"A Modest Proposal" Analysis

After finishing our reading of "A Modest Proposal," we took a step back and analyzed how Swift makes his satire effective.

Firstly, he is a skilled user of verbal irony. This is where the author says one thing, but actually means something VERY different. For instance, consider the table below (this table is on the front of your Restoration packet btw!):

What Swift States	What Swift Means
The title of the selection, “A Modest Proposal”	Swift’s proposal is hardly modest; it is outrageous and likely to cause horror in readers
“…although I rather recommend buying the children alive and dressing them hot from the knife…”	The rich view the Irish as animals, not as human
“I have not the least personal interest in endeavoring to promote this necessary work…”	Swift is actually outraged by the treatment of the Irish by the English and has a large personal interest in the issue
“…as they have already devoured most of the parents…”	Landlords have consumed all of the resources and have drained the Irish of all money, work, and livelihood

So, Swift's piece makes good use of irony to transform it into a very perceptive piece of satire. However, as Swift's satirical proposal is so horrific, he must do a great deal of work to create what sounds like a reasonable persuasive argument. He does this through the use of the rhetorical appeals - ethos, pathos, and logos. In your Restoration packet, you will find a tri-chart with these three appeals as the header. Here are some of the instances of these three rhetorical appeals that we found:

Logos (Logic)	Pathos (Emotion)	Ethos (Credibility)
Line 90-97: Swift’s plan will bring profit to poor families for each child sold	Line 1-8: Describing the streets filled with women and children begging for food and money	Line 83-84: He was given information from a notable French doctor
Line 159-162: The plan will bring up to $50,000 per year in profit to the nation	Line 30 – 34: Describing the abortions and murder of children by mothers who cannot afford to care for them	Line 105-107: Swift states he took feedback and input from people that could be considered respectable
Line 35-43: He calculates the exact number of impoverished parents and children in the country to show the extent of the problem	Line 98-100: Swift crosses the line from formal to crass when describing using a baby’s skin being used to make gloves or boots.	Line 249-252: Swift states since the plan will not affect him, he is unbiased in suggesting this plan.

Swift's use of rhetorical appeals is important. If he had simply started his essay by proposing to eat poor children, most readers would immediately disconnect and pass the piece off as nothing but an obscene joke. Instead, he draws the reader in by showing them the real size of the problem, making the reader care about the problem, and demonstrating himself to be a reliable and well-informed individual. THEN he suggests eating babies.

Swift offers a great many supports in the form of benefits his plan will bring to the country. Here are a few of them:

1. The poor children will help feed and clothe thousands
2. The relationship between tenants and landlords will improve along with the relationships between husbands and wives.
3. Women will become better mothers and be able to work more after selling off their child.
4. It will help to stimulate trade and the economy.
5. The wealthy will want to visit Ireland more due to the new exotic dish.
6. The population of Catholics and Irish will be reduced.
7. It will provide a source of food and income for the poor.

Despite the large number of benefits, Swift still includes a concession to make the satire meaningful. Towards the end of the piece, he concedes that there actually exists a long list of alternative solutions such as taxing absentee landlords, inspiring national pride, reducing the consumption of foreign goods, and actually having compassion, but he rejects all of these ideas outright because he states that no one actually wants to do these things. His concession is important because he doesn't just acknowledge the alternatives and then brush them off. He uses it as a way to make his true purpose known amidst all the satirical suggestions. Then concession reveals his true purpose to the audience and drives the point home.