Scriblerus Club [ Clubs & Societies / Associational culture ]
… One of these was serious, the other mock-serious. Jonathan Swift was honestly advocating for the establishment of an academy of letters similar to the Académie Française , a view he expressed in his pamphlet ‘A Proposal for Correcting, … the same year by John Oldmixon and Arthur Maynwaring in ‘Reflections on Dr. Swift’s Letter to Harley’ and ‘The British Academy’. Thus, Swift felt that an association of eminent men of letters could be beneficial to the state of language, … the establishment of the club developed the idea of a satirical periodical, The Works of the Unlearned, almost like an academy ex negativo . It was this idea, to think about the state of learning by providing ludicrous examples of un …
Academies | Friendship | Satire
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