A Modest Proposal

A critical analysis of ‘A Modest Proposal’

‘A Modest Proposal’ is a Juvenalian satirical essay which was written by Jonathon Swift in 1729; a period of great inequality in Ireland which was then ruled by England. During this period, the poorer sections of the Irish population were subject to severe economic hardship, in which thousands literally starved to death every year whilst others were forced to beg in order to survive. Swift, along with many others, was dissatisfied with what he perceived as a refusal on the Irish aristocracy and English establishment’s behalf to help the Irish peasants. His essay, which he published anonymously, was born out of such frustrations.

Swift uses the speaker to personify the Irish aristocrats and English decision makers and reflect what he felt was their attitude towards the peasants. He is mocking their ineptness and inability to resolve the issues with poverty and inequality in Ireland by presenting them with a hyperbolic, ridiculous solution. By Swift giving his speaker such an absurd proposal, he hopes that it could ultimately result in one of his readers, perhaps an important political figure, accepting the severity of the Irish peasants’ plight and actually stepping up to do something about it. Swift is acknowledging that the poor are being treated like animals by the wealthy landowners and aristocrats so he satirically presents them as literally being like animals; suitable to kill, eat and sell by the pound. Contextually, it is worthwhile to remember that in Ireland around this time, people’s attitudes were beginning to change as they started valuing money and the material possessions that come with it more than people, who had become somewhat of a commodity for wealthy land and factory owners. Swift presented people as a literal commodity in his essay.

Perhaps comparisons can be made with the way in which Swift uses the speakers’ proposal and a psychological theory called the ‘door-in-the-face technique’ which...