A Modest Proposal - Jonathan Swift (1729) Vocabulary and Authorial Choices

Vocabulary definitions and key authorial choices from Jonathan Swift's 1729 work, A Modest Proposal.

proposal

A suggested plan

publick

An old spelling of public

commonwealth

The country or society as a whole

projector

Someone who proposes plans for social or economic improvement

breeder

The speaker's dehumanizing term for a mother

Papist

A hostile historical term for a Roman Catholic

landlord

A landowner who collects rent from tenants

cottager

A poor rural worker living in a small cottage

shilling

A former British and Irish unit of money

carcass

The dead body of an animal

expedient

A convenient way of achieving something

absentee landlord

A landlord who owns property but lives elsewhere

Irony

The speaker says things that Swift expects readers to reject.

Understatement

Horrific ideas are presented as reasonable and ordinary.

Exaggeration

Cannibalism is an extreme version of society's exploitation of the poor.

Formal and logical language

The speaker uses calculations, statistics and economic vocabulary.

Dehumanization

Children are described as products, food and financial assets.

Persona

Swift hides behind a fictional, apparently reasonable speaker.

Tone

The calm, practical tone clashes with the horrifying subject.

Metaphor

Landlords have already "devoured" the parents, so they have the greatest claim to the children.