Children on a Platter and Animals in Parliament:
Satire and Symbolism in A Modest Proposal When Jonathan Swift wrote A Modest Proposal, he intended it to be a political commentary on the struggles that Ireland was dealing with in the early 1700s. What Swift did not expect was the reality of the readers at the time: they did not pick up on the juvenalian satire that lied within the essay and took the piece either as a joke or completely seriously, nor did they catch the irony. Thankfully the essay was published anonymously so Swift was saved from the scrutiny of public embarrassment; however, when the truth of the article was finally realized, it rapidly became a staple in politics in the United Kingdom, known for its harsh truths that lie with hyperbolistic satire. In modern times A Modest Proposal is used to introduce students to satire and argumentative essays, but what made A Modest Proposal so influential? Swift masterfully combined satire with the ability to actually make a point, showing the struggles of the Irish and the apathy of the English. Swift proposes a “modest” solution to starvation and Irish …show more content…
There is no doubt that many late night television shows would hire him immediately. But his brand of satire is too good for this day-and-age. While he is seen as a father of the genre, what is seen on TV or on the internet cannot equate to the irony given in A Modest Proposal as well as his other works. Rather than today’s preference of being blatantly sarcastic, Swift actually makes the reader think about the situation at hand. Not only that but also instead of being direct, gives a metaphoric yet too-close-to- home idea on how to fix the plague of the Irish. Rather than exaggerating his words like many do in modern hyperbolistic writing, Swift has actual rhetoric and symbols within his writing to draw on the consumer 's imagination to draw the point
Satire and Symbolism in A Modest Proposal When Jonathan Swift wrote A Modest Proposal, he intended it to be a political commentary on the struggles that Ireland was dealing with in the early 1700s. What Swift did not expect was the reality of the readers at the time: they did not pick up on the juvenalian satire that lied within the essay and took the piece either as a joke or completely seriously, nor did they catch the irony. Thankfully the essay was published anonymously so Swift was saved from the scrutiny of public embarrassment; however, when the truth of the article was finally realized, it rapidly became a staple in politics in the United Kingdom, known for its harsh truths that lie with hyperbolistic satire. In modern times A Modest Proposal is used to introduce students to satire and argumentative essays, but what made A Modest Proposal so influential? Swift masterfully combined satire with the ability to actually make a point, showing the struggles of the Irish and the apathy of the English. Swift proposes a “modest” solution to starvation and Irish …show more content…
There is no doubt that many late night television shows would hire him immediately. But his brand of satire is too good for this day-and-age. While he is seen as a father of the genre, what is seen on TV or on the internet cannot equate to the irony given in A Modest Proposal as well as his other works. Rather than today’s preference of being blatantly sarcastic, Swift actually makes the reader think about the situation at hand. Not only that but also instead of being direct, gives a metaphoric yet too-close-to- home idea on how to fix the plague of the Irish. Rather than exaggerating his words like many do in modern hyperbolistic writing, Swift has actual rhetoric and symbols within his writing to draw on the consumer 's imagination to draw the point