ISBN A Modest Proposal

In response to the dire economic conditions in eighteenth-century Ireland, A Modest Proposal ironically exhorts the poor to provide their offspring as food to the rich. Skilfully applying a wealth of classical rhetorical techniques, Swift's satirical tour de force takes a savage swipe at the selfishness of the ruling classes and the heartlessness of the various utilitarian solutions put forward by contemporary thinkers.In addition to this seminal piece, this volume includes a number of other humorous and polemical writings – including 'A Short View of the State of Ireland' and 'A Meditation upon a Broomstick' – which, taken together, provide an invaluable introduction to Swift as a master satirist and pamphleteer.