A Modest Proposal Literary Devices

Definition of Pathos

Pathos, along with logos and ethos, is one of the three "modes of persuasion" in rhetoric (the art of effective speaking or writing). Pathos is an argument that appeals to... read full definition

Pathos, along with logos and ethos, is one of the three "modes of persuasion" in rhetoric (the art of effective speaking or writing). Pathos is... read full definition

Pathos, along with logos and ethos, is one of the three "modes of persuasion" in rhetoric (the art of effective... read full definition

Explanation and Analysis—Female Figures of Pathos:

It is traditional, in persuasive texts, for the writer's use of pathos to feature detailed accounts of the suffering of women and children or others deemed "innocent" and "helpless" by societal standards. The Proposer does exactly this, including in his argumentative exposition a description of the plight of impoverished mothers:

These mothers, instead of being able to work for their honest livelihood, are forced to employ all their time in strolling to beg sustenance for their helpless infants; who as they grow up either turn thieves for want of work, or leave their dear native country to fight for the pretender in Spain, or sell themselves to the Barbadoes.

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Explanation and Analysis—Abortion and Cannibalism:

Before he outlines in explicit terms the violent nature of his solution, the Proposer describes the types of violence he wishes to circumvent: namely, women aborting the unborn and murdering their bastard children. The Proposer clearly describes this violence in an attempt to generate pathos and make readers sympathetic to his cause and proposed solution:

There is likewise another great advantage in my scheme, that it will prevent those voluntary abortions, and that horrid practice of women murdering their bastard children, alas, too frequent among us! sacrificing the poor innocent babes I doubt more to avoid the expense than the shame, which would move tears and pity in the most savage and inhuman breast.

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A Modest Proposal: Pathos 2 key examples

Definition of Pathos