THE ARTISTIC FUNCTION OF SATIRE AND DARK HUMOR IN THE WORKS OF JONATHAN SWIFT

This paper examines the artistic function of satire and dark humor in Jonathan Swift’s works, focusing primarily on A Modest Proposal and supplemented by Gulliver’s Travels. Satire is a literary device used to expose social injustice, human folly, and institutional corruption, while dark humor intensifies the ethical and emotional impact of such critique. The study investigates Swift’s use of irony, parody, grotesque exaggeration, and narrative strategies to engage readers morally and intellectually. Special emphasis is placed on how A Modest Proposal employs shocking humor to criticize British colonial policies in Ireland and how Gulliver’s Travels uses fictional societies to reflect human weaknesses and societal absurdities. The paper concludes that Swift’s satire and dark humor remain relevant in contemporary literary scholarship due to their enduring capacity to provoke ethical reflection and critical thought.本文探析乔纳森·斯威夫特作品中讽刺与黑色幽默的艺术功用，核心聚焦于《一个小小的建议》（A Modest Proposal），辅以《格列佛游记》（Gulliver’s Travels）展开论述。讽刺作为一种文学手法，旨在揭露社会不公、人类愚昧与制度腐败；而黑色幽默则强化了此类批判的伦理与情感冲击力。本研究考察斯威夫特如何运用反讽、戏仿、荒诞夸张及叙事策略，从道德与智识维度与读者形成有效互动。研究特别聚焦于两点：其一，《一个小小的建议》如何借助骇人听闻的幽默手法批判英国在爱尔兰的殖民政策；其二，《格列佛游记》如何以虚构社会映射人类弱点与社会荒诞之处。本文最终指出，斯威夫特的讽刺与黑色幽默因其始终具备激发伦理反思与批判性思考的持久力量，在当代文学学术研究中仍具有重要价值。