Jonathan Swift

Jonathan Swift, "A Modest Proposal"

Jonathan Swift (1667-1745) was born in Dublin, Ireland, graduated from Trinity College there in 1686, earned an M.A. from Oxford University in 1692, and a D.D. from Dublin University in 1701. He was a secretary to Sir William Temple (an English diplomat), an Anglican priest, and a dean of St. Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin. Now known throughout the world for his timeless satire, Swift was an accomplished poet, a notorious pamphleteer, and a brilliant novelist. His best-known works include The Battle of the Books/A Tale of a Tub (1704), his masterpiece Gulliver's Travels (1726), and TheGrand Question Debated (1729). Swift died in Dublin after battling brain disease and later suffering a stroke. "A Modest Proposal," which suggests a simple solution to a serious problem Ireland faced in the 18^th century, was first published in 1729.

CONTENT

1. What are the mothers and children in the first paragraph doing?
2. About how many people were living in Ireland at the time of this writing? What does Swift do with this number?
3. What does the author mean when he refers to Papists? In what context does he mention them?
4. Why does Swift write that the food he mentions is especially "proper for landlords"?
5. How does Swift suggest that his plan might be modified?
6. How does the author suggest that the "aged, diseased, or maimed" be treated?
7. What is the "one objection" Swift admits might arise to his plan? How does he deal with it?

STRATEGY AND STYLE

1. What did you do about the words in this piece that you didn't know, or couldn't determine a definition for from the context? (If, upon first reading, you knew the meaning of the words dam and dainty as used here, as well as gibbet, vintners, and raiment, you can skip this exercise.) Review the reading and look up everything you didn't understand. Will you do this in the future?
2. What is Swift's argument? What is the nature of his support for his main points?
3. Where exactly is it clear in the essay that we are not to take Swift at his literal word? What effect does this delay have upon the impact of his revelation? What would he lose if he moved it up to the beginning?
4. Discuss the title of this essay. How effective is it given the reading's subject matter and tone? What do you make of the word modest?
5. What's the difference between irony and sarcasm? Does Swift use more irony or sarcasm in "A Modest Proposal"? Explain, using specifics from your reading.

1. Did you find this essay funny? If you did, what did you find funny? If you didn't think it was funny, why not?
2. Do you think that there are some topics that just aren't suitable for comedy? Explain. How can you relate these feelings to your reading here?

SUGGESTIONS FOR SUSTAINED WRITING

1. Satire has a moral underpinning, as it pokes fun at serious things, especially human beings behaving badly. Take these elements of satire and apply them to "A Modest Proposal" in an essay that examines it as a satirical work.
2. Come up with a contemporary topic that interests you and that involves people behaving badly—CEOs acting greedily, consumers squandering nonrenewable resources, drivers making left turns without signaling. Or, come up with a topic of your own. Write a satirical essay that proposes a solution to your problem.

FOR FURTHER RESEARCH

Do some research to find out how Swift's "A Modest Proposal" was received upon its initial publication. Were people amused, confused, outraged, baffled? Was it ignored? How did Swift react? If you can't come up with specifics about the last question, speculate based upon what you know about the author.

WEB CONNECTION

Interested in putting Swift into a historical context? This is what Samuel Johnson wrote about him, and should help you on your way.

LINKS

Biographical

This is a good start page from Brittanica.com. There, you'll find a portrait, some biographical information, and links.

Want to do some more Web surfing for information about this author? Here is a good collection of Swift links.

An interesting way to see the scope of Swift's work is to browse through the list of his citations at the Library of Congress. What did you find there that you didn't know before your visit?

Bibliographical

Here is "A Modest Proposal" in etext. Do you like reading electronic texts? What are the drawbacks of etexts? What can you do with an etext that's harder to do when using plain old paper? What advantages does print have?

Here's Gulliver's Travels in several different etext formats. How reliable do you consider these versions of the text? How can one determine the reliability of texts found on the Internet?

Still hungry for more works by this author? Here is Swift's Battle of the Books and Other Short Pieces in e-text.

Cultural

Did you know that Swift also wrote poetry? Here is a page with links to some of Swift's poems. Pick a poem and study it. How can you link the poem to Swift's prose style? How is the poem different?

Interested in some more background about the gruesome subject material in this piece? Here's an essay about cannibalism. What is the tone of this essay? How can you tell? How can you link it to "A Modest Proposal"?

Jonathan Swift is best known for his satirical works. Interested in taking a look at some contemporary satire? This is the homepage of a satirical website, The Onion. Check it out.