Jonathan Swift-political journalist, academic, clergyman, misanthropist. Perhaps being involved with human beings from so many different aspects made him so cynical about his own kind. This cynicism reached a summit with his final essay "A Modest Proposal" (1729), after which he chose to write only poetry.
We must remember while reading this essay that Swift was NOT being serious in suggesting that the Irish sell their children for food to the rich. He was trying to attract the attention of an indifferent audience, before asserting angrily what he thought were realistic solutions (page 5 of your copies, beginning "Therefore let no man talk to me of other expedients"). Swift's satire is very different from that of Dryden in "MacFlecknoe". He is angry rather than mocking; and he is calling out for an urgent solution to a problem of humanity rather than making fun of a rival poet.
However, similar to Dryden's "MacFlecknoe", the satire in "A Modest Proposal" is created by means of a contrast between form and content. While Dryden used the form of heroic poetry to diminish Thomas Shadwell, Swift uses the form of the essay - rational argumentation - to present content that is completely irrational and unacceptable to any human being, regardless of their race, culture or religion. Swift's language is clear and logical, the content is horrific and shocks the readers until the part where he introduces his rational solutions satirically by commenting "let no man talk to me of these and the like expedients, till he hath at least some glimpse of hope, that there will ever be some hearty and sincere attempt to put them into practice". Again we see Swift's mistrust of the good intentions of mankind.
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Instead of using cant phrases like "i like it","it is very good"...etc,i want to explain my thoughts with a poem.
TO ROW AGAINST THE WAVES
Here you are the solutions proposed by jonathan swift
Ranging from patriotism to being under the shade of thrift
Why not –he says-we eat all those small babies
So,while begging they wont run after those poor ladies
You are going to be sorry-he says-for growing them up
You will say-I wish-when the sun of troubles is at the top
Of course he is not serious about what he says
These are the bitter fruits of his sleepless days
Certainly he loves his country more than anyone else
And tries to awake people who at least have a bit of sense
These are the sentences that i wrote to praise him
As for satire ,near him,everyone’s light is convicted to be dim
In the era in which jonathan swift poets or writers dont use metaphors very much.
However in my poem i used metaphors.Sorry for that.
İlyas-your wonderful poem forgives your use of metaphor!
HATİCE ERDOĞAN
Iam as angry as Swift.In modest proposal,Swift catch our attention saying the irish eat their childeren or sell them to the rich.It is very bad.The irish people especially prefer babies because they are very tasteful.To be trust, I'm shocked.Swift wanted to make his people aware of some things, so he started this proposal like this.
we have got a Shakespeare-like friend in our class:)I can't write a poem nevertheless I will make comments.Jonathan Swift criticize his county intelligently.He looks this problem that is seen all over the world in a different way.maybe his criticism work for his county,if so we need a good satirist like Jonathan Swift in our country to solve this general problem.
When I read J.Swift's "modest" proposal for the first time,I found it a bit ridicilious.However;the second time I read,I saw that there was something sarcastic in it and I felt really sorry about the case.We also face with this problem in our country,but it seems to be impossible to solve this problem.Neither Swifts nor education can solve this.How pessimist I am:)no no I am not a pessimist,I am a realist "this is the case".
Şeyda Çeşmeci
Swift’s solution is economic:he means that pay the mothers for their children and use the children to solve the food shortage. However,this is very strange!! In fact,he gives a message to the people here, but his solution is not reasonable,because noone would sell their children...
I appreciate you ilyas it is very good poem. also ı agree with yeşim hat we can't tell our toughts with a poem so I make a comment. here the author critices the people professionally. it is disgusting that he proposed. in initial I understood that he said really bur later I realized that he critices.
Jonathan Swift propose solutions to this problem,and use different and interesting thoughts.I was shocked when i first read it,but he is intelligent;and i liked the poem İlyas wrote:)
MacFlecknoe and A Modest Proposal are different types of satires. A modest Proposal is the severest of all Tonathan Swift’s proposals. Swift looks for immediate solution to human problems and critices severely what he saw. However, in the time of Dryden satire is used to attack against enemies politically or personally and mocks with the human behavior to correct them.
