Comparing A Modest Proposal And The Beggar's Opera

Both Jonathan Swift and John Gay’s works have the same characteristic: the use of satire as a way to provoke a reaction in their readers.
In A Modest Proposal, wrote by Swift, is a clear example of a satirical pamphlet. Due to the arise of the journalism and the newspapers, pamphlets became quite popular at that time, and Swift uses this layout to give his proposal more relevance and importance, and to take it serious, like the information in any other pamphlet. The satire is explicit right from the first moment you read it. Just the title and the subtitle, A Modest Proposal for preventing the Children of Poor People from being a Burthen to their Parents or Country, and For making them Beneficial to the Public, is a clear example of the use of Swift’s satire. His satire can be classified as mordant, and some critics call him a misanthrope and hater of humanity because of the barbarous things he says in his writings. In this …show more content…
Despite that, Gay was able to represent some relevant figures at that time with some fictional names, but the audience clearly knew who the author was referring to. The purpose of his satire is, apart of getting the audience attention, to set everyone at the same level; that’s why he uses the layout of the opera. At that time, the opera was only able to be seen by the dukes, aristocrats or, in general, wealthy people. Given the status of the opera, it was thought that an opera could only be written by a high-educated person. But, thanks to the title, Gay expresses that anyone, even a beggar, can write an opera, giving less appreciation to it. And that anyone can understand it, not only the affluent ones, but also the poor sectors of the population. We can’t forget to mention that in his satirical opera, Gay attacks the roots of the civilization, comparing humans with animals, like when Lockit compares Peachum with a