Three research questions for my paper on “A modest proposal”
- What relevant historical information would enrich the understanding of Swifts work?
- How is this a hoax and why did Swift write it as such?
- How was his work received by the population after it was published? Did they see through the Hoax?
Good questions, Eli! I think you’ll be able to find some good historical sources that talk about a lot of this stuff–learning about whether or not people believed it seems like it could be especially useful. In terms of your first question, I think you’ll find some good material about Swift’s political views and get some good context about political conflicts between the Irish and English in the 18th c.
Your second question is a little more speculative, and in part will be answered by your own analysis, though I bet you can find some sources that make claims about what he was doing and why.