Juno and the Paycock

by Seán O'Casey

The most famous play by this remarkable Irish dramatist. Juno and the Paycock has been produced throughout the world and offers a compelling look at the family conflicts of struggling Irish matriarch Juno Boyle's Herculean attempts to keep her children safe and her husband "Captain" Jack Boyle sober despite his foolish schemes and the ongoing "troubles" in early 20th century Dublin.

Genres: Plays, Classics, Drama, Irish Literature, Theatre, Ireland, Fiction

106 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1924

About the author

Sean O'Casey was born in 1880 and lived through a bitterly hard boyhood in a Dublin tenement house. He never went to school but received most of his education in the streets of Dublin, and taught himself to read at the age of fourteen. He was successively a newspaper-seller, docker, stone-breaker, railway-worker and builders' labourer. In 1913 he helped to organise the Irish Citizen Army which fought in the streets of Dublin, and at the same time he was learning his dramatic technique by reading Shakespeare and watching the plays of Dion Boucicault. His early works were performed at the Abbey Theatre, Dublin, and Lady Gregory made him welcome at Coole, but disagreement followed and after visiting America in the late thirties O'Casey settled in Devonshire. He lived there until his death in 1964, though still drawing the themes of many of his plays from the life he knew so well on the banks of the Liffey. Out of the ceaseless dramatic experimenting in his plays O'Casey created a flamboyance and versatility that sustain the impression of bigness of mind that is inseparable from his tragi-comic vision of life.

He was a major Irish dramatist and memoirist. A committed socialist, he was the first Irish playwright of note to write about the Dublin working classes.

Reviews

[Bill Kerwin · Rating 5 out of 5]

No playwright ever learned more from Shakespeare than Sean O’Casey, and the most profound lesson he learned from the master was how comic figures, flawed but filled with life—Mercutio, Polonius, Falstaff, Enobarbus—can be smashed to pieces by “mighty opposites” in feuds and broils greater than themselves.

In Juno and the Paycock, perhaps his greatest play, O’Casey introduces us to the four Boyles, a family from the Dublin slums tailor-made for a comedy filled with good-humored satire and human warmth. The play’s great comic figure is "The Paycock” (peacock), “Captain” Boyle. A patriarch who excels in useless eloquence, he is addicted to drink and allergic to work. His nemesis is his (not quite) long-suffering wife Juno, capable of demolishing an argument or deflating a pomposity with a good one-liner or two. She is the sole support of the family: her Marxist daughter Mary is on strike, her revolutionary son Johnny is disabled (hip maimed in “The Rising,” arm shattered to the War for Independence), and the “The Captain” can’t work of course because...because he has pains in his legs. (Although the pains never keep him from scurrying ‘round to the pubs with his worthless toady Joxer Daly.)

And then, the good news! The Boyle family has come into a large inheritance!

Sounds like a sit-com, doesn’t it? Perhaps an Irish version of The Honeymooners plus The Beverly Hillbillies? But O’Casey is too good a playwright—and the world is too cruel—for the Boyles to be blessed with a sit-com existence.

No forgiveness here, no mitigation of fate. And every deed darkened by the fog of Civil War.

Here’s a fine comic passage from Act I, in which “The Captain” romanticizes (and embellishes) his brief period as a merchant sailor, with his “butty” Joker acting as chorus. (Notice how reality intrudes even here, how the street vendor, in answer to the Captain's poetic question “What is the stars?” gives him a harsh, reductive answer):

BOYLE: Them was days, Joxer, them was days. Nothin' was too hot or too heavy for me then. Sailin' from the Gulf o' Mexico to the Antanartic Ocean. I seen things, I seen things, Joxer, that no mortal man should speak about that knows his Catechism. Ofen, an' ofen, when I was fixed to the wheel with a marlinspike, an' the wins blowin' fierce an' the waves lashin' an' lashin', till you'd think every minute was goin' to be your last, an' it blowed, an' blowed — blew is the right word, Joxer, but blowed is what the sailors use. . . .

JOXER. Aw, it's a darlin' word, a daarlin' word.

BOYLE. An', as it blowed an' blowed, I ofen looked up at the sky an' assed meself the question — what is the stars, what is the stars?

VOICE OF COAL VENDOR. Any blocks, coal-blocks;' blocks, coal-blocks !

JOXER, Ah, that's the question, that's the question — what is the stars?

BOYLE. An' then, I'd have another look, an' I'd ass meself — what is the moon?

JOXER. Ah, that's the question — what is the moon, what is the moon?.

[Lyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Oh, he'll come in when he likes; struttin' about the town like a paycock with Joxer, I suppose."

I want to see this performed. Brilliantly imaginative and innovative.

