Complete up to Task 5 before class on 12/18:
Task
1: Diction in paragraphs 1 -6.
In
paragraphs 1 – 6, Swift develops an ironic tone, but it is milder than the
irony he develops as the essay progresses. Your analysis should track how Swift
develops his tone and what specific arguments he introduces implicitly through
this irony.
Task:
Trace Swift’s diction.
·
Label each example you find as a
type of diction, not merely as “diction” (word choice), but, for example,
scientific, technical, didactic, pedantic, slang, etc.
·
Keep track of examples with direct
quotations but do not feel a need to copy down entire sentences.
·
Look up the exact meaning of words
so that you can get the full significance of a word’s denotation. Take notes
when you look up a definition. As you find word patterns, draw conclusions about
their significance and pose questions that could get you to a better
conclusion.
Your
end result should be:
Notes
on word patterns and specific types of diction, and at least 1 -2 well-formed
arguments from your notes on why Swift uses those words (that you
develop from your work in the “abstract” column).
Questions
you may ask:
·
What is the speaker’s background –
where is he from? What is his social class? Is he Irish or English? Is he rich
or poor? What perspective does he have?
·
What kind of personality does the
speaker seem to have from the language he uses in paragraphs 1 -6? This is not
the same person as Swift.
·
What does Swift want the reader to
think about this speaker?
What would you think about someone who spoke about this topic (discussed in
these paragraphs only) in this way?
Task 2: A Rhetorical Shift
Answer
the below question with one sentence. (You may
include text support, but this must fit within the one sentence requirement.)
Between
paragraphs 7 – 9, Swift’s essay turns from mildly ironic to darkly satirical.
What key word or phrase is, your opinion, most indicative of this turn?
Task 3: Premises and Assumptions
Between
paragraphs 19 – 26, Swift delineates various arguments to support his proposal.
Identify three of the arguments and explain the underlying premises that
they rely on. *You may want to look up the definition of “premise” to
help accomplish this task.
Here
is an example:
In
paragraph 7, on page 405, Swift states that he is “assured by [their] merchants
that a boy or a girl before twelve years old is no saleable commodity.”
The first premise underlying this observation is that the idea that it is
acceptable for a human being to be “salable,” but we should only refrain for
some age restriction, not morality; i.e. the reason a boy or girl before twelve
isn’t “saleable” isn’t because slavery is terrible, but because he or she
hasn’t reached some more appropriate age in which slavery would be acceptable.
The
other premise underlying this statement is that after twelve a boy or girl
becomes “saleable” for some reason the reader might be able to infer, such as
prostitution or “wage slavery” (making only enough money to survive so that the
worker can work the next day; in essence a slave), which the speaker also
accepts as viable options.
Task 4: The “Expedients”
In
order to understand a significant portion of this essay, you must understand
the meaning of Swift’s discussion of “expedients” in paragraphs 27 – 29.
In your analysis notes, you should answer these questions and draw significant
conclusions from your answers:
·
What is an expedient?
·
What does Swift suggest as “other
expedients”?
·
Is Swift’s argument to not attempt
these satirical? Why or why not?
Task 5: Decoding the satire
Transform paragraph 29-30
into the literal, serious argument that Swift is making in this essay.
Task 6: Making Connections
Brainstorm between 4 -5
contemporary visual examples of satire used to expose a social ill, serious
problem, political complaint, or other such object of criticism. Be specific as
possible in your description. This would include cartoons,
posters, t-shirts, tote-bags, toys, commercials, shows, movies, etc.
