Earnest And A Modest Proposal

The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde and A Modest Proposal by Jonathan Swift are two pieces of satire. A Modest Proposal is a satirical proposal that suggested people should eat poor babies to alleviate famine and overpopulation in Ireland, as a way to mock the Irish government for not enforcing any solutions during the catastrophic state of Ireland. The Importance of Being Earnest is a play that highlights the superficiality of the wealthy. Swift and Wilde use different satirical techniques to critique their targets. Although the authors use different satirical techniques, they have both created pieces that are relevant today.

First, Wilde uses irony to create satire in The Importance of Being Earnest. For example, Lady Bracknell

Swift is extremely frustrated with the government; more specifically, he believes that the government is doing a poor job of choosing which groups of people to prioritize. This article was written during a time where Ireland was facing famine and overpopulation. He distresses over the fact that streets are “crowded with beggars of the female sex, followed by three, four, or six children, all in rags” (Swift 1). However, his explanation for his proposal seems to be more beneficial to the rich people, since he brings up that the profit the poor people make from selling their babies can be given to landlords to help pay off the landlord’s rent (Swift 9). From this, readers can infer that Swift believes that the propositions offered by the Irish government do not benefit the people who need benefits

It is likely that The Importance of Being Earnest will remain a popular play because people still love to see wealthy/successful people portrayed in a negative way. Tabloids, gossip magazines, and reality TV shows, such as Keeping Up with the Kardashians, are primary examples of current media that people love because it criticizes wealthy people. For example, virtually everyone knows about the Taylor Swift and Kim Kardashian fight, when Kim posted a video that exposed Taylor’s lie (Vox.com). However, it is likely news to most people that Taylor Swift visited patients in an Australian hospital (People), because it is clearly human nature to love hating on successful or wealthy individual. If The Importance of Being Earnest heavily criticises wealthy people, then it is no doubt that the satirical work is still popular to this