Satire is defined as “the use of irony, sarcasm, ridicule, or the like, in exposing, denouncing, or deriding vice or folly”. Both “A Modest Proposal” written by Jonathan Swift, and “I Am Sorry That I Didn’t Write a Comedy Piece” written by Wendy Molyneux are perfect examples of the genre of satire, because they both, in a way, portray the typical conventions found in works of satire. Swift puts an emphasis on the usage of apophasis, and Molyneux utilizes caricature. Both pieces are similar, but also very different. They both use their chosen characteristics for certain reasons, and to prove their point. Swift’s “A Modest Proposal”, was written in 1728, and uses the genre of satire to critique the issues of present-day Ireland, while Molyneux’s “I Am Sorry I Didn’t Write You a Comedy Piece” was written in the early 2000’s, and utilizes the genre to prove a gender stereotype. Although satire is usually meant to be humorous, its greater purpose is often constructive criticism, using wit to draw attention to both particular and wide issues in society. Which is ultimately what both of these pieces do. Jonathan Swift and Wendy Molyneux’s works of literature both include the common conventions of satire, but each piece has its own unique components. 

Irony is “a figure of speech in which words are used in such a way that their meaning is different from the actual meaning of the words”. Both Swift’s “A Modest Proposal” and Molyneux’s “I’m Sorry I Didn’t Write a Comedy Piece” include the common convention of the genre of satire, irony. In Molyneux’s piece, irony is evident. For example, the title of the text is “I’m Sorry I Didn’t Write a Comedy Piece” this alone is an example of the irony found throughout this work of literature because Molyneux proves the gender stereotype surrounding women. She goes on to state things like, “I guess it’s time for me to get serious about writing this comedy piece”, “what’s funny? That is a tough one for me because I have no sense of humor”, and ends the satirical work with “Oh well, I probably would have been terrible at it anyway” (Molyneux 522). These are obvious examples of irony because the author is actually doing the complete opposite; she knows she is funny, and she is trying to prove to the reader, as well as the not-mentioned polemicist Christopher Hitchens, that women are indeed funny. Author Jonathan Swift also utilizes the rhetorical device of irony in his text, but for another purpose. An example of when Swift uses this literary technique is when he proposes his idea of consuming children to make up for the issue of overpopulation and the poverty-stricken children in Ireland. He states “infants flesh will be in season throughout the year” and “I grant this food will be somewhat dear, and therefore very proper for land lords, who, as they have already devoured most of the parents, seem to have the best title to the children” (Swift 516). Swift does this to make the reader think more about the important issues that you otherwise would not really pop into your head. Similarly, to Molyneux, Swift is trying to prove his point, in this case, about the societal issues occurring throughout Ireland. 

Exaggeration is another prominent convention commonly found in works of satire, and both pieces are filled with it. An article written by Jack Winner states, “that satire must be sharp” (Winner 65). The idea of “sharpness” can be found in the text when he begins to write about eating children. The idea of eating children is a very morbid and “sharp” idea.  For example, it is obvious Swift does not actually want to eat children, but the fabrication forces the reader to actually think about the issues he is writing about, therefore achieving his goal.  Molyneux uses exaggeration to ultimately to prove her point regarding humor and women. There are many cases of her using this, but one that sticks out is when she states, “And then after they eat dinner, I hope they’ll eat something else. If you know what I mean. Get it? Eat something. I mean dessert.”, we all know what she actually means when she is saying this, but it is a little crazy to put in a work of literature, so it makes you think if she is trying to be humorous, which makes the reader think about the text and her overall meaning. Both authors use the technique to push their purpose of the text to the reader. Another example from Molyneux’s text is when she states, “So then I started crying again because I don’t have a baby. I cried big rolling tears that fell down on to my “Mrs. Stamos” t-shirt that I purchased off of eBay and photographed myself for my EHarmony profile…So, once my shirt was soaked, I have to go change it. I walked into my closet, which is gigantic because women love to wear lots of expensive clothes and shoes all the time…” (Molyneux 521-522). This example shows exaggeration through the act of her crying until her shirt was “soaked”, which we all know would not be the case, but she is trying to prove to the reader that she is acting obnoxious regarding the thought of not having a child. Molyneux’s usage of exaggeration is solely for the purpose of getting into the reader’s head, in order to make them understand the stereotype she is attempting to prove wrong. 

Apophasis is defined as “a rhetorical device wherein the speaker or the writer brings up a subject by either denying it, or denying that it should be brought up. Accordingly, it can be seen as a rhetorical relative of irony.” This concept is very prominent in Swift’s “A Modern Proposal”. Swift uses it in order to bring up a subject that otherwise would not have been brought up, due to the fact that it can make the reader uneasy. Though there are many examples found in the text, one that sticks out is when he states “therefore I repeat, let no man talk to me of these and the like expedients, ‘till he hath at least some glimpse of hope, that there will ever be some hearty and sincere attempt to put them into practice” (Swift 519). He utilizes this device to argue and put forth his point, and it is frequently found in works of satire, ultimately proving the satire in Swift’s text. Molyneux does not use this device in her writing. This could be because it is a more modern writer and instead of avoiding writing about something, like Swift did, she decides to be more “straight-up” when presenting her opinion. 

Although Molyneux does not utilize apophasis in her text, she takes a different approach using caricature to further her purpose of her text. Caricature is “a device used in descriptive writing and visual arts where particular aspects of a subject are exaggerated to create a silly or comic effect. In other words, it can be defined as a plastic illustration or portrayal based on the exaggeration of the natural features, which gives a humorous touch to the subject”. It is commonly found in works of satire, and Molyneux uses this to prove the common stereotype that women are not funny. She also does this to poke back at Christopher Hitchens, prior to his essays written for Vanity Fair. The whole text is caricature because she creates a persona through her writing. Molyneux’s text differs from the norm. An article written by Elizabeth Young states, “Satire has traditionally been a masculine genre, with satirists assuming positions of authority and power deemed appropriate to the male gender, and focusing much of their outrage and ridicule on women” (Young 185). While it is stated that it is usually a man’s work, she differs by creating a great work of satire. Author Jonathan Swift does not use the technique of caricature in his text, “A Modern Proposal”. He utilizes apophasis, and using caricature would not be necessary for his purpose, or even for the time period that this was written.  

Both Jonathon Swift’s “A Modest Proposal” and Wendy Molyneux’s “I’m Sorry I Didn’t Write a Comedy Piece” are blatant representations of the genre of satire. They both contain the conventions commonly found in the genre, including irony and exaggeration, but they also differ immensely. It is obvious that Wendy Molyneux’s piece is more modern, she makes it more “straight-up” with the immense usage of irony and exaggeration from the beginning. Jonathon Swift’s text, which was written many years before, takes longer to noticed the satirical genre that is ends up being. Swift utilizes the rhetorical device of apophasis to argue and put forth his point regarding the societal issues of over population and poverty-stricken children in Ireland. Molyneux creates a caricature within her text, in order to prove the common stereotype that women are not funny, wrong. Both Jonathon Swift and Wendy Molyneux write their texts using unique elements often found in works of satire, but also include the common conventions of satire. 
