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A Modest Proposal and Other Satirical Works

av Jonathan Swift

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1,3411913,950 (3.98)47
Published anonymously in 1729, Jonathan Swift's satirical essay, A Modest Proposal, puts forth the darkly comical idea that the starving poor of Ireland might alleviate their economic condition by selling their children as food for wealthy gentlemen and ladies. At its core, Swift's Modest Proposal satirizes English exploitation of Ireland in particular and the heartless attitude that rich elites can develop towards the poor in general. Along with Gulliver's Travels, A Modest Proposal is an early English example of the black comedic genre. HarperTorch brings great works of non-fiction and the dramatic arts to life in digital format, upholding the highest standards in ebook production and celebrating reading in all its forms. Look for more titles in the HarperTorch collection to build your digital library.… (mer)
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I love reading about eating children in the morning. This is probably the third time I've read that essay. Still good. There are some other gems in this too like his trolling of astrology and there are some stuff that are okay. I needed some humor, so figured this would be a good choice. ( )
  Ghost_Boy | Aug 25, 2022 |
This is a small collection of essays and letters. It's quite a subjective read as each piece demonstrates Swift's range as a writer of the political, satirical, theological and personal. I would say it is a taster for hunting down further collections depending on what you are interested in. For me, I enjoyed A Modest Proposal, A Meditation Upon a Broomstick, and Thoughts on Various Subjects. The other pieces were interesting but at times rambling. Don't get me wrong, I like rambling writing but find it strenuous when it pertains to political or religious content. He's not as acerbic as I like when it comes to satire, and I personally prefer Chesterton and Shaw in that respect but his writing is enjoyable, not so much when it comes to a turn of phrase but in summary of a well turned out opinion. ( )
  RupertOwen | Apr 27, 2021 |
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 fricassee or a ragout.

With this paragraph, around a quarter of the way through a 1729 text, Swift (originally writing anonymously) detonates the bomb that is at the core of A Modest PROPOSAL For preventing the CHILDREN of POOR PEOPLE From being a Burthen to Their Parents or Country, and For making them Beneficial to the PUBLICK.

But this, of course, is Swift, and we must never take his writings at their word. When he discusses the main advantages of such a policy for Ireland (such as fewer Catholics, the introduction of a new dish for gentlemen with refined tastes, an added draw for taverns, an income for the 'breeders' and an economic policy to encourage marriage) his purpose is to criticise social attitudes, but as with all satire, outward appearances are outrageous--but also deceptive.

Swift was Anglo-Irish Anglican clergyman, and his position was to be a signpost always to a via media (as characterises the Church of England itself, being somewhere in the middle of a Christian continuum stretching from Dissenter to Roman Catholic). By taking arguments to extremes, as with A Modest Proposal, he exposed what he saw as inherent ridiculousness, but with such po-faced earnestness that it was sometimes hard to know when he was being serious without close reading of the text.

In this slim volume are also included four other works. The Battle of the Books is the longest, and was essentially a discourse on the three strands of Christianity in the west, with the individuals Peter, Martin and Jack standing for Catholicism, Anglicanism and Nonconformism. (As a digression, I wonder if this piece indirectly influenced R M Ballantyne's famous novel The Coral Island, the leads of which were Peterkin, Jack Martin and Ralph, and which itself directly inspired William Golding's characters Piggy, Jack and Ralph in The Lord of the Flies.)

Also here is the very short A Meditation upon a Broomstick, a mock allegory of the human condition perpetrated as a joke upon a Lady Berkeley. This is followed by A Discourse concerning the Mechanical Operation of the Spirit: in this Swift equates spirit with 'enthusiasm', literally the state of being possessed by a god. The manifestation of enthusiasm Swift calls 'ejaculating the spirit, or transporting it beyond the sphere of matter'; to the three expressions of this manifestation--divine prophecy or inspiration, devilish possession, and the product of the imagination or strong emotions--Swift adds 'the mechanical operation of the spirit', which he at first compares to the ass on which Mohammed is said to have travelled to Paradise. (He also has witty words to say about epistolatory conventions, but there is no space, dear reader, to expand on this.)

