Una humilde propuesta

Por Jonathan Swift

Crítica

Tesoro rescatado por Nórdica libros ,Una modesta proposición para impedir que los hijos de los pobres de Irlanda sean una carga para sus padres o para el país, por cuestiones de espacio más conocida solo como Una modesta proposición. Diego Moreno, el editor de Nórdica, ha decidido traducirla como Una humilde propuesta. Tanto da. La mejor sátira escrita en toda la historia de la literatura inglesa. Fue escrita en 1729. Su negrísimo humor jamás ha sido superado. El desconcierto que causó, tal vez tampoco.

El Periódico.com

No es justo rebajar a Jonathan Swift a Los viajes de Gulliver. Hay al menos otras dos sátiras maestras que aún cortan como una navaja barbera: Historia de una barrica y Una humilde propuesta. Como no es de buen gusto el spoiler, solo aporto dos detalles. Uno: el subtítulo es 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 parael pueblo. Dos: es un ensayo anticrisis.

Lecturas

En tiempos de crisis, la ironía y la sátira es de lo más recomendable. Solo nos queda reírnos.

Sinopsis

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: Nordica Libros
• Fecha de lanzamiento: 9 jun 2012
• ISBN: 9788415564003

Jonathan Swift

Born in 1667, Jonathan Swift was an Irish writer and cleric, best known for his works Gulliver’s Travels, A Modest Proposal, and A Journal to Stella, amongst many others. Educated at Trinity College in Dublin, Swift received his Doctor of Divinity in February 1702, and eventually became Dean of St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Dublin. Publishing under the names of Lemeul Gulliver, Isaac Bickerstaff, and M. B. Drapier, Swift was a prolific writer who, in addition to his prose works, composed poetry, essays, and political pamphlets for both the Whigs and the Tories, and is considered to be one of the foremost English-language satirists, mastering both the Horatian and Juvenalian styles. Swift died in 1745, leaving the bulk of his fortune to found St. Patrick’s Hospital for Imbeciles, a hospital for the mentally ill, which continues to operate as a psychiatric hospital today.

Comentarios para Una humilde propuesta

[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.

[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...

[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.