Tara Boyd. Certified educator. Last update. Genre, that is, the different categories in which a piece of literature can be placed, Analysis of “A Modest Proposal” Swift's satirical approach is what makes “A Modest Proposal” a piece of writing so powerful and effective. In presenting his, A modest proposal. satirical essay by Swift. Also known as: "A Modest Proposal to Prevent the Children of Poor People from Being a Burden to Them," A Modest Proposal is a satirical essay written and published by Jonathan Swift. At the time of the book's publication, Ireland had been under English rule for years. It explains how to prevent the children of the poor in Ireland from being a burden to their parents or their country and how to make them beneficial to the public. In A Modest Proposal by Johnathan Swift, he presents an idea that is not so modest, and even malicious in its existence. While serving as a work of satire, it provides hyperbole that has stood the test of time. Written when the Irish needed a solution to a food shortage despite having an excess of mouths to feed.