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Literary Critique Of A Modest Proposal - College Papers

Literary Critique Of A Modest Proposal

In very simple terms, A Modest Proposal is a satire of the social and economic events in Ireland. It was written in the early eighteenth century in an attempt to shame England and to shock Ireland. Jonathan Swift lived in an Ireland which was a colony, politically, militarily, and economically dependent on England. England was happy to keep things as they were to keep Ireland weak. The result was an overpopulated and poor Ireland. Swift offers a solution for the problems of Ireland in a practical manner. Through his ironic prose, Swift suggests one solution for both the problem of overpopulation and the growing numbers of starving people. The idea is to breed the children of ...

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equal responsibility to the Irish for their plight. Swift was extremely enraged at the passivity of the Irish people. It was an attempt to shock the Irish out of their lethargic state. Swift had made numerous proposals to the Irish Parliament which were ignored. These proposals included the taxing of absentee landlords, to encourage the Irish industries and to improve the land. A Modest Proposal is a parody of Swift's own serious proposals.
"But, as to myself, having been wearied out for many years with offering vain, idle, visionary thoughts, and at length utterly despairing of success,"
By mentioning his clearly more rational ideas that would have helped Ireland rectify things, Swift pokes fun of his fellow Irishmen. In his proposal he asks that no one talk of these ideas unless there is an attempt to put them into practice. He speaks of the poverty and terrible life conditions of his fellow Irish. The oppressed, ignorant and hungry peasants that are desperate ...

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Literary Critique Of A Modest Proposal. (2006, March 24). Retrieved January 6, 2026, from http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Literary-Critique-Of-A-Modest-Proposal/43263

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PAPER DETAILS

Added: 3/24/2006 12:41:47 PM
Category: American History
Type: Premium Paper
Words: 503
Pages: 2

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