Swift wanted to make his point, but also gain people's attention, to do so he used satire. By suggesting that the Irish should simply eat their young to be able to survive caught the reader's attention. At this point in time the Irish were starving because their crops were failing and to make matters worse the British landlords were kicking them off their land for being unable to pay rent. Swift was trying to make the point by eating their future or starving it, it would be diminished either way.
"A Modest Proposal" by Jonathan Swift is a Juvenalian satire. It uses irony and sarcasm to critique the British government's treatment of the Irish poor and suggest a shocking solution to the problem of poverty.
"A Modest Proposal" is a Juvenalian satire, characterized by its harsh criticism, irony, and exaggeration to expose and criticize societal issues and human folly. Swift's essay uses a satirical proposal to highlight the economic exploitation and dehumanization of the poor in Ireland by the English ruling class.
Jonathan Swift's title is sarcastic, because "The Modest Proposal" is a satire of the conditions facing lower-class people in Ireland at the time it was written. His suggestion of eating children is outrageous; it is called "modest" sarcastically because the satire is meant to draw attention to the problem in Ireland through irony and exaggerations and understatements.
"A Modest Proposal" fits the definition of satire by using humor, irony, and exaggeration to criticize societal issues, specifically the mistreatment of the poor in Ireland. Swift's proposal to solve poverty by selling children as food satirizes the indifference and cruelty of the ruling class towards the impoverished population.
Understatement
A Modest Proposal is best described as a juvenile satire.
But it is apparent.
juvelian satire
"A Modest Proposal" by Jonathan Swift is a Juvenalian satire. It uses irony and sarcasm to critique the British government's treatment of the Irish poor and suggest a shocking solution to the problem of poverty.
"A Modest Proposal"
"A Modest Proposal"
not until paragraph 7 that the reader is aware that this is a satire.
"A Modest Proposal" is a Juvenalian satire, characterized by its harsh criticism, irony, and exaggeration to expose and criticize societal issues and human folly. Swift's essay uses a satirical proposal to highlight the economic exploitation and dehumanization of the poor in Ireland by the English ruling class.
Jonathan Swift's title is sarcastic, because "The Modest Proposal" is a satire of the conditions facing lower-class people in Ireland at the time it was written. His suggestion of eating children is outrageous; it is called "modest" sarcastically because the satire is meant to draw attention to the problem in Ireland through irony and exaggerations and understatements.
The first paragraphs read as though the work is not a satire.
The first paragraphs read as though the work is not a satire.
"A Modest Proposal" fits the definition of satire by using humor, irony, and exaggeration to criticize societal issues, specifically the mistreatment of the poor in Ireland. Swift's proposal to solve poverty by selling children as food satirizes the indifference and cruelty of the ruling class towards the impoverished population.