Listen&Learn: Gulliver’s Travels

Learn about Jonathan Swift’s famous satire of humanity

Pre-listening vocabulary

• satirical: using humour to criticize something
• parody: a story that imitates another story or genre in a humorous way
• surgeon: someone who performs medical operations
• civilization: a group of people living together in a complex society
• comedic: funny, humorous
• contrast: to be very different from someone or something else
• absurd: silly, strange

Listening activity

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Gapfill exercise

Gulliver’s Travels is a 1726 satirical novel by Irish author Jonathan Swift. The book is a parody of the travel narrative, which was a very genre at the time. The protagonist, Lemuel Gulliver, is a surgeon on a . He travels to fictional countries and encounters strange civilizations, including the six-inch-tall Lilliputians and the research-obsessed Laputans. Each is a comedic representation of a human trait. In the last section of the book, Gulliver meets a group of intelligent who contrast with the absurd and foolish humans. Although Gulliver’s Travels is often read as a children’s book, it was written for adults. The fantasy civilizations represent social and political structures in Britain during Swift’s life. Gulliver’s Travels is one of the earliest of the English novel.

Comprehension questions

See answers below

1. The book Gulliver’s Travels would be best described as
   a. a memoir
   b. a satirical novel
   c. a travelogue
   
2. The character Lemuel Gulliver is
   a. a politician
   b. a news reporter
   c. a surgeon
   
3. In the last section of the book, Gulliver meets a civilization of
   a. giants
   b. flying scientists
   c. intelligent horses

Discussion/essay questions

1. What is the purpose of satire? Can you think of a good modern work of satire?
2. What do you think makes a story appealing to all ages?

Transcript

Gulliver’s Travels is a 1726 satirical novel by Irish author Jonathan Swift. The book is a parody of the travel narrative, which was a very popular genre at the time. The protagonist, Lemuel Gulliver, is a surgeon on a ship. He travels to fictional countries and encounters strange civilizations, including the six-inch-tall Lilliputians and the research-obsessed Laputans. Each culture is a comedic representation of a human trait. In the last section of the book, Gulliver meets a group of intelligent horses who contrast with the absurd and foolish humans. Although Gulliver’s Travels is often read as a children’s book, it was written for adults. The fantasy civilizations represent social and political structures in Britain during Swift’s life. Gulliver’s Travels is one of the earliest examples of the English novel.

Answers to comprehension questions

1b 2c 3c