at the time that it was written?
• Georgia Priestley-Brown

To check the order in which questions have been claimed, you can look at the archive of hunt3336@stu.ca by going to the STU Webmail page, clicking "Mailing Lists" and then "hunt3336" -- or click here.

When you've got a question, spend a couple of hours in the library and see what you can find out. Write a report of what you found, and where you found it, including a list of the works you consulted while doing your research. Post the report on the Swift Questions forum by class time Monday.