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Jonathan Swift And A Modest Proposal Essay

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Jenna Crowley Dr. Stephen Voyce ENGL:2010:0A06 3 March 2023 Unearthing Corruption Through Dehumanization Although Jonathan Swift and William Shakespeare wrote in two different literary periods, both writers produced highly significant works that involved aspects of animalization. Swift and Shakespeare use animal imagery as a method of dehumanizing their characters, but while “A Modest Proposal” compares Irish children to livestock to indirectly highlight the exploitation of Ireland by the British, Richard III uses predatory animals as a metaphor to illustrate the inherently deceitful nature of Richard himself. Both writers employ this technique to emphasize characters treated as subordinates or outcasts of society, and to subsequently reveal …show more content…

Richard, who is often ostracized or condemned by other members of the nobility due to his physical deformity, is compared to deadly or dangerous animals throughout the play to serve as a reminder of both his isolation and his underlying manipulative nature. For instance, he is equated to a tiger by Queen Elizabeth when she learns he has imprisoned Lords Rivers and Grey: “The tiger now hath seized the gentle hind; / Insulting tyranny begins to jut / Upon the innocent and aweless throne” (Shakespeare 2.4. 50-52). Elizabeth’s analogy of Richard’s hunger for the throne as comparable to the powerful, barbaric tendencies of a top predator in the animal kingdom emphasizes the unceasing commitment of Richard to kingship–so much so that he would abandon his humanity. The ongoing corruption of his morality is furthermore represented by that of a merciless wolf after he kills his nephews: “Wilt thou, O God, fly from such gentle lambs / And throw them in the entrails of the wolf?” (Shakespeare 4.4. 22-23). The stark contrast between the innocence associated with lambs and the violent attributes of the wolf, their natural predator, symbolizes the true maliciousness of Richard himself, who typically hides his conniving nature behind the facade of charisma and a sharp tongue. By murdering the two young boys, who Shakespeare consistently characterizes as youthful and pure of heart, he has revealed the depth of his desperation for power. While the nobility’s ridicule of Richard’s disfigurement may contribute to their comparison of him to the sub-human, the equation of him to formidable, bloodthirsty, and predatory animals explicitly underlines his mutilated sense of

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Jonathan Swift’s “A Modest Proposal” is a very interesting take on how the Irish government should cure the famine that the country was then facing. However, the entire proposal was completely bizarre, and the whole point of the essay was to bring attention to the idea that they needed a solution to the all the problems they were experiencing but the proposal was definitely not it. He even had a strongly developed plan as to how his proposal would work which makes the reader feel as if he is serious about selling children, eating them, and using their skins as a fashion accessory; however, ultimately this proposal was not his true goal. Jonathan Swift skillfully used different styles of writing, such as imagery and irony, to show why the

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This essay will be analysing a close reading of Jonathan Swifts ‘A Modest Proposal,’ focusing on the literary technique of satiric meaning and the effects this has on the overall message including references to the definition of satire from Murfin and Ray. The use of Satire is present in Jonathan Swifts ‘A Modest Proposal’ since it involves “using irony, wit, and sometimes sarcasm to expose humanity's vices and foibles (Murfin and Ray 251),” which we can identify predominantly in the dialogue of the text. The essay will be anaylsed through referring to one set reading provided by Barbara Bengels ‘Swifts modest proposal’ and how Swift uses the proposal to discuss the “Children of Poor People (in Ireland) Being a Burden to their Parents, or

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Richard III has several tragic flaws, but most specifically and notably his physical deformity and the verbal abuse he receives from his family and peers. These flaws ultimately lead Richard III into his persistence of fulfilling his goal to ‘prove a villain’. Additionally, these two major flaws instil bitterness in Richard III, which manifests itself in his desire to wreak havoc on others in the play. Richard III states that he is ‘rudely stamped’ and ‘not shaped for sportive tricks’ (1 – 1 – 14). He is clearly bitter all because he is ‘deformed, unfinished, sent before my time’ and ‘cheated of feature by dissembling nature (1 – 1 – 19).

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Admittedly, there is a shift in the audience’s perception of Richard as the play develops and his actions come to fruition. However, Richard’s interactions with the audience thus far remain unreliable and therefore there are minimal concrete judgements made about his morality and role as a protagonist. After being paralyzed by fear and guilt due to the ghosts’ visit, Richard reveals, “O no, alas, I rather hate myself. For hateful deeds committed by myself. I am a villain.”

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Critical Analysis of Jonathan Swift’s “A Modest Proposal” In the work entitled “A Modest Proposal” by Jonathan Swift, the theme of social injustice is enhanced by the use of verbal irony to convey a charged message. The ambiguous title and introduction to Jonathan Swift’s masterpiece does little to prepare the reader for shocking content revealed later in the text. Swift’s work is powerful, poignant and persuasive because it strikes at the heart of the modern readers ethics, as it likely would have done for the author’s contemporary audiences. Jonathan Swift’s 1729 masterpiece is a satirical metaphor centered around the pervasive assertion, “the English are devouring the Irish.” Jonathan Swift gives a more comprehensive exordium concerning his work stating that is it “a modest proposal for preventing the children of poor people in Ireland, from being a burden on their parents and country, and for making them beneficial to the public (Swift 1199).

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