A Modest Proposal | Summary, Author, Purpose, & Facts | Britannica

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Ask the Chatbot Games & Quizzes History & Society Science & Tech Biographies Animals & Nature Geography & Travel Arts & Culture ProCon Money Videos A Modest Proposal Introduction References & Edit History Related Topics Quizzes Gulliver in Lilliput. Lemuel Gulliver, set ashore after a mutiny, regains consciousness and finds himself a prisoner of the Lilliputians. From Gulliver's Travels, Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World, in Four Parts by Jonathan Swift. Jonathan Swift Quiz Flag of Ireland The Irish Quiz Britannica AI Icon Contents Literature Novels & Short Stories CITE verifiedCite While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Select Citation Style MLA APA Chicago Manual of Style Copy Citation Share Share Share to social media Facebook X URL https://www.britannica.com/topic/A-Modest-Proposal Feedback External Websites Feedback Corrections? Updates? Omissions? Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Feedback Type Select a type (Required) Factual Correction Spelling/Grammar Correction Link Correction Additional Information Other Your Feedback Submit Feedback Thank you for your feedback

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  • The Guardian - The 100 best nonfiction books: No 88 � A Modest Proposal by Jonathan Swift (1729)
  • Internet Archive - "A Modest Proposal", by Dr. Jonathan Swift (PDF)
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A Modest Proposal satiric essay by Swift Ask Anything Homework Help Also known as: “A Modest Proposal For Preventing the Children of Poor People From Being a Burthen to their Parents, Or the Country, and For Making Them Beneficial to the Publick”(Show More) Written and fact-checked by Britannica Editors Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree.... Britannica Editors Last updated Feb. 3, 2026 •History Britannica AI Icon Britannica AI Ask Anything Table of Contents Table of Contents Ask Anything

A Modest Proposal, satiric essay by Jonathan Swift, published in pamphlet form in 1729.

In full: A Modest Proposal for Preventing the Children of Poor People from Being a Burthen to their Parents, or the Country, and for Making Them Beneficial to the Publick (Show more) See all related content

Presented in the guise of an economic treatise, the essay proposes that the country ameliorate poverty in Ireland by butchering the children of the Irish poor and selling them as food to wealthy English landlords. Swift’s proposal is a savage comment on England’s legal and economic exploitation of Ireland. The essay is a masterpiece of satire, with a blend of rational deliberation and unthinkable conclusion, and its title has come to symbolize any proposition to solve a problem with an effective but outrageous cure.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica This article was most recently revised and updated by Adam Augustyn.

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