A Modest Proposal

A Modest Proposal is a famous satire written by Jonathan Swift. Assuming the cool tone of an impartial outsider, the author suggests that children of the poor Irish people be sold at one year old as food for the English nobles. Written with much conciseness and terseness, the "proposal" is by far the most consummate artistic expression of Swift' s indignation toward the terrible oppression and exploitation of the Irish people by the English ruling class.