A Modest Proposal

• Engels
• Further Education (Key Stage 5)

Goals for today 

Share a read (any read) 

The Great Age of Satire 

Jonathan Swift's satirical pamphlet "A Modest Proposal" 

Understanding of the structure of this pamphlet and the use of verbal irony. 

Rate the word 1 to 4

1. I do not know the word, and I have never seen it before. 

2. I've heard or seen the word before, but I'm not sure what it means. 

3. I know the word and can recognise and understand it while reading, but I probably wouldn't feel comfortable using it in writing or speech. 

4. I know the word well and can use it correctly in writing or speech. 

Spoonerism

Word of the day

Spoonerism (n) - The transposition of the (usually) initial sounds of two or more words, often creating a humorous effect. 

“He was killed by a blushing crow” instead of “He was killed by a crushing blow."

“The Lord is a shoving leopard” instead of “The Lord is a loving shepherd.”

Word of the day

This slip of the tongue is named  after Reverend William Archibald Spooner. He was an Anglican clergyman and warden of New College Oxford in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He was a well-respected, kindly man but is known in history for his humorous slips of the tongue.

Circum is a Latin root what do you think it means? 

Jonathan Swift 

1667 - 1745 Born in Dublin to Anglo-Irish parents 

1695 ordained as a Anglican priest 

Political writer for the Whig party 

1713 dean of St. Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin

1726 anonymously published Gulliver's Travels 

1729 "A Modest Proposal"  

Voltaire was in England from 1726 - 1729 

"A Modest Proposal" 

Verbal irony = what is said is the opposite of what is meant.

Sarcasm = remarks that clearly mean the opposite of what is said in a mocking, ironic tone. 

"A Modest Proposal" written with the conventions of a serious problem-solution essay:

1. identifies a problem and its causes

2. proposes a solution - Swift's proposition - and explains how to implement it. 

3. provides support for the proposed solution through evidence and reason

4. notes other possible solutions and refutes them. 

As you read complete the sketch notes template to uncover the underlying arguments for his proposal. You decide which part of the proposal each shape contains. 

Content 

1. What is Swift's proposal for easing poverty in Ireland. 

2. How will the proposal benefit Irish parents? 

3. Reread lines 222 - 229. Why does Swift feel that his proposal is superior to others that have been put forward? 

4. What are four advantages of this proposal? 

5. How will this proposal benefit women specifically? 

Use evidence to support your answers 

Swift's propsal is a response to the problem of poverty in Ireland. This poverty was mainly due to the colonization of Ireland by the English. Wealthy English Protestants had seized land from Catholics and limited their rights within their own country. 

Verbal irony 

1. What verbal irony does Swift use in each of the following parts of "A Modest Proposal"?  

a) the title of the essay

b) lines 59 - 60 ("I shall now ... least objection." 

c) lines 135 - 145 ("Some persons ... evils to come.") 

Verbal irony 

2. Instead of directly attacking injustice and morally corrupt behaviour, Swift uses irony to convey his ideas indirectly. What conclusions can you draw about his attitude to the following? 

a) Irish landlords (lines 79 - 81) 

b) the way most English and Irish Protestants view Irish Catholics (lines 82 -89) 

c) Irish Protestants living abroad (lines 149 - 155) 

Language in the proposal 

collateral 

deference

encumbrance 

expedient 

famine

propagation 

rudiment 

sustenance 

feast 

convenience

nourishment

reduction 

advantage 

accompanying 

contempt 

foundation 

Find the antonym or synonym for the words in the yellow block. 

Goals for today 

Comparison Swift and Voltaire 

HLE constructing a line of enquiry 

Brainstorming ideas and filling out the proposal form (if you are at that stage) 

Rate the word 1 to 4

1. I do not know the word, and I have never seen it before. 

2. I've heard or seen the word before, but I'm not sure what it means. 

3. I know the word and can recognise and understand it while reading, but I probably wouldn't feel comfortable using it in writing or speech. 

4. I know the word well and can use it correctly in writing or speech. 

Homophone

Word of the day

Homophone (n) - One of two or more words that sound the same but are spelled differently and have different meanings.

 

The Greek root homo in homophone means “same,” and the root phon means “sound,” as in phonics or telephone. Thus, homophones are “same-sounding” words.

Can you write down three pairs of homophones in English? 

blue/blew, here/hear, flower/flour, sea/see, bear/bare, brake/break, sell/cell, there/their/they're, to/too/two

Swift & Voltaire 

What similarities and differences to you find between this text and Candide? 

Write one or two paragraphs outlining your thoughts.