Read the excerpt from "A Modest Proposal." A very worthy person, a true lover of his country, and whose virtues I highly esteem, was lately pleased, in discoursing on this matter, to offer a refinement upon my scheme. He said, that many gentlemen of this kingdom, having of late destroyed their deer, he conceived that the want of venison might be well supply'd by the bodies of young lads and maidens. The underlined portions of the excerpt are examples of verbal irony because this man truly is virtuous and patriotic, so Swift is surprised by the man’s support of eating children to solve the poverty issue. anyone who is truly virtuous or patriotic would not suggest using children for food, so Swift means the opposite of what he says. this man is a close friend of Swift’s, so Swift is just expressing his personal thoughts and feelings about the man’s character. anyone who tries to better his country must be virtuous and patriotic, so Swift is simply explaining what is already obvious to the reader.

B). Anyone who is truly virtuous or patriotic would not suggest using children for food, so Swift means the opposite of what he says.

Explanation:

Verbal irony is demonstrated as one of the most commonly employed literary devices in which there is a sharp contrast between the literal and implicit meaning of the words used by the author.

"A Modest Proposal" is one of the best satires of all time as Swift employs various literary devices like irony, exaggeration, or humor to critique and comment upon the inhumanity of Irish people who were selling their children for food to resolve their economic problems and the brutal British policies.

In the given excerpt, the underlined portions employed by Swift exemplify verbal irony as they convey a very positive idea about the probity and loyalty of Irish people in the literal sense but implicitly, Swift is critiquing and commenting upon the Irish 'gentlemen' who 'destroyed their deer' and 'supply'd by the bodies of young lads and maidens'(selling children for food). Thus, option B is the correct answer.