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.