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A Modest Proposal
RI 5 Analyze and evaluate the
Essay by Jonathan Swift
effectiveness of the structure
an author uses in his or her VIDEO TRAILER KEYWORD: HML12-620A
argument. RI 6 Determine an
author’s point of view or purpose
in a text in which the rhetoric is
particularly effective. SL 1 Initiate
Meet the Author
and participate effectively in a
range of collaborative discussions.
Jonathan Swift 1667–1745
Jonathan Swift has been called the greatest to recognize his vicious and witty political
did you know? satirist in the English language. His writing through his contributions to London
Jonathan Swift . . . genuine outrage at man’s inhumanity to periodicals such as Richard Steele’s and
• had learned to read by man and his commitment to championing Joseph Addison’s The Spectator.
the time he was three. liberty found voice in his biting satire
When the Whigs lost power to the Tories
• coined the term yahoo and unflinching criticism of his times.
in 1710, the Tories courted the conservative
to refer to a boorish and Few writers of the 18th century were as
Swift to join their side. As a man of
ignorant person. politically and socially influential as Swift.
principle and a strict moralist, however, he
• left much of his fortune
A Priest with a Pen Jonathan Swift was ultimately became disenchanted with the
to go toward the
building of a mental
born of Anglo-Irish parents in Dublin, compromises and manipulations of politics.
hospital. Ireland. Though his family was not
Irish Patriot In 1713, Swift was appointed
wealthy, Swift attended the prestigious
dean of St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Dublin.
Trinity College. After graduating, he moved
Though Swift at first felt exiled in Ireland,
to Surrey in England to accept a position
in time he regained his interest in politics.
as secretary to a retired diplomat. In 1695,
Angered by the way England tyrannized
Swift was ordained as an Anglican priest
Ireland, Swift fought back in a series of
and became a full-fledged satirist, with two
publications called The Drapier’s Letters,
completed works ready for publication.
in which he wrote, “Am I a freeman in
(background) St. Patrick’s Swift was a clergyman and a political writer England, and do I become a slave in six
Cathedral, Dublin for the Whig party. His first two satires, hours by crossing the channel?” For Irish
The Battle of the Books and A Tale of a Tub, Catholics and Protestants alike, Swift
style.
quickly established his acerbic sty became a hero. His last major work about
Whether lampooning mod modern Ireland, “A Modest Proposal,” is one of
(John
thinkers and scientists (Jo the most famous satires ever written.
Locke and Sir Isaac Newton
Ne
Gulliver’s Success In 1726, Swift
among them), religious
religio
anonymously published the masterly
abuses, or humanity at
satire Gulliver’s Travels, in which he vents
large, Swift raged at the
his fury at political corruption and his
arrogance, phoniness,
phonines and
annoyance with the general worthlessness
shallowness he saw infecting
i
of human beings. Though Swift aroused
contemporary intellectual
intell
controversy, Gulliver’s Travels turned out
and moral life. Though
Thou
to be surprisingly popular, and it remains
his early publicat
publications
a classic for readers of all ages.
anonymous,
were anon
people bbegan
Author Online
Go to thinkcentral.com. KEYWORD: HML12-620B
620
• proposes a solution to the problem—Swift’s proposition— DISCUSS With a small group, brainstorm
and explains how to implement it a list of methods people use to fight
• provides support for the proposed solution in the form of injustice. Then think of a contemporary
reasons and evidence example of injustice. It may be a local, a
national, or a global issue. With your
• notes other possible solutions and argues against them
group, discuss which method or methods
As you read the essay, use a chart like the one shown to record would be most effective in publicizing,
Swift’s proposition and the evidence he gives to support it. and possibly leading to a solution to,
the problem.
Proposition:
Support:
• “These children can help feed and clothe thousands.”
•
vocabulary in context
Determine the meaning of each boldfaced word in context.
1. food needed for sustenance
2. a beginner just learning the rudiments
3. a collateral benefit in addition to the main one
4. politely show deference to others’ views
5. an expedient that will make life easier
6. an encumbrance that will make life harder
7. famine caused by massive crop failures
8. propagation of the human race to increase population
It is a melancholy object to those who walk through this great town1 or travel in Analyze Visuals
the country, when they see the streets, the roads, and cabin doors, crowded with What impression does
beggars of the female sex, followed by three, four, or six children, all in rags and the engraving convey
importuning every passenger for an alms.2 These mothers, instead of being able to about the lives of poor
people in the 18th
work for their honest livelihood, are forced to employ all their time in strolling to century? Cite details to
beg sustenance for their helpless infants, who, as they grow up, either turn thieves support your answer.
for want3 of work, or leave their dear native country to f ight for the Pretender4 in
Spain, or sell themselves to the Barbadoes.5 sustenance (sOsPtE-nEns)
n. a means of support or
I think it is agreed by all parties that this prodigious number of children in
nourishment
10 the arms, or on the backs, or at the heels of their mothers, and frequently of their
fathers, is in the present deplorable state of the kingdom a very great additional
a PROPOSITION
grievance; and therefore whoever could find out a fair, cheap, and easy method
AND SUPPORT
of making these children sound, useful members of the commonwealth would What problem does
deserve so well of the public as to have his statue set up for a preserver of Swift identify in
the nation. a lines 1–15?
