for A Modest Proposal12/17/2008 c1 
1Fingerprint
The delicacy of this parody and subtlety of its satire are really something to behold; you've been true to the form, your use of language is appropriate and concise and the well-placed statistics, though probably made up, are made up so convincingly that an inattentive reader would easily mistake the whole thing as being a serious proposal.
What really appeals about this piece is that it's a well-constructed speech and a concise and witty parody at the same time, all supported rather comfortably and therefore skilfully, on what is essentially a fart joke. Though, it's an intelligent fart joke and that's a spectacle in itself.
The subtlety in the comedy of the early part of the piece announces a great talent and great precision and in that talent; this subtlety seems to inflate out of itself when we come to the fourth paragraph from the last, ending with "I do, however, support more homeless people buying guns"-funny, but a great deal less sophisticated than the rest of it.
Aside from that there are some very clever, intensely clever snippets ("There are at least 50 advantages to my humble proposal that rate in high importance. I shall elaborate on three.") What rings out apart from the humour though is the quiet theme of an increasingly repulsive, dehumanised America-and ironically an increasingly repulsive, dehumanised humanity. There's a nice sense of justice being dealt that comes through with this when we see that after a century of abusing Mother Nature, man is finally forced to turn back to the simplest forms of energy that he was always, in one way or another, been secretly dependent upon.
Perhaps more restraint in the future on your part might be healthy; there's a great ability here for intelligent comedy (the best kind I think), and only a very slight lack of the restraint that keeps the comedy subtle.
In spite of the fourth last paragraph onwards to the end, it's a piece worthy of admiration and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
- Fingerprint
1FingerprintThe delicacy of this parody and subtlety of its satire are really something to behold; you've been true to the form, your use of language is appropriate and concise and the well-placed statistics, though probably made up, are made up so convincingly that an inattentive reader would easily mistake the whole thing as being a serious proposal.
What really appeals about this piece is that it's a well-constructed speech and a concise and witty parody at the same time, all supported rather comfortably and therefore skilfully, on what is essentially a fart joke. Though, it's an intelligent fart joke and that's a spectacle in itself.
The subtlety in the comedy of the early part of the piece announces a great talent and great precision and in that talent; this subtlety seems to inflate out of itself when we come to the fourth paragraph from the last, ending with "I do, however, support more homeless people buying guns"-funny, but a great deal less sophisticated than the rest of it.
Aside from that there are some very clever, intensely clever snippets ("There are at least 50 advantages to my humble proposal that rate in high importance. I shall elaborate on three.") What rings out apart from the humour though is the quiet theme of an increasingly repulsive, dehumanised America-and ironically an increasingly repulsive, dehumanised humanity. There's a nice sense of justice being dealt that comes through with this when we see that after a century of abusing Mother Nature, man is finally forced to turn back to the simplest forms of energy that he was always, in one way or another, been secretly dependent upon.
Perhaps more restraint in the future on your part might be healthy; there's a great ability here for intelligent comedy (the best kind I think), and only a very slight lack of the restraint that keeps the comedy subtle.
In spite of the fourth last paragraph onwards to the end, it's a piece worthy of admiration and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
- Fingerprint