A Modern Proposal & The Impact of Satire
"Satire is supposed to prick people's consciences and challenge the powerful - but is that possible in a society where no-one can agree on the basis of right and wrong?"
Today’s episode is a part of our Modern Readers series, aimed at exploring the modern literary landscape using the frameworks, language and criticisms we often use in the classroom. We enjoy this series as a fun and interesting way to explore contemporary reads with close readings and apply literary lenses, as well as foster discussions about what we’re noticing in the world of books and publishing more broadly.
Today we have a in-depth discussion about Jonathan Swift’s essay, “A Modern Proposal” and how he uses satire to provoke a strong reaction and political response. We dig into questions like “satire is a rhetorical device, but is it rhetorically effective as a main mode of communication?” and “what’s the point of satire?” and “where do we see Swift’s legacy in the political satire of today?”
Listen to today’s episode wherever you get your podcasts!
Another satirical masterpiece
Jonathan Swift’s most well known work is Gulliver’s Travels. It has been called “a satirical masterpiece,” and it’s easy to see why!
Gulliver's Travels chronicles the extraordinary voyages of Lemuel Gulliver, an English surgeon, who sets sail in search of adventure and fortune after his business ventures falter. Through Gulliver's first-person account, readers are swept along on a series of fantastical encounters.
"By all which, instead of being discouraged, they are fifty times more violently bent upon prosecuting their schemes, driven equally on by hope and despair; that as for himself, being not of an enterprising sprit, he was content to go on in the old forms, to live in the houses his ancestors had built, and act as they did in every part of life without innovation. That, some few other persons of quality and gentry had done the same, but were looked on with an eye of contempt and ill-will, as enemies to art, ignorant, and ill commonwealth's-men, preferring their own ease and sloth before the general improvement of their country."
Swift uses satire expertly to show England’s need for reformation in both government and society. Gulliver’s Travels is a dense text, despite its silly stories and its frequent packaging as a children’s novel. Pick it up if you’re interested in a challenging, imaginative adventure and biting satire that requires quite a bit of historical context.
Our Summer Readalong
This summer, we’re reading Les Misérables by Victor Hugo. This French classic in translation follows Jean Valjean, a reformed criminal turned politician, who is hunted by the villainous police inspector Javert and forced to decide between survival and self-sacrifice. Obviously, this is a teeny tiny summary of the over 1000 page tome. As we read, we will encounter other iconic characters and heaps of historical detail on 19th century France and the French Revolution.
Just like our readalongs for The Odyssey and The Custom of the Country, you can expect exclusive Patreon content to guide you through this ginormous classic.
We’ll be back in your feed soon with an episode on our most anticipated books for summer, along with backlist pairings and a full discussion of On Beauty by Zadie Smith—then it’s on to our Slow Down Summer Read Along!.
Until then, we declare after all, there is no enjoyment like reading. How much sooner one tires of anything than of a book!
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