frequent experience that their flesh was generally tough and lean, like that of
our schoolboys, by continual exercise, and their taste disagreeable; and to fatten
them would not answer the charge. Then as to the females, it would, I think with
humble submission, be a loss to the public, because they soon would become
breeders themselves; and besides, it is not improbable that some scrupulous people
120 might be apt to censure such a practice (although indeed very unjustly) as a little
bordering upon cruelty; which, I confess, hath always been with me the strongest
objection against any project, how well soever intended. e e SATIRE
But in order to justify my friend, he confessed that this expedient was put into What is ironic about
his head by the famous Psalmanazar, a native of the island Formosa,18 who came Swift’s concern in lines
117–122 regarding what
from thence to London above twenty years ago, and in conversation told my
“some scrupulous
friend that in his country when any young person happened to be put to death, people” might think?
the executioner sold the carcass to persons of quality as a prime dainty; and that
in his time the body of a plump girl of f ifteen, who was crucif ied for an attempt expedient (Gk-spCPdC-Ent)
to poison the emperor, was sold to his Imperial Majesty’s prime minister of state, n. something useful in
achieving the desired
130 and other great mandarins of the court, in joints from the gibbet,19 at four hundred
effect; a convenience; an
crowns. Neither indeed can I deny that if the same use were made of several plump advantage
young girls in this town, who without one single groat20 to their fortunes cannot
18. Psalmanazar (sBlQmE-nBzPEr) . . . Formosa (fôr-mIPsE): a French imposter in London who called himself
George Psalmanazar and pretended to be from Formosa (now Taiwan), where, he said, cannibalism was
practiced.
19. gibbet (jGbPGt): gallows.
20. groat: an old British coin worth four pennies.
21. cannot stir . . . chair: cannot go outside without using an enclosed chair carried on poles by two men.
22. Protestants . . . curate (kyMrPGt): Swift is criticizing absentee Anglo-Irish landowners who lived—and
spent their income from their property—in England.
23. distress: seizure of a person’s property for the payment of debts.
24. receipts: recipes.
mercy toward their tenants: lastly, of putting a spirit of honesty, industry, and skill
into our shopkeepers; who, if a resolution could now be taken to buy only our
native goods, would immediately unite to cheat and exact upon us in the price,
the measure, and the goodness, nor could ever yet be brought to make one fair
proposal of just dealing, though often and earnestly invited to it. i i PROPOSITION
Therefore I repeat, let no man talk to me of these and the like expedients,28 AND SUPPORT
220 till he hath at least some glimpse of hope that there will ever be some hearty and Reread lines 198–203.
What attitude toward
sincere attempt to put them in practice.
the Irish does Swift
But as to myself, having been wearied out for many years with offering vain, reveal in refuting this
idle, visionary thoughts, and at length utterly despairing of success, I fortunately opposing view?
fell upon this proposal, which, as it is wholly new, so it hath something solid
and real, of no expense and little trouble, full in our own power, and whereby
28. let no man . . . expedients: In his writings, Swift had suggested “other expedients” without success.
Comprehension
1. Recall What is Swift’s proposal for easing poverty in Ireland? RI 5 Analyze and evaluate the
effectiveness of the structure
2. Recall How will the proposal benefit Irish parents? an author uses in his or her
argument. RI 6 Determine an
3. Clarify Reread lines 222–229. Why does Swift feel that his proposal is author’s point of view or purpose
in a text in which the rhetoric is
superior to others that have been put forward? particularly effective.
Text Analysis
4. Examine Verbal Irony What verbal irony does Swift use in each of the
following parts of “A Modest Proposal”?
• the title of the essay
• lines 59–60 (“I shall now . . . least objection.”)
• lines 135–145 (“Some persons . . . evils to come.”)
5. Interpret Satire Instead of directly attacking injustice and flawed behavior,
Swift uses irony to convey his ideas indirectly. What conclusions would you
draw about his attitude toward each of the following?
• Irish landlords (lines 79–81)
• the way most English and Irish Protestants view Irish Catholics (lines 82–89)
• Irish Protestants living abroad (lines 149–155)
6. Evaluate Proposition and Support Review the chart you created as you read.
Regardless of your emotional response to the essay, do you consider the
proposal to be well supported? Explain why or why not.
7. Compare Texts Recall that on page 609, you learned the difference between
Horatian and Juvenalian satire. Compare the tone of The Rape of the Lock with the
tone of “A Modest Proposal.” Why is Pope’s poem considered Horatian and Swift’s
essay considered Juvenalian? Support your answer with examples from the texts.
Text Criticism
8. Historical Context The 18th century is often called the Age of Reason because
advances in science and technology fueled belief that governments could
apply rational thought to solve many social problems. Swift, a traditionalist,
was often skeptical of new ideas. In what ways does “A Modest Proposal”
reflect this attitude?
How might a food shortage affect our society today? How would we respond to
such a disaster, and what kinds of cracks or divisions might it reveal in society?
In your response, use at least two additional Academic Vocabulary words.
PRACTICE Answer each question below based on the information in the chart
above.
Interactive
1. Where would you turn to find out how bloomers get their name? Vocabulary
2. Where could you find a word that rhymes with aardvark? Go to thinkcentral.com.
KEYWORD: HML12-633
3. Where could you find out the difference between regretful and regrettable?
. . . these children are seldom the fruits of marriage, a circumstance not much
regarded by our savages . . . (lines 68–69)
Notice how Swift’s carefully chosen nouns satirize the dismissive attitude that
the wealthy Protestants had toward the Catholic poor, heightening the essay’s
effectiveness.
PRACTICE Copy the sentences below. Then rewrite them using nouns that will
give the sentences a more satirical edge. An example sentence is provided.
example
Nine out of ten landlords overeat, and some weigh as much as 300 pounds.
Nine out of ten landlords are gluttons, and some weigh as much as a full-grown sow.
reading-writing connection
YOUR Expand your understanding of satire by responding to this prompt.
Then use the revising tips to improve your proposal.
TURN