Swift's Use of Literalization as a Rhetorical Device

Article published in PMLA — 1967 — Vol. 82 — No. 7 (Dec.) — pp. 516-521.The Terse comment that Swift's "style was well suited to his thoughts" has been explored and substantiated in various studies. These have dealt with Swift's knowledge of classical rhetoric, his conciseness, his skillful use of maxims, parody, illustrative parallels, sophistry, exaggeration, and similar topics. His puns and metaphors have also received attention. No one, however, seems to have discussed in detail his use of what may be called literalization of metaphor — a distinctive feature of his rhetoric and one that, in some instances, consists of a combination of pun and metaphor. I propose therefore to examine various aspects of the device of literalization as it appears in his prose works.