That only leaves the last of these papers published before 1729, An Argument Against Abolishing Christianity in England, which, however dry the subject appears to be from the title, is as knockabout a farce attacking all and sundry as any in this collection. Swift's own footnotes, along with the editor's, are included here, as well as a brief biography by way of introduction.

Even allowing for a three-century gap these pieces have a surprisingly relevant contemporary bite, especially in view of recent political events: the shocking satire of A Modest Proposal throws a light on the downsides of utilitarianism, the dangers of cynical commercialism and the human capacity for self-delusion. ( )
  ed.pendragon | Apr 3, 2019 |
"A Modest Proposal" is definitely the strongest work here. And given how it is written, I can believe that people reading it today might not understand that it is satire--though how they can miss it being announced as satire on the cover of every volume it is in, in the intro, in every short summary, etc etc, is beyond me.

"An Argument..." and "A Discourse..." both have some good bits. "A Meditation" is clever and very short. "The Battle" requires a background in Swift's contemporaries that I simply do not have (even with the brief notes saying who they were). Also, there are parts of it missing, and there is no way to know how long or important those parts might have been to the story itself. I can see this piece being funny to those who know the many authors mentioned. ( )
  Dreesie | Apr 12, 2016 |
So..I didn't read the WHOLE book. Only the essay, but I couldn't find just the essay (couldn't find it on the goodreads...)

From reading just that essay, I would like to read the rest though, he's hilarious. ( )
  csweder | Jul 8, 2014 |
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» Lägg till fler författare (16 möjliga)

Författarens namnRollTyp av författareVerk?Status
Swift, JonathanFörfattareprimär författarealla utgåvorbekräftat
Armellin, BrunoÖversättaremedförfattarevissa utgåvorbekräftat
Brilli, AttilioFörordmedförfattarevissa utgåvorbekräftat
Fabricant, CaroleInledningmedförfattarevissa utgåvorbekräftat
Hogarth, WilliamOmslagmedförfattarevissa utgåvorbekräftat
Hulse, MichaelRedaktörmedförfattarevissa utgåvorbekräftat
Hulse, MichaelRedaktörmedförfattarevissa utgåvorbekräftat
Marucci, FrancoÖversättaremedförfattarevissa utgåvorbekräftat
Rosati, SalvatoreÖversättaremedförfattarevissa utgåvorbekräftat
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It is a melancholy object to those, who walk through this great town, or travel in the country, when they see the streets, the roads and cabbin-doors [sic] crowded with beggars of the female sex, followed by three, four, or six children, all in rags, and importuning every passenger for an alms.
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Contains: The battle of the books (1697) --
A meditation upon a broomstick (1701) --
A discourse concerning the mechanical operation of the spirit (1704) --
An argument against abolishing Christianity in England (1708) --A modest proposal (1729).
[This volume] include[s] some of [Jonathan Swift 's] pieces against organized religion and the English oppression of Ireland: "A Tale of a Tub"; "A Tritical Essay"; "A Meditation upon a Broomstick"; "Thoughts on Various Subjects" ... "A Character, Panegyric, and Description of the Legion Club"; and "A Modest Proposal." -Back cover.
A tale of a tub --
The battle of the Books --
An Argument against abolishing Christianity --
A Modest Proposal --
A True and Faithful Narrative --
A meditation upon a Broomstick --
Notes.
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Published anonymously in 1729, Jonathan Swift's satirical essay, A Modest Proposal, puts forth the darkly comical idea that the starving poor of Ireland might alleviate their economic condition by selling their children as food for wealthy gentlemen and ladies. At its core, Swift's Modest Proposal satirizes English exploitation of Ireland in particular and the heartless attitude that rich elites can develop towards the poor in general. Along with Gulliver's Travels, A Modest Proposal is an early English example of the black comedic genre. HarperTorch brings great works of non-fiction and the dramatic arts to life in digital format, upholding the highest standards in ebook production and celebrating reading in all its forms. Look for more titles in the HarperTorch collection to build your digital library.

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