Kevin's Watch

Raise your hand if you forgot or didn't realise that Jonathon Swift was taking the piss?*

...

*raises hand*

It can be found here by the way. Definitely worth a look if you haven't read it before.

*Taking the piss = making fun

ROTFL! Sorry, not I. Clued in from the get-go.

We read it some time in high school, and I still remember the one girl who just Missed the Point. Which was weird, really, because she got that it was satire and she was supposed to outraged at some level, but she was outraged at Swift instead of the English.

You had me scratching my head there for a minute. I've never heard the expression "taking the piss." I thought maybe I was getting A Modest Proposal mixed up with another Swift essay.

A Modest Proposal is great. Yeah, I remember two folks in my class (and this was college!) who were pretty clueless. One missed the point completely--couldn't believe that Swift could propose such a thing. The other understood the satire, but was sickened by the subject--how dare Swift make light of something so foul. Whatever.

You know, population is getting out of control these days and people continue having babies they can't care for. Government can't take care of everyone. Hmmm...if a mother needs a little extra cash...

Tulizar wrote:You had me scratching my head there for a minute. I've never heard the expression "taking the piss." I thought maybe I was getting A Modest Proposal mixed up with another Swift essay.

My fault - It's a term used in the UK and the former colonies for making fun.

And the great thing is that if you don't realise what's happening, you find yourself thinking "Well... guy's got a point there, actually." Which is wrong, or course, but it's difficult to fault his logic.

I got to read it in college. Best satire I have ever read.

Hound Of Chulainn wrote:

Tulizar wrote:You had me scratching my head there for a minute. I've never heard the expression "taking the piss." I thought maybe I was getting A Modest Proposal mixed up with another Swift essay.

My fault - It's a term used in the UK and the former colonies for making fun.

And the great thing is that if you don't realise what's happening, you find yourself thinking "Well... guy's got a point there, actually." Which is wrong, or course, but it's difficult to fault his logic.

Well, I happen to disagree that it's difficult to fault his logic. There were many other solutions to the problem in Ireland, some of which Swift championed in letters to parliament. Rather, A Modest Proposal's logic is, I feel, that considering how little England had done for Ireland it might well resort to well regulated cannibalism.

However, the excellently performed grammatical subordination of the basis of his rational argument (listing off a number of arguable facts early on without discussing them in depth, as though they had been previously agreed upon) makes the writing all the more brilliant.