As Swift constructs a speaker who is meant to be seen as himself in "Verses on the Death of Dr. Swift, DSPD", his approach to satire changes, taking a more playful. The poem is more personal than political and is more comical in the sense that it satirizes itself and other groups of people. The self-destructive rhetorical approach is embodied in this poem in the way he humbles himself and exposes his own follies throughout the poem. While this is undoubtedly a bit ironic, it somewhat frees Swift from criticism from outside sources. It's hard to bet criticism on someone who has already bet it against themselves. While this could also be seen as a mockery towards other self-deprecating writers, this self-deprecating narrative is mostly used comically in "Verses on the Death of Dr. Swift, DSPD". Despite this, it actually creates a well-defended narrator in the sense that he cannot easily be criticized by outside sources. The self-destructive speaker can be used rhetorically both directly and indirectly. In the case in which the author is really betting the criticism against himself, I consider him a directly self-destructive narrator; in cases where the narrator's errors in morality or logic are projected onto someone or something else, I consider this to be an indirectly self-destructive narrator. While "Verses on the Death of Dr. Swift" eventually transitions into satire of Swift's friends and readers, Swift opens the lyrics by satirizing himself. The poem begins with Swift as a directly self-destructive speaker, in the sense that it is truly against himself that Swift is betting satire. In the following lines, we see Swift present himself in a comically negative way...... in the center of the paper......n. "Rapid and mimetic disease". Eighteenth Century: Theory and Interpretation (University Of Pennsylvania Press) 54.3 (2013): 359-373. Academic research completed. Network. March 30, 2014. "Satire." http://www.oxforddictionaries.com.com. Oxford Dictionary, 2013. Web.29 March 2014. Swift, Jonathan. “A Modest Proposal”. The Longman anthology of British literature. Ed. David Damrosch and Kevin JH Dettmar New York: Pearson Education, 2544-2548. The Longman Anthology of British Literature. Ed. David Damrosch and Kevin JH Dettmar Vol. 1c: Pearson Education, 2544-2548. Uphaus, Robert W. "The Whole Character": The Delany Poems And 'Verses. On the Death of Doctor Swift.'” Modern Language Quarterly 34.4 (1973): 406-416. Academic research completed. Network. March 31. 2014.