And besides, it is not improbable that some scrupulous people might be apt to censure such a
practice, (although indeed very unjustly) as a little
bordering upon cruelty, which, I confess, hath always
been with me the strongest objection against any project,
how well soever intended.
-"A Modest Proposal,"
Jonathan Swift
Which statement best explains Swift's use of rhetorical
devices in this passage?
Swift uses verbal irony when he mentions
objections to his plan in order to prove that no one
could possibly object to the proposal.
Swift uses verbal irony when he says his plan is "a
little bordering upon cruelty because his plan is not
at all cruel.
Swift uses understatement and irony when he says
his plan is "a little bordering on cruelty" to highlight
how cruel the plan really is.