The Use of Detailed Satire Through a Modest Proposal

The use of detailed satire through A Modest Proposal

The use of detailed satire is very evident in A Modest Proposal. A writer’s hand

that brings the reader’s eye to the effect of sociopolitical policies on the Irish by the

English landlords and politicians in the early 1700s, could have only belonged to

Jonathon Swift. Swift skillfully addresses “ the suffering caused by English policies in

Ireland ” as well as holding the Irish accountable for their “passivity.”

Swift begins by using a gradual egression, setting the tone of the current situation

in Dublin, only to shock the reader at his proposal of cannibalism, specifically of young

children, to help alleviate the economic burdens imposed by the English and accepted by

the Irish.

In laying the foundation for his proposal, Swift suggests the benefits for all:

But my intention is very far from being confined to provide only for the

children of professed beggars; it is of a much greater extent, and shall take in

the whole number of infants at a certain age, who are born of parents in effect

as little able to support them as those who demand our charity in the streets.

Swift continues on, using excruciating detail, suggesting preparation for dining,

the appropriate number of dinner guests the young child will feed, and the price of such a

feast. All the while this morbid suggestion is detailed rationally. Swift brilliantly

targets the English landlords when