- Footnote #1 (p. 2633) is a spoiler; it sums up everything that I think is essential about the interpretation of this piece.
- Bottom of p. 2634: "I am assured by our merchants that a boy or a girl before twelve years old is no salable commodity . . . ." —I think this refers to the corruption of apprenticeship. Parents could get a monetary reward from a businessman for placing a child with that businessman as a apprentice. An apprentice is supposed to learn a trade from a master, who gives the apprentice room, board, a suit of clothes, and instruction for a fixed term, often seven years. That was the theory, but often apprenticeship was mere slavery. —This same corruption is the starting point of William Blake's poem, "The Chimney Sweeper."
- Second full paragraph on p. 2634: "I have been assured by a very knowing American . . . ." — A Modest Proposal was written in 1729, so the American Revolution of 1776 is almost 50 years in the future. I think that when Swift speaks of an "American," he is thinking of an inhabitant of "the Barbadoes" and other islands of the West Indies. Apparently he thought that the region was rife with cannibalism.
- Last sentence of the third paragraph on p. 2465: The "plump young girls" are mistresses of wealthy men. Though she was long dead by 1729, the epitome of such a girl was Charles II's Nell Gynn, who was an orange-girl before she became Charles' mistress, and who barely escaped debtor's prison after he died. | A "chair" is a sedan chair, a very luxurious form of transportation.
- Third paragraph on p. 2466: The "tenants" are tenant farmers, who are sharecroppers. They own nothing and pay rent on their land, implements, seed corn, etc., by making their crops over to the landlord. In this situation, they are completely at the mercy of their landlord; there is no way they can put aside a little to strike out on their own.
- Third paragraph on p. 2466, second sentence, "a settlement for life": Like the whole piece, this is extremely ironic. A real "settlement for life" would be a secure income, say, £20,000 invested in Funds which provide a 5% return.
Discussion Questions:
- Why is this piece so famous?
- Does it still have relevance today?