- From: john_slatin <john_slatin@forum.utexas.edu>
- Date: Fri, 7 Jun 2002 08:15:17 -0500
- To: w3c-wai-gl@w3.org
- Message-ID: <6AC4E20EED49D411941400D0B77E52F0074B91A3@forum.cc.utexas.edu>
Is it possible for satire to satisfy 4.1? In 1720 or so, the Irish writer Jonathan Swift published "A Modest Proposal." This text appeared to be addressed to the English Parliament. If offered what appeared to be a straightforward, sober proosal for solving the problems of poverty and hunger in Ireland. The proposal was that Irish children should be bred and sold for food. Swift presented all sorts of seemingly rational arguments in favor of this idea. Publication of this "Modest Proposal" raised a storm of controversy. Not surprising! This was exactly what Swift had intended: he also knew that at least some of his readers would recognize his text for what it was: an angry, satiric attack on Parliament and the Crown over England's treatment of Ireland, which was appalling even back then. But he also knew that many people would not recognize the satire, and that too was in some way part of his satiric point. That is, anyone who took his text at "face value" and attempted to debate the proposal on its "merits" immediately became a savage fool, by virtue of the failure to recognize the satire. This text is often discussed in English lit classes as one of the great examples of satire. There's nothing in it, except the sheer outrageousness of the proposed "solution" itself, to mark Swift's language as ironic or his intent as satiric. In fact, the very definition of irony involves statements that mean the opposite of what they say. Would it be possible to make a conformance claim for this text under any variant of 4.1 we've been discussing? John Slatin, Ph.D. Director, Institute for Technology & Learning University of Texas at Austin FAC 248C, Mail code G9600 Austin, TX 78712 ph 512-495-4288, f 512-495-4524 email jslatin@mail.utexas.edu <mailto:jslatin@mail.utexas.edu> web http://www.ital.utexas.edu <http://www.ital.utexas.edu>
Received on Friday, 7 June 2002 09:15:21 UTC