Jonathan Swift Poetry Analysis

     Nineteenth-century Ireland was the most densely populated country in Europe: in 1800, its population was 4.5 million, and by 1841, it had risen to eight million (Kinealy 15). Yet much of this population existed in condition of sorrow and misery lay in the dependence of the peasantry on just one staple crop, the potato; in western countries like Mayo and Galway, nine-tenths of the people ate nothing else (MacManus 602). Here was a disaster waiting to happen, made worst by the rapid rise in population in the first half of the century which forced the peasants to subsist on smaller plots of land (O Grada, The Great Irish Famine 63).

Swift writes the essay during a time when Ireland was flourished and overpopulated with underprivileged people who could not even afford to nourish their children. The kids, for instance , "either turn thieves for want of work,or leave their dear native country to fight for the Pretender in Spain" (Swift 6-8). The author, as

In this quotation, I believe he was referring to the children as ingredients for making good foods that should be sold out to people without the care from their parents or the government. He is using this writing to make a mockery of the landowners and the government of Ireland, it is because of their inability to take care of the poor women and their children that made the mothers to take their children to the market and sold as food. We all know it is not possible to use your own children to make food. It is very frustrating to see this child be put on the market for sale.

Thesis: Swift uses rhetorical device to convey his message that the British are abusing their power against Ireland to gain land and economic boosts,and that Ireland should not only raise prices, but also self-manufacture to not depend on the British.

In the literary work of A Modest Proposal, one of the better examples of satire in literature by Jonathan Swift he writes as a concerned citizen to the Irish poor, which he describes in detail about their suffering. Swift often refers to the economy of Ireland as being unsutible for its people due to the fact that Ireland is over populated. Swift argues that the problem they are having is poverty in Ireland and describes his remedied on how it can be stopped. His work shows how savage, insane, and frightening it could be for the people of Ireland. From his work he allows many details about alienation. One of the points where this becomes about is how he takes the stand for the poor Irish people and shows how in society they have been alienated

Jonathan Swift used rhetorical strategies to create a satire that achieves his purpose. Jonathan Swift wrote this essay to address the issue of poverty in Ireland at that time. Swift demonstrates that he has put in research time, creates hyperbole, and sarcasm to create a satire that achieves his purpose.

In addition, the rights of Irish people, under the English, were severely lowered. Laws were put in place which prevented the Irish from taking part in politics, purchasing land, even getting an education, leaving them unable to move forwards in any way, leaving them stuck under English rule. Those who choose not to flee Ireland, as many did unsurprisingly, particularly to America if they survived the gruesome lower class journey overseas, and live under the tyranny of England faced poverty, disease, starvation, prejudice and death. It is this Ireland that Jonathan Swift focuses on in “A Modest Proposal” and wanted to make known to the rich English who took the Proposal as entertainment not caring about its true meaning.

During the Penal Laws era, the Irish government tried to solve the controversial issue of poverty. In a satirical essay written in 1729, Jonathan Swift, an Irish minister, wrote about a solution for Ireland’s extreme poverty issue to mock and bring attention to how the current government was handling the issue. Swift highlights the severe poverty problem of Ireland through strong factual evidence, creates an emotional and then satirical tone through his diction, and causation to convince his audience, the Irish government and aristocracy, that their country’s impoverished must be helped in a different way.

Ireland poverty was a very common situation and there are two perspectives in the way people saw or lived the poor life, in the “Modest Proposal” by “Jonathan Swift”, Swift tried to help those who were living the life of being poor and trying to figure out ways to decrease the percentage of those who are poor. In another perspective like Frank McCourt in “Angela's Ashes” by “Frank McCourt”, he lived in the ireland poverty and talked about how he struggled to survive.

In modern times, satire is widely used to denounce injustices done by the government. TV shows such as The Daily Show and its spinoff, The Colbert Report make use of this technique in order to criticize the rampant, moral corruption found in today’s society, newspapers humor the situation with grotesque and out-of-proportion caricatures, and online article sites like The Onion orchestrate the most ridiculous scenarios to make their point across. These types of satire would have not been possible without the influence of Jonathan Swift, A well known Irish satirist of the 18th century. Published in 1729, A Modest Proposal is perceived to be the “most savage of all his pamphlets.” [portable swift citation] by many. In it, Swift proposes the sale

Before the famine in the mid-1800s, “many English politicians and social reformers began to think that Ireland was a nation in need of transformation, that it’s people now needed to be yanked into the modern world by tossing out the old Gaelic traditions” (The History Place-Before the Famine). The English reformers wanted to end Ireland’s “cycle” of poverty and misfortune because in the “1800s poverty was thought to be caused by bad moral character” (The History Place- Before the Famine). The English politicians and social reformers also wanted to change the laid-back lifestyle of the Irish peasants. “ They professed the virtues of hard work, thrift and self-reliance and regarded the Irish as totally lacking in these qualities, a point of view also shared by many British officials and politicians” (The History Place-Before the Famine).

Worldwide hunger and poverty has been a problem since the beginning of time. One place that has experienced such a tragedy was Ireland in the 1700’s. Most people were impoverished and poor and no one could find a way to fix the problem. One man, Jonathan Swift, believed that he had found the solution to the problem. His plan was to take children of these impoverished families and use them as a new food source. One would simply kill the child and then prepare it in whatever they choose. Although his method was satirical, he provided enough logic and reasoning to make this idea a possibility. Thus, Jonathan Swift’s plan of eating children to save money and fix the economy is a potential plan.

The scope of the essay is limited to the work done by Jonathan Swift, A Modest Proposal, a literary criticism, an online literary glossary, as well as two more sources on Ireland’s historical events. The essay concludes that Swift effectively uses insincerity, irony, and rhetorical exaggeration to reveal his annoyance of politicians, papists, and overall citizens of poverty-stricken Ireland in the late seventeenth century. Jonathan Swift states that the people, politicians, and English were all to be at fault for the terrible state and poverty of Ireland, making it clear that the main target of the essay is not the condition of Ireland, but rather the can-do spirit of the times that led people to devise a number of illogical schemes that would purportedly solve social and economic problems.

During the early 1700's in Irish history; Catholics were not permitted to vote, marry a Protestant, join the armed forces, bare arms, or have an educated. They made up 70% of the population, but only owned 5% of the land. England had colonized Ireland and because they didn't like Catholics, they made the conditions really harsh for them. Although the English owned most of the land, they predominantly lived in England, so they would rent it out to another protestant who would then divide it between multiple Irish families. The rent would be raised with any land improvements so the tenants would often avoid making any. This then leads to poor food production rates and an overall poorer country. In the essay “ The Modest

by Johnathan Swift is a satirical essay posing a plan to ease the people of Ireland from poverty and famine. Swift proposes lower class families, in particular mothers, are able to give away their children for human consumption by the higher class in exchange for money. The piece mocks the higher and lower class while holding both responsible for Ireland's crisis. The resolution to eat small children seems outrageous and questions the morality of oneself while it is simply presenting the problem through a satirical solution.