Jonathon Swift

A detailed Summary of Jonathon Swift

"It is melancholy object to those, who walk through this great town, or travel in the country, when they see the streets, the roads and cabin-doors crowded with beggars of the female sex, followed by three, four, or six children, all in rags, and importuning every passenger for alms" (Swift 1). Jonathon Swift wrote this passage as an opening to his famous essay "A Modest Proposal". The proposal reflects his opinion and criticism on the poor people of Ireland. Within his writing lie very hard truths that the public cannot handle. Many were offended after reading some of his literature. Swift's writing is still a very popular topic among critics, today.

Swift is found to be arguable on whether his writing is really poetry or nothing but nonsense. As one critic says "Swift is a writer whose genius and powers have always been the subject of very divided opinions" (Davis V). This statement holds very true considering the opinions among readers. There are two sides to the story being whether this essay or poetry is of any value or attributes to greatness or if it is just a repulsive writing written by someone of no taste or talent.

Within his writing lies a solution to a continuing problem in Ireland. "I think it is agreed

"The problem is obvious enough, however: one must accommodate himself to the truth that some very endearing poetic traditions find absolutely no expressions in Swift's poetry" (Hunting 79). What Swift calls poetry and the true meaning of poetry are not one of the same but total opposites themselves. His idea of "...poems were as far removed from what was generally considered to be poetic" (Survey 18). What was written is absolutely grotesque and stomach turning. The simple thought of cannibalism is enough to make most run to the bathroom or cry. This shows the real psychopaths out there who have no problem with devouring the same species. Where is the art of raising children to a very young age of on or two and then selling them on the market for someone to eat? Since when does poetic genius involve the works of all of these weirdoes spreading the idea to eat one another?

Some people admire Swift for his writings even though grotesque he gets a point across. "We are compelled to admire the force of his talents, even while thus unworthily employed, in exposing the worst parts of our nature with the art of an anatomist dissecting a mangled and half-putrid carcass" (Scott 1). Swift is noted still as being a genius writer even though his works are vile. The bottom line is he was an excellent writer but judged in a different sense on more the topic he chose to write.

"Swift's tendency to dwell on the meaner, and even the revolting facts of life, occurs both in his prose and his poetry" (Survey 18). He gets his point across grossly but nonetheless still gets his point across. People of his time don't have specifically an understanding of what was written means. "Indeed, some aspects of his work-his political and ecclesiastical propaganda, for example, or his satire of the "absurdity of the human condition"-are more comprehensible to us than they were to his own contemporaries" (Tuveson 1). This statement goes right along with how his work is better accepted and understood now than it wa

Some common words found in the essay are:
Proposal Swift, Modest Proposal, Basically Hunting, , Jonathon Swift, survey 18, swift's writing, swift 2, swift 1, modest proposal, writing lies,

Approximate Word count = 1359
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English