Not long after the celebration of this work, Swift's longtime love, Esther Johnson, fell ill. She died in January 1728. Her life's end moved Swift to write The Death of Mrs. Johnson. Shortly after her death, a stream of Swift's other friends also died, including John Gay and John Arbuthnot. Swift, always bolstered by the people around him, was now quite troubled.
In 1742, Swift suffered from a stroke and lost the ability to speak. On October 19, 1745, Jonathan Swift died. He was laid to rest next to Esther Johnson inside Dublin's St. Patrick's Cathedral.