Swift uses satire to highlight the hypocrisy of the literary world and religions—specifically the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of England. He derides critics that are not true to the form, but also makes fun of some of his fellow authors. He also pokes fun at the new Presbyterian Church by writing that they make each other belch in order to pass along their ideas to one another and push out their essences into the world. Other priests also fart into barrels so that others can breathe into them and belch out their wise words. Swift seems to be saying that priests of any denomination push out a lot of hot air. However, he uses humor to show it rather than by directly stating it. Perhaps he thinks that this will attract readers and also protect him from being censored.

At the time that Swift was writing A Tale of a Tub, scholars were discussing whether ancient philosophy could still measure up to modern ideas. Swift thought that the work of the ancients was still valuable and went to lengths to defend it. He uses satire to show that Homer, despite not having invented gunpowder or the compass, still has solid teachings to pass on.