A Tale of a Tub
A Tale of a Tub was the first major work written by Jonathan Swift, arguably his most difficult satire and perhaps his most masterly. The "Tale" is a prose parody divided into sections each delving into the morals and ethics of the English. Composed between 1694 and 1697, it was eventually published in 1704. It was long regarded as a satire on religion, and has famously been attacked for that, starting with William Wotton.
Digression
In 18th-century literature, the digression (not to be confused with subplot) was a substantial part of satiric works. Works such as Jonathan Swift's "A Tale of a Tub", Laurence Sterne's "Tristram Shandy" and Diderot's "Jacques le fataliste et son maître" even made digressiveness itself a part of the satire. Sterne's novel, in particular, depended upon the digression, and he wrote, "Digressions, incontestably, are the sunshine; — they are the life, the soul of reading; — take them out of this book ("Tristram Shandy") for instance, — you might as well take the book along with them." This use of digression as satire later showed up in Thomas Carlyle's work.