Skip to main content
A Modest Proposal and Other Satirical Works (Dover Thrift Editions: Literary Collections)

A Modest Proposal and Other Satirical Works (Dover Thrift Editions: Literary Collections)

Current price: $3.15
This product is not returnable.
Publication Date: February 2nd, 1996
Publisher:
Dover Publications
ISBN:
9780486287591
Pages:
64

Description

The originality, concentrated power and "fierce indignation" of his satirical writing have earned Jonathan Swift (1667-1745) a reputation as the greatest prose satirist in English language.
Gulliver's Travels is, of course, his world-renowned masterpiece in the genre; however, Swift wrote other, shorter works that also offer excellent evidence of his inspired lampoonery. Perhaps the most famous of these is "A Modest Proposal," in which he straight-facedly suggests that Ireland could solve its hunger problems by using its children for food. Also included in this collection are "The Battle of the Books," "A Meditation upon a Broomstick," "A Discourse Concerning the Mechanical Operation of the Spirit," and "An Argument Against Abolishing Christianity in England." This inexpensive edition will certainly be welcomed by teachers and students of English literature, but its appeal extends to any reader who delights in watching a master satirist wield words as weapons.

About the Author

Born in Dublin, Jonathan Swift (1667-1745) studied at Trinity College and was eventually ordained as a priest. Most of his books were first published anonymously or under a pseudonym, including Gulliver's Travels, his most famous work.