"A Modest Proposal" by Jonathon Swift, in my opinion, is a brilliant piece of literature. The idea of taking a social matter of his time is great. There are a lot of people who suffer from poverty and hunger, but most of the people do not know much more about it.. Jonathan Swift proposes eating the young children -whether stewed, roasted, baked, or boiled- to solve the problem of poverty and hunger. Of course he is not serious.. He says so because he wants to be heard, to take attention of the authorities to the problems.. A Modest Proposal is an admirable work of criticism.. Even though we all against eating human flesh, I have heard that human flesh tastes delicious..:(( It's disgusting..
There is a contradiction between the title and the propose because the proposal is very shocking. I was very shocked when I heard the proposal. But,of course, it expresses Jonathan Swift's angry;he uses satire.
Yasemin YILMAZ
I didn't like the contrast between form and content, because it maked me difficult to understand at beginning. Swift is sensitive to children's troubled condition. I liked his logical 10 solutions at the ends of the essay.
the most modest of all
solutions
1. To deal with the problems of farmers say that take your mother and go away.
2. You and your family got loans from the banks by these easy taken loans bought a Small ship and says tha Gemicik.Now totally 14 gemiciks araound.
3.Distrubute social funds to poor families before election,such as coal,pasta and exggrate and refrigirator,washing machine and computer.
4.German lawyers exposed lots of evidents about lithouse law,ban even speaking about it.
5.There are 3.7 million unemployed people in Turkey.Did global cris tangent to us?Please get up my friend,it is not the scene of ıssız adam,it the situation of işşiz baba.
Firstly,I want to say that Swift used very effective way of satire.In the first paragraph Swift wrote that families sold their children for food ,but then we saw that he used very effective satire.When we totally read we can understand that Swift was very angry.I am very affected the way Swift used to show his feelings.I think the solutions that Swift suggested are very useful.
Using the word "modest" to describe such a horrific proposal must be the product of genius like Jonathan Swift.
Proposal or insruction I can not dedide yet.Swift and his idead should be taugth in the literature lesson.Our celebrated poet Nedim was very similar to Swift.
Johnthan Swift writes it effectively to show and satire the life of Ireland people. Johnthan Swift focuces on preventing the childen of the poor people in Ireland from being a burden to their parents and for making them benefical to the public.
Jonathan Swift used irony and satire for the monarchy and poor people of the country.
I think with his a modest proposal he aimed to show the social, ecomonical, and educational problems of the country.
Mac Flecknoe describes the king of Nonsense, Richard Flecknoe, looking for a successor to his throne, and settling on Thomas Shadwell.
swift knows how to attract people and I it is a good way to take attention of people shocking them or writing increadible things. to me it is the cleverness of him.
I think this essay must be one of the greatest examples of sustained irony in the history.
It is melancholy object to who walk along the street whan they see street , road crowded by beggars of the female sex with their children.This is also seen in our country ,sometimes I don't want to believe them that really they need money.Swift wanted to show people some facts..
A Modest Proposal is a satire and Jonathan Swift chose a different style to attract attention by making contrast.He aims to call people’s attent to children of poor people because these children are seen as a burden to their parents and he tried to prevent them by making some suggesstion.
Jonathen Swift propose this pamphlet because of the children who are seen as a burden to their parents, and he proposes that children are fed in a good way, and then when they grow up, they will be edible. This and these different proposals shock the people and draw their attention in an amazing way. Also, Swift uses satire for this work in a view to bother the seniors and show them the people' situations clearly with the statistical numbers.
In my opinion Modest Proposal is the most marvellous essay I have ever read. There is such a wonderful satire here that I could't help filling with admiration. England was in such a bad situation that nobody wants to live at that time now, I think:)
people were merciless, cruel and there were poverty, illness.. Children were ignored and this disturbed the writer Jonathan Swift and he decided to draw attention to this situation ,so he began to write a proposal using great satire and I think that became a great prosal. I hope that
was useful.. I wanted to congratulate the writer Jonathan Swift as he aimed to do such a useful thing and as he carried out his humanity duty...
Swift used a satire to gather all the attention on him and his ‘modest’ proposal. He wanted to make his people aware of what is going wrong. If he had put forward rational solution to the problems as many people did before, people maybe wouldn’t have taken a long and questioning look at it. I think he is an intelligent person.
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