At the time Swift was writing his anonymously published satires, England had been
entrenched in a long war with France, the British monarch had undergone
upheaval-King Georg I was unpopular yet very powerful—and the country was plagued
by political scandals. Gulliver’s Travels gave Swift the opportunity to express his anger
and frustration with England’s ruling class and monarchy. Nevertheless, to what extent
might Swift’s satire be relevant today?