| Pannell, Abraham | commander of the Swallow, one of Gulliver's earlier, but uneventful passages.
- ... Surgeon to the Swallow, Captain Abraham Pannell Commander; with whom I continued three Years and a half, making a Voyage or two into the Levant, and some other Parts. (I:1;1);
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| upon the parish |
in need of charity; a parish (i.e. the church) provided for the poor; after recounting his sound financial standing before setting off on his next voyage at the end of Book I, Gulliver concludes, "I was not in any Danger of leaving my Family upon the Parish." (I:1;11) |
| Parnell, Thomas | (1679-1718); Irish poet, archdeacon in the Church of Ireland, and member of the Scriblerus Club. For more information, see "Parnell, Thomas" Encyclopædia Britannica Online.
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| Peplom Selan | Lill. undefined; "flee from the rain" [Clark]
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"a general Shout, with frequent repetitions of the words, Peplom Selan, and I felt great Numbers of the People on my Left Side relaxing the Cords" (I:1)
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| perspective |
telescope; Gulliver's "Pocket Perspective" is one of his possessions that is not discovered by the Lilliputians' search and is put to good use later in this voyage.
- "one private Pocket which escaped their Search,
wherein there was a ... a Pocket Perspective..." (I:2;11)
- "lying down behind a Hillock, took out my small Pocket Perspective-Glass, and viewed the Enemy's Fleet at Anchor" (I:5;1)
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| picture at full length |
the Emperor of Blefuscu gives Gulliver "fifty Purses of two hundred Sprugs a-piece, together with his Picture at full length" (I:8;7); when Gulliver is rescued later, he (or Swift) mistakenly refers to the same gold and picture as "given me by the Emperor of Lilliput (I:8;9). However, the joke is that Gulliver uses the fact that the portrait is supposed to be life-size proves his story. |
| piece | firearm; "placed a Centry at my Door, with his Piece charged, who was commanded to shoot me dead, if I attempted my Liberty." (IV:1;2)
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| Calin Deffar Plune |
Lilliput; earlier emperor; "call'im fall dead" or "Caliph Fall Dead" per Clark, and therefore may refer to William III, who died after a fall from a horse; "Whereas, by a Statute made in the Reign of his Imperial Majesty Calin Deffar Plune, it is enacted, That whoever shall make water within the Precincts of the Royal Palace, shall be liable to the Pains and Penalties of High Treason." from the first Article of Impeachment against Gulliver (I:7;8).
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| Captain Pocock | "we met with Captain Pocock of Bristol, at Tenariff, who was going to the Bay of Campechy, to cut Logwood" (IV:1;1) may be an allusion to William Dampier ; "... he was parted from us by a Storm; I heard since my Return that his Ship foundered, and none escaped but one Cabbin-Boy. He was an honest Man, and a good Sailor, but a little too positive in his own Opinions, which was the Cause of his Destruction." (IV:1;1); this passage at the beginning of Part IV can be read as a foreshadowing of Gulliver's eventual state of mind at the end of the book. |
Pope, Alexander
|  (1688-1744); poet (ok, the poet); among his best known works is The Rape of the Lock; Swift's good friend and correspondent, one of the core members of the Scriblerus Club. |
| Portsmouth | major English seaport and naval center located in the south on the English Channel; site of Gulliver's departure aboard the Adventure in Part IV. |
| Presto | sometimes (erroneously) given as one of Swift's pen names ('presto' is quick or swift in Italian); the Duchess of Shrewsbury called Swift by this name; early editors of A Journal to Stella took the liberty to substituting 'Presto' where Swift referred to himself as 'pdf' (poor dear fool) and 'pdfr' (poor dear foolish rogue). |
| Prichard, William | commander of the Antelope |
| privately | compare the passage "came to my House very privately at Night in a close Chair, and without sending his Name" (I:7;3) with the earlier claim "But I defy the Treasurer ... to prove that any Person ever came to me
incognito..." (I:6;22). Is this just a slip by Swift or are we supposed to doubt Gulliver's integrity? |
| prizes |
Lilliput; blue, red, and green colors of awards given to ministers correspond to tbe royal orders of the Garter, Bath, and Thistle; like the case of the rope-dancers, the test of leaping over and ducking under a stick satirizes the sort of political agility - ability to change directions at the king's whim - required to receive these awards.
- three fine silken Threads of six Inches long. One is Blue, the other Red, and the third Green* ...the Candidates, advancing one by one, sometimes leap over the Stick, sometimes creep under it backwards and forwards several times ... Whoever performs his Part with most Agility, and holds out the longest in leaping and creeping, is rewarded ... (I:3;4)
This practice is mentioned again in Chapter VI:
the most scandalous Corruptions into which these People are fallen by the degenerate Nature of Man. For as to that infamous Practice of acquiring great Employments by dancing on the Ropes, or Badges of Favour and Distinction by leaping over Sticks and creeping under them, the Reader is to observe, that they were first introduced by the Grand-father of the Emperor now reigning, and grew to the present height by the gradual increase of Party and Faction. (I:6;9)
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| publisher |
the publisher of Gulliver's Travels was the fictional Richard Sympson, Gulliver's "antient and intimate Friend" (Publisher;1) and cousin, who had arranged with Benjamin Motte, printer and book-seller, to publish the work. In this capacity, Sympson writes the preface ("The Publisher to the Reader.") and Gulliver takes him to task for editing and printing errors ("A Letter from Capt. Gulliver, to his Cousin Sympson"). |
| Robert Purefoy | "a skillful young Man" Gulliver takes on as surgeon on the Adventure in Part IV. (IV:1;1) |
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(1688-1744); poet (ok, the poet); among his best known works is The Rape of the Lock; Swift's good friend and correspondent, one of the core members of the Scriblerus Club.