Una humilde propuesta

Por Jonathan Swift y Raquel Marín Ezquerro

Escrito en 1729, este magnífico texto satírico comienza así: "Para evitar que los hijos de los pobres de Irlanda sean una carga para sus padres o su país y para que se conviertan en algo de provecho para el pueblo".
Sin desvelar su propuesta, podemos decir que Swift hace todo lo posible para apoyar sus argumentos, incluyendo cálculos que muestran los beneficios financieros que de ella derivarían.
La ironía con la que el autor hace esta crítica social es la clave del texto y debe ser la clave de su lectura.

¿Estamos preparados para esta humilde propuesta?

"La propuesta de Jonathan Swift contra la crisis"

• Idioma: Español
• Editorial: Nórdica Libros
• Fecha de lanzamiento: 1 jun 2012
• ISBN: 9788415564003

Jonathan Swift

Jonathan Swift (1667-1745) was an Irish poet and satirical writer. When the spread of Catholicism in Ireland became prevalent, Swift moved to England, where he lived and worked as a writer. Due to the controversial nature of his work, Swift often wrote under pseudonyms. In addition to his poetry and satirical prose, Swift also wrote for political pamphlets and since many of his works provided political commentary this was a fitting career stop for Swift. When he returned to Ireland, he was ordained as a priest in the Anglican church. Despite this, his writings stirred controversy about religion and prevented him from advancing in the clergy.

Vista previa del libro

UNA HUMILDE PROPUESTA

Jonathan Swift

Ilustraciones de Raquel Marín

Traducción de María José Chuliá García

Título original: A Modest Proposal

© De las ilustraciones: Raquel Marín

© De la traducción: María José Chuliá García

Edición en ebook: agosto de 2014

© Nórdica Libros, S.L.

C/ Fuerte de Navidad, 11, 1.º B 28044 Madrid (España)

www.nordicalibros.com

ISBN DIGITAL: 978-84-15564-00-3

Diseño de colección: Diego Moreno

Corrección ortotipográfica: Ana Patrón y Susana Rodríguez

Maquetación ebook: Caurina Diseño Gráfico

Cualquier forma de reproducción, distribución, comunicación pública o transformación de esta obra solo puede ser realizada con la autorización de sus titulares, salvo excepción prevista por la ley. Diríjase a CEDRO (Centro Español de Derechos Reprográficos, www.cedro.org) si necesita fotocopiar o escanear algún fragmento de esta obra.

Para evitar que los hijos de los pobres de

Irlanda sean una carga para sus padres o su país y

para que se conviertan en algo de

provecho para el pueblo.

Contenido

Portadilla

Créditos

Dedicatoria

Ilustracion

Una humilde propuesta

A modest proposal

Dedication

A modest proposal

Contraportada

Una humilde propuesta

Hay cierto asunto que provoca un sentimiento de melancolía en aquellos que caminan por esta gran ciudad o que viajan por el país y se manifiesta cuando se encuentran los caminos, las calles y las puertas de las posadas plagadas de mendigos del sexo femenino, con tres, cuatro o seis hijos vestidos, todos ellos, con harapos e importunando a cada viajero para conseguir una limosna. Estas madres, en vez de dedicarse a trabajar para ganarse la vida honestamente, se ven forzadas a pasar todo su tiempo deambulando y mendigando para obtener el sustento de sus indefensas criaturas, las cuales, cuando crecen, terminan, bien convirtiéndose en ladrones por falta de trabajo, bien abandonando su país de origen para luchar en España a favor del pretendiente,¹ o vendiéndose a los terratenientes de Barbados.

Creo que todas las partes estarán de acuerdo en que tal prodigiosa cantidad de niños en los brazos de sus madres y a menudo de sus padres, o a sus espaldas, o

Comentarios para Una humilde propuesta

[dreesie-1 · Calificación: 4 de 5 estrellas]

"A Modest Proposal" is definitely the strongest work here. And given how it is written, I can believe that people reading it today might not understand that it is satire--though how they can miss it being announced as satire on the cover of every volume it is in, in the intro, in every short summary, etc etc, is beyond me.

