A Modest Proposal Essay

Many critical approaches to literature differ from one another. For example, some critical approaches focus exclusively on the literary work at hand, analysing its various elements, while others are based around reading a literary work with preconceived ideas with which the literary work is evaluated. An example of the first approach would be formalist criticism which attempts to find value in literary work by looking deeply into its language and structure. The second approach can be exemplified by critical theories such as Feminist and Marxist theories that are more focused on the message of a literary work than the work itself. All of these critical theories, though different, can be used to find meaning and value in literature.
Formalist
Take a Modest Proposal by Jonathan Swift as an example, in this Swift satirically addresses issues such as the state of the people of Ireland, England’s tyranny, the nature of the wealthy, and the inept state of Ireland’s leaders. Though if you look at a Modest Proposal from a formalist viewpoint all the issues would fade away and what would be left is the way in which Swift satirically addressed the issues, aka cannibalism. Even though a Modest Proposal is technically about eating poor people, to properly understand and value a Modest Proposal you need to look at preconceived ideologies and the state in which the writer was writing, which is something formalism
The structure, flow, and sound of Shakespeare's works are incredible, like Frank Mccourt once famously wrote in the book Angela's Ashes “Shakespeare is like mashed potatoes, you can never get enough of him.” All of this is something a formalist critic would truly appreciate. Looking at one of Shakespeare's Sonnets such as “Shall I Compare Thee to A Summer’s Day?”, a formalist critic would praise things such as the rhyme scheme, the words used, and the repetition within the poem. The same goes for other of Shakespeare's sonnets like “When, In Disgrace with Fortune and Men’s Eyes” and “When I Have Seen By Time’s Fell Hand Defaced”. A formalist critic would also appreciate how the meanings of the poems can be universally understood by practically anyone because of how they are about universal human experience and emotion. This is the reason why Shakespeare plays are still loved and understood on a personal level today despite the fact that the poems were written 400 years ago.
Feminist critics hold the belief that literature is a way of expressing how male dominated societies hold interest in suppressing woman. They believe that throughout history literature has simply been a way of stopping woman from rising in society. They examine literature and find ways that women can empower themselves by reading and writing literature. While other feminists