The High Wit of Exaltation in the 18th Century
The high wit of exaltation occurred in the middle of the 18th century, and it became the headline of literature in that time frame. The literature of that time period did some particular alignment with the culture because it was full of corruption problems that were prevalent. Underneath, the alignment was taking place, especially with the ideals of order, justice, intelligence, and a sense of political and moral superiority. During this time period, humor was mostly used to highlight many of society's flaws. By revealing all of the hypocrisy, the agreed norm was severely mocked. Alexander and Jonathan used different mediums of satire, different forms of ridicule, and the different types of available logic (Swift, 2016). The ridicule was highly used to separate the truth and some the wrong things that were being cultivated by shading light.
The Satire of "A Modest Proposal"
According to Swift, the narrator overstretches being ridiculous by the use of reasons. He highly elaborates on different benefits of consuming poor youngsters. He foolishly explains that instead of them becoming a burden to their families or parish by wanting food and raiment in all of their lives it is better eating. The children of Ireland were being consumed to avoid such responsibilities which were very ridiculous. This scientific attitude lampooned the effort that had been put up in literature enlightenment. The satire of the modest proposal is basically politically motivated by undermining the British Empire, especially in colonization, and how the Irish people were being treated. The satire shows how the Catholic Irish people undergo great suppression which greatly affected them economically. Swift was the individual who composed this harsh satirical proposal which suggested the Irish people be selling their children as food to avoid the economic despair that was being evidenced (Swift, 2016).
The Motives Behind Pope and Swift's Satirical Works
The pope and Swift's satirical works show that there were some motives that were behind their works. The pope elaborations through different characters in his works to show the metaphor and a period full of superficiality in British history. His works were intended to capture the necessary attention of most aristocrats and the whole society in general. The literature is more of pushing for the reforms for the political and social affairs as a dialectic force whose main focus was to nudge the society to another direction. Swift uses his literary talent to help the society by illuminating contemporary society by making sure they acquire the necessary knowledge to understand all the shortcomings attached to the neoclassical period. Swift and Pope aspired to influence the mindset of the British by making sure they understand the age that they were in and also inspire them to move forward to the new era (Swift, 2016). It is through that they would understand both political and social morality.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the satire of the modest proposal is basically politically motivated by undermining the British Empire especially in colonization, and how the Irish people were being treated. His works were intended to capture the necessary attention of most aristocrats and the whole society in general. The children of Ireland were being consumed to avoid such responsibilities which were very ridiculous. Swift was the individual who composed this harsh satirical proposal, which suggested the Irish people to selling their children as food. His idea was to avoid the high economic despair that was being evidenced during that period (Swift, 2016).
Works Cited
Swift, Jonathan. "A Modest Proposal". The Norton Anthropology of English Literature: The Restoration of the Eighteenth Century. Ed. Stephen Greenblant, Julia Reinhead, Jack Stelliger, Deidar Shauna Lynch, New York: W.W.Norton and Company, 2016. 1199.