"An Argument..." and "A Discourse..." both have some good bits. "A Meditation" is clever and very short. "The Battle" requires a background in Swift's contemporaries that I simply do not have (even with the brief notes saying who they were). Also, there are parts of it missing, and there is no way to know how long or important those parts might have been to the story itself. I can see this piece being funny to those who know the many authors mentioned.

[jmoncton_1 · Calificación: 4 de 5 estrellas]

Humorous - great satire! Although I admit that I read this one to increase my % to goal on 1001 books to read before you die...

[bragan_8 · Calificación: 4 de 5 estrellas]

This 59-page volume includes five of Swift's satirical writings. The well-known "A Modest Proposal" presents a clever plan to cure both poverty and overpopulation in Ireland and supply the rich with some tasty new treats in the process. "A Discourse Concerning the Mechanical Operation of the Spirit" and "An Argument Against Abolishing Christianity in England" deal with various religious topics. "The Battle of the Books" takes aim at the writers and thinkers of Swift's time who would disparage the ancient, classic authors, claiming to have done so much better themselves. There's also the tiny "A Meditation Upon a Broomstick," a deadpan parody that he inserted into a book containing a collection of mini-sermons as a practical joke. (The person he played the prank on, we're told, could not actually tell the difference.)The continued fame of "A Modest Proposal" is unquestionably well-deserved. It's extremely readable, darkly funny, sharply incisive, and still sadly relevant. The other pieces in this collection were somewhat more difficult going, though, partly because Swift's old-fashioned writing style is rather wordy and convoluted, but mostly because the modern reader (or at least this modern reader) lacks a lot of the cultural context with which to properly appreciate them. This edition did include a number of helpful footnotes, but that's not nearly the same thing as watching a contemporary writer jumping into a debate you're familiar with and skewering people you know. Still, despite all that, Swift's famous scathing wit does shine through. That's particularly true of "The Battle of the Books" in which he pulls no punches, utterly lambasting his targets with a jaw-droppingly impressive combination of highbrow erudition and low-down trash talk. There's no doubt about it: when Jonathan Swift disses you, you are dissed for the ages.Rating: This one's hard to rate. It's abundantly clear that Swift was a five-star satirist in his time, but most of these pieces haven't aged all that well, and some of the points he's making honestly seem rather wrong-headed and quaint to me at this late date. Let's call it 4/5.

[csweder · Calificación: 4 de 5 estrellas]

So..I didn't read the WHOLE book. Only the essay, but I couldn't find just the essay (couldn't find it on the goodreads...)

From reading just that essay, I would like to read the rest though, he's hilarious.

[thedivineoomba · Calificación: 4 de 5 estrellas]

Ah yes. Jonathan Swift, best known for Gulliver’s Travels (a story based on the corruption he saw around him, in modern times turned into a children's story). And Possibly A Modest Proposal (which I assume is assigned to students as an example of satire). I picked this book up for "A Modest Proposal", which I haven't read since high-school. This Dover Thrift Edition contains a number of other satirical stories - some more known than others. Unfortunately, satire works best when the reader understand the history and politics behind the story - and for me, the stories made logical sense, but I really didn't understand them.A Modest Proposal, on the other hand - is still a masterpiece in satire. It is worth reading - Jonathan Swift is clearly a talented author - he can make Eating Babies sound both reasonable, and terrifying, at the same time. Basically, if you aren't going to help the poor in any meaningful manner, lets think out of the box to solve this problem...

[booksfordinner · Calificación: 4 de 5 estrellas]

I don't get it. What's so funny? I think this us a fine proposal, and easily instituted here in the USA. Eat 'em up, yum.

[hockeycrew_1 · Calificación: 5 de 5 estrellas]

A satirical essay examining what could be done about the population to available food ratio in Ireland at the time. If you believed it was a serious essay you might have found yourself a little shocked.Doctor Swift explains the advantages to his proposal as far as to claim that it would be an advantage to have a new dish on the table.Shocking, short and entertaining.

[wendyrey · Calificación: 5 de 5 estrellas]

Brilliant.An exercise in extended irony, aimed at the English politicians who were willfully ignoring the Irish people devastated by the potato famine.