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:

To determine the answer, we analyze verbal irony: it's when someone says the opposite of what they mean. In "A Modest Proposal", the man suggests eating children to solve poverty. A truly virtuous/patriotic person wouldn't suggest this, so Swift's praise (the underlined parts) is ironic (he means the opposite). Let's check options:

• First option: The man's support of eating children shows he's not truly virtuous/patriotic, so this is wrong.
• Second option: A virtuous/patriotic person wouldn't suggest using children for food. Swift's praise is ironic (he means the opposite), so this matches.
• Third option: The passage doesn't say the man is Swift's close friend, and Swift's tone is ironic, not personal thoughts, so wrong.
• Fourth option: The man's suggestion is immoral, so Swift isn't explaining obvious virtues, but using irony, so wrong.

Answer:

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