Primarily, through the methodical, detached tone used here, Swift accentuates how the Enlightenment favoured science over emotion. By using facts, Swift satirises the emphasis that the Enlightenment placed on scientific knowledge as a way of advancing society. Swift identifies that there are “one million and a half people” people in Ireland, “two hundred thousand” ( AMP, p.8) of which being suitable for breeding. One such example is the Enlightenment Period and through this, he expresses his anger at the English government for their maltreatment of the Irish population. Swift satirises many things within A Modest Proposal. Within this essay, I will be arguing that A Modest Proposal is a satire specific to its own age, due to how it relates to particular events in its social context, such as the Enlightenment Period and Juvenalian satire. The moral message within the text is that the English government completely mistreat the Irish nation. The text is humorous in how Swift shocks the reader with his proposal that the Irish should make money by selling their children to be eaten. Jonathan Swift’s A Modest Proposal (1729) can be considered a satire for the same reason.
To what extent is a Modest Proposal a satire specific to its own age?Ī general definition of a satire is a piece of writing that is predominantly funny, but has a strong moral message behind it.
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