ABSTRACT
Sw ift’s audience The progress of Swift’s literary career seems determined by the accidents of friendships. At different times of his life he had different friends and associates and they seem to draw out different sides of his creative talent. To some extent he writes for their approval, although as time went on his choice of ideal reader/friend may have been determined by his own creative development. Whichever em phasis appears to have merit at a particular stage in his career, it is illuminating to discuss his work in the context of these friends. His genius is a social one presupposing a dialogue with readers in the know rather than the voice of an isolated artist reaching out to an ideal readership.
