"Jonathan Swift

Jonathan Swift (1667-1745) was a noted poet and satirist of Irish ancestry. "Cadenus" was one of Dean Swift's many pseudonyms, and it is an anagram of the word "decanus," which is Latin for "dean." The poem "Cadenus and Vanessa" is one of Swift's best poetic works. It was written in 1713 and published in 1726. The poem provides an account of Swift's relationship with Esther Vanhomrigh, and it was intended to discourage her passion for him. The delay in publication was because Esther asked that the poem not be published until after her death (Jaffe 291).

"Cadenus and Vanessa" is Swift's longest poem. It is addressed to one of the two most important women in his life and is central to Swift's beliefs:

It uses his narrative powers to present a moral fable, with the perfection of Vanessa being set off against the imperfections of contemporary women, and through the, the imperfections of society (Speck 64).

When Swift wrote the poem, Cadenus (himself) was in his middle forties, and Vanessa ("Esther") was in her early twenties. Their relationship in the real world was complicated when Vanessa stated that her happiness required the newly appointed Dean of St. Patrick's (Swift) to shift roles from mentor and family friend to lover. Swift was probably flattered by this attention, as Samuel Johnson believed that he was, but in any case Swift was not very skillful in the way he handled the young lady (Hunting 68-69). The finest product of this situation was this poem.

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to her and that the time has come for them to break off. When he speaks his mind, Vanessa has too great a scorn of feminine behavior to give way to tears; instead, she declares her loves in terms which Cadenus has unwittingly taught her (Quintana 222). The opening fable makes it clear that the subject of this poem is more than these two people and that the poet is commenting on human behavior an human foolishness: The Shepherds and the Nymphs were seen Pleading before the Cyprian Queen. The council for the Fair began, Accusing that false Creature, Man (1-4). A trial is being held to decide whether Cupid is still potent or has "lost his Art" (7). In the course of the poem, the poet uses women as a metaphor for all that is wrong with human relationships (which is something the feminist critics who praise the poem for its depiction of Vanessa seem to miss). Women attract and distract men from their true calling, following the rational life of the professor or student of life, but men are also to blame for allowing themselves to be so manipulated. Such relationships involve a reversal of the natural roles of men and women, the man the decision maker, the woman the follower. Swift therefore is able to develop a corr

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