A Modest Proposal

By Jonathan Swift

Read & Co. Great Essays presents this brand new edition of Jonathan Swift's satirical essay, "A Modest Proposal" (1729). Referring to the worsening state of poverty amongst families and children in Ireland at the time, Swift’s proposal is to solve the problem by feeding the children of the poor to the rich. Throughout the text he uses statistics, data, and various methods – including recipes – to evidence the economic viability of his suggestion. The essay was received with humour, yet Swift’s powerful critique of social welfare and political injustice is clear. Jonathan Swift (1667-1745) was a prolific writer, poet and political pamphleteer, born into the Anglo-Irish ruling class. He is most remembered for his scathing satirical style and other famous works: “A Tale of a Tub” (1704) and “Gulliver’s Travels” (1726).

• Language: English
• Publisher: Read Books Ltd.
• Release date: Aug 20, 2018
• ISBN: 9781528785846

Jonathan Swift

Born in 1667, Jonathan Swift was an Irish writer and cleric, best known for his works Gulliver’s Travels, A Modest Proposal, and A Journal to Stella, amongst many others. Educated at Trinity College in Dublin, Swift received his Doctor of Divinity in February 1702, and eventually became Dean of St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Dublin. Publishing under the names of Lemeul Gulliver, Isaac Bickerstaff, and M. B. Drapier, Swift was a prolific writer who, in addition to his prose works, composed poetry, essays, and political pamphlets for both the Whigs and the Tories, and is considered to be one of the foremost English-language satirists, mastering both the Horatian and Juvenalian styles. Swift died in 1745, leaving the bulk of his fortune to found St. Patrick’s Hospital for Imbeciles, a hospital for the mentally ill, which continues to operate as a psychiatric hospital today.

Reviews for A Modest Proposal

[alcracka · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I knew what this was about, but I didn't realize how savage it would be. Incredible stuff.

[brakketh-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A novel suggestion as to how to manage an overabundance of children.

[jorgecarvajal-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A most notable work of art whose only sin is that of brevity. An admirable solution in times of trouble which transcends space and time and should be seriously pondered by all great and not-so-great minds alike in order to solve the concerns of our modern society.

[bcteagirl_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was a short, satirical, dark, humorous, bitter proposal on how to deal with the Irish poor. It leads you slowly in by discussing how concerned they are with the poor and their suffering, and how they need a way to have honest work to support themselves, and how the suffering of children is especially problematic. Then it offers a solution to the problem: If people are largely property of their landlords, and if they are going to be allowed to do nothing but suffer anyway, why not sell the babies as foodstuffs? The first allusion to 'renewable resources' I have come across. Funny, but at the same time sad and occasionally hard to read, at least for me.

[mlbelize · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

With the high costs of living, the expenses of educating, clothing, feeding and generally raising children to majority, the solution, as presented in Jonathan Swift's satire, A Modest Proposal, should perhaps be revisited again and given consideration. And please, before you get out the rope to lynch me, realize this is said very tongue-in-cheek. A good read. Hmm, could use a little more salt.

[lydia1879 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Short, concise and biting in its wit and humour. Satire should be a vehicle through which we examine the uglier, more painful parts of life so I feel like Swift did this really well.

I did feel like, because of the time and context, some of the finer points of the satire went over my head but his tone was almost perfect for this type of writing, because it was a little bit antiquated.

A neat and tidy example of satire.

[deltaqueen50 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A Modest Proposal is a satirical essay written and published by Jonathan Swift in 1729. It’s full title is “A Modest Proposal for Preventing the Children of Poor People From Being a Burden to Their Parents, or the Country, and for Making them Beneficial to the Publick”, a title almost as long as the essay itself. These writings are an ironical attempt to point out a cheap and easy method of turning the starving children of Ireland into a useful economic commodity.This satirical essay is short, and straight forward in it’s implication. The humor and irony is both in the subject matter and in his style of delivery. He writes in concise, business like language which makes his proposal all the more shocking when revealed. He also backs up his proposal with specific data about the positive effects this practice would have, both on the poor families and on Ireland’s complex social, political and economic systems.

[bonniemarjorie · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

‘A Modest Proposal for Preventing the Children of Poor People in Ireland From Being a Burden on Their Parents or Country, and for Making Them Beneficial to the Publick’ otherwise known as simply 'A Modest Proposal' is anything but modest.

'I shall now therefore humbly propose my own thoughts, which I hope will not be liable to the least objection.

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 fricasie, or a ragoust.'

This satire was said to have been written in response to the heartless response to Irish poverty and the policies of the leaders at the time. ‘A Modest Proposal’ goes into extreme detail on how selling infants after the age of one will be beneficial to society which was quite humorous, indeed; however, as a satire it was obviously meant as a mockery and I do believe it hit the mark.

[sasham-1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

This is interesting but I feel this one could have really benefited from explanatory notes as I really don't know much about the history of Ireland and England during this time in history

[thecrow2 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Short satirical writings of Swift. The eponymous is simply great but I found the other two a bit boring. Or maybe I'm just not Irish enough for them....

[readingrat_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Seriously twisted satire.

[charlottejones952 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This is a surprising satirical essay which is about quite a disturbing subject but is really well-written and reads like a classic. I enjoyed this but I think I could get more out of it by reading it again so think if I ever reread it, the star rating might increase, but for now it's a 3 star read :)

[steadfastreader · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is a fabulous little essay. There's no excuse that anyone shouldn't have read it. It's Swift's thoughts on the Irish Potato Famine. Masterful and dark satire.

[xleptodactylous · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Satirical musings upon the state of Ireland in the 18th Century, wherein the author of Gulliver's Travels tries to provide ways in which the country could provide for itself in an unusual manner...

A mixture of satirical and semi-realistic essays with some poetry thrown in, A Modest Proposal illuminates the writings of Swift quite well. He is obviously very concerned about the state of his country, Ireland, and deals out various ways in which the country can regain its footing again. Mostly concerning the ways in which children can become very helpful towards their state, it combines right-wing thinking with left-wing humour. There is one surprise you could not fail to notice, which is quite ridiculous considering how well written it was at first. I very nearly believed him.

[martinbodek · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

His proposal is WHAT? This is satire? Satire of what? I don't get it. Is the whole thing a setup for the final sentence? If so, still not funny. Whatevs, moving on to the next book in the 1,001 Books...

[kristelh_15 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A satire on poverty in Ireland. The author proposes that the poor be assisted to fatten up the children which would then be sold for food to the rich. The pamphlet includes recipes for preparing the new meat. The author states that this will stop voluntary abortions and murder of bastard children.

[britt84 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

That was weird... I really had no expectations about this book and had sort of expected it to be a novel, but it was more like a pamphlet, an argumentative essay. And at first I thought it was serious and was quite appaled, until I came to the idea of eating babies and realised it had to be satirical. Not surprising I guess, given the fact that it was written by Swift. I think I should probably re-read it sometime now that I do have an idea what it is about; I didn't like it much, but part of that is because it was so different from what I expected, and that I really thought it was terrible at first, before realising it wasn't serious.Then again, it is really well done, seeing as it did fool me at first...

[macleod73-292574 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Biting social commentary by way of satire.