Question

read the excerpt from \a modest proposal\. a very worthy person, a true lover of his country, and whose virtues i highly esteem, was lately pleased, in discoursing on this matter, to offer a refinement upon my scheme. he said, that many gentlemen of this kingdom, having of late destroyed their deer, he conceived that the want of venison might be well supplyd by the bodies of young lads and maidens. the underlined portions of the excerpt are examples of verbal irony because ○ this man truly is virtuous and patriotic, so swift is surprised by the mans support of eating children to solve the poverty issue. ○ anyone who is truly virtuous or patriotic would not suggest using children for food, so swift means the opposite of what he says. ○ this man is a close friend of swifts, so swift is just expressing his personal thoughts and feelings about the mans character. ○ anyone who tries to better his country must be virtuous and patriotic, so swift is simply explaining what is already obvious to the reader.

Explanation:

Verbal irony occurs when the speaker says one thing but means the opposite. In "A Modest Proposal," Swift uses satire. The man is described as "worthy," "a true lover of his country," and "virtuous," but his proposal (using children as food) is immoral. A truly virtuous and patriotic person would not suggest such a thing. So, Swift means the opposite of his words.

Answer:

anyone who is truly virtuous or patriotic would not suggest using children for food, so Swift means the opposite of what he says.