Satire in Swift's "A Modest Proposal" Pre-Test Question and Answers (A+ guide solution)

Read the excerpt from "A Modest Proposal." A very worthy person, a true lover of his country, and whose virtues I highly esteem, was lately pleased, in discoursing on this matter, to offer a refinement upon my scheme. He said, that many gentlemen of this kingdom, having of late destroyed their deer, he conceived that the want of venison might be well supply'd by the bodies of young lads and maidens, not exceeding fourteen years of age, nor under twelve; so great a number of both sexes in every country being now ready to starve for want of work and service. Which statement best describes Swift's use of rhetorical devices in this excerpt? - Swift uses irony when he says the person with whom he discussed his plan is "very worthy" and "a true lover of this country." Verbal irony is best defined as - a contradiction between what is said and what is really meant Read the excerpt from "A Modest Proposal." I propose to provide for them in such a manner, as, instead of being a charge upon their parents, or the parish, or wanting food and raiment for the rest of their lives, they shall, on the contrary, contribute to the feeding, and partly to the cloathing of many thousands. . . . Which false premise does the author rely on in this excerpt? - that parents would rather sell their children than be responsible for them How does the title, "A Modest Proposal," tell the reader that the piece is satirical? - The author's proposal is actually extreme and violent, not gentle as the title says. Read the excerpt from "A Modest Proposal."