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Pathos
Definition of Satire
Satire is the use of humor, irony, sarcasm, or ridicule to criticize something or someone. Public figures, such as politicians, are often the subject of satire, but satirists can take... read full definition
Satire is the use of humor, irony, sarcasm, or ridicule to criticize something or someone. Public figures, such as politicians, are often the subject of... read full definition
Satire is the use of humor, irony, sarcasm, or ridicule to criticize something or someone. Public figures, such as politicians... read full definition
Satire
Explanation and Analysis—Eating Children:
The following passage is the first instance in "A Modest Proposal" in which the Proposer explicitly suggests child cannibalism as a valid solution to the hunger crisis in Ireland. The general effect of this argument in the work is satirical:
I have been assured by a very knowing American of my acquaintance in London, that a young healthy child well nursed is at a year old a most delicious, nourishing, and wholesome food, whether stewed, roasted, baked, or boiled; and I make no doubt that it will equally serve in a fricassee or a ragout.
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Explanation and Analysis—Landlords:
In the following passage, Swift uses figurative language to satirize Ireland's landlords, whom he describes as having "devoured" most of the country's parents:
Unlock with LitCharts A+I grant this food will be somewhat dear, and therefore very proper for landlords, who, as they have already devoured most of the parents, seem to have the best title to the children.
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Explanation and Analysis—England's Appetite:
In the following passage, the Proposer discusses the exportation of children as material goods from Ireland, using satire to outline the exploitative relationship between the Irish people and the British Empire:
Unlock with LitCharts A+For this kind of commodity will not bear exportation, the flesh being of too tender a consistence to admit a long continuance in salt, although perhaps I could name a country which would be glad to eat up our whole nation without it.
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Explanation and Analysis—Possible Solutions:
In the following excerpt, the Proposer discredits other potential solutions to the hunger crisis, commanding others to not even speak to him about alternatives. The alternatives he proposes, however, seem much tamer to the reader when compared to his primary proposal of infant cannibalism. This is deliberate satire on Swift's part:
Unlock with LitCharts A+Therefore let no man talk to me of other expedients: of taxing our absentees at 5s. a pound: of using neither clothes nor household furniture except what is of our own growth and manufacture [...] of being a little cautious not to sell our country and conscience for nothing: of teaching landlords to have at least one degree of mercy toward their tenants.
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