“A Modest Proposal”
Full title: A Modest Proposal for Preventing the Children
of Poor People From Being a Burden to Their Parents or
Country, and for Making Them Beneficial to the Public.
Written as a response to what Swift saw as cruel English
attitudes toward the poor in general and the Irish poor
specifically.
These attitudes (and, more generally, social engineering
plans that serve the wealthy while ignoring the problems
of the poor) are the target of his satire.
The deadpan tone of the piece has become a standard
template for satirists.
“A Modest Proposal”
Before we even get to the substance of the piece, we have
the highly ironic title (there’s nothing modest about
Swift’s proposal, obviously).
How are the opening nine paragraphs different from
almost all of what comes after them?
What rhetorical purpose does that contrast serve?
“A Modest Proposal”
Element and Passage
 
(Verb)
Effect
The serious, formal tone
of the opening nine
paragraphs
allows
Swift to establish the
legitimate concerns and
complaints of his
audience and convince
them that his proposal is
an earnest one so that
the coming hyperbole is
even more shocking.
“A Modest Proposal”
Element and Passage
The proposal to cook
and eat the children of
the poor (after paying
their parents for the
privilege)
 
(Verb)
Effect
shocks
the audience by
presenting Swift’s
proposal as the natural
extension of their own
attitudes. By
exaggerating their
cruelty and reflecting it
back at them, he pushes
them to consider the
ethics of their own
dismissive and heartless
views.
“A Modest Proposal”
Element and Passage
Swift’s plan to breed
children like livestock
(paragraph 10)
 
(Verb)
Effect
“A Modest Proposal”
Select three more passages
from “A Modest Proposal” • Hyperbole
and evaluate their specific
rhetorical effects, using the • Verbal Irony
• Understatement
same format.
• Sarcasm
Remember to use
appropriate names for any
satirical techniques you
notice:
• Situational Irony
• Parody
• Incongruity