"I'm goin' to tell you somethin', Joxer, that I wouldn't tell to anybody else - the clergy always had too much power over the people in this unfortunate country... Didn't they prevent the people in '47 from seizin' the corn, an' they starvin'; didn't they down Parnell; didn't they say that hell wasn't hot enough nor eternity long enough to punish the Fenians? We don't forget, we don't forget them things, Joxer. If they've taken everything else from us, Joxer, they've left us our memory."

O'Casey had an eye and ear for the culture around him and this is as scathing a rebuke as many a target will never get.

"It's miraculous. Whenever he senses a job in front of him, his legs begin to fail him."

Also very funny, entertaining. This would be an excellent introduction to O'Casey's work.

[Ṣafā · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully composed, a timeless satire, it had all I love and more. It reminded me of Eugene O'Neill's Long Day's Journey into Night, which is all I want in modern drama.

I absolutely adored the vernacular, the exploration of the psyche of the working class and the witty banter. The matriarchy was an interesting, prominent and actually amusing part of the play. It was a fast-paced read not only because it's very short but also because it's very interesting, not to mention easy to follow.

Definitely recommended to those who, like me, are into modern and classical drama especially tragedy.

[Suhaib · Rating 5 out of 5]

This tragedy tells the story of the Boyle family; some ragged folks living in a tenement in Dublin, Ireland, during the political turmoil after the republic gained its independence from the United Kingdom in 1921. Juno wants nothing more than keeping a roof over her family; she is constantly dismayed, though, by her weakling of a husband, Captain Jack Boyle, who keeps whining about his leg pains, doing nothing but drinking and singing all the time. They have two children: Johnny, whose arm was amputated during some military scuffle he got himself into, which also left him with a twisted hip; and Mary, a sweet young virgin of twenty-three.

Now they say every dark tunnel has a light of hope … Well, not when you’re reading a tragedy. That’s for sure.

Anyway, I loved this book. It gives the 20th century modernity its due at least … the wars, the politics, religion and philosophy and all the pessimism. Check!

[Bettie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bettie's books

[James Henderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Juno and the Paycock is the second in his "Dublin Trilogy" that also includes The Shadow of a Gunman and The Plough and the Stars.
Juno is the goddess of household in Greek mythology. She has been presented on riding a chariot driven by peacocks. Juno’s husband was Jove, also known as Jupiter or Zeus, chief of Olympian gods. In O'Casey's play he stands for Paycock i.e. showy and vain. And as Juno’s husband Captain Boyle is a very irresponsible and an idle person. This is example of O’Casey’s brilliant ability to create caricature. On the other hand, Juno is called “Juno” because she was born in June, married in June and begot a child in June. Juno’s husband, Captain Boyle, has aristocratic airs about him. He hates manual work. He enjoys the company of courtiers like companion and of some sycophant who adores him in flattery and always praises him.

In the play Boyle’s family consists of four persons; Captain Boyle, Juno Boyle, their son “Johnny” and their daughter “Mary”. The son has been crippled in the war. The daughter works in a factory and the factory workers are on strike. She is very much active in trade union. The arc of the story sees the fortunes of Juno and her family soar with anticipation of an unexpected inheritance only to return to earth in the last half of the play when the inheritance disappears along with the crafty lawyer who duped them and also beguiled Mary. Mary's character has a depth that I enjoyed that was demonstrated by her interest in literature. She always had a book in her hand and was cleverly shown reading Ibsen, whom I am sure likely influenced O'Casey's art.

The background of this tragicomedy is based in the impact of the political strife in Ireland following the Easter Rising of 1916, the Irish War of Independence from 1919-1921, followed by the Irish Civil War. As the play opens son Johnny has already lost an arm in the struggles and he has betrayed Robbie Tancred, a neighbor and fellow comrade in the IRA, who was subsequently killed by Free State supporters; Johnny is afraid that he will be executed as punishment. In spite of this turmoil there were impressive comic moments carefully integrated to lighten the combined impact of poverty and war on the family. One typical moment has Mr. Boyle and his friend Joxer Daly discussing books and history. But their mock-intellectual discussion is interrupted by the voice of a coal vendor. Joxer flies out of the window at hearing the voice of Juno. But in this fun and ludicrous description there is a tinge of pathos as well. For example, at one place, Juno says to Boyle:
“Here, sit down an’ take your breakfast – it may be the last you’ll get, for I don’t know where the next is going to come from.”
Then when there is knocking at the door and Boyle asks Joxer to tuck this head out of the window and see who is there, Joxer replies:
“An, mebbe get a bullet in the kisser?”
Apparently, this remark may be funny but underneath there is a grim tragedy in it … the tragedy of Ireland destroyed and wasted by civil war. Boyle’s remark that:
“… the clergy always had too much power over the people in this unfortunate country.”
This again shows the grim situation of Ireland.
People like Captain Boyle think that if they work under them, they will be promoting the interest of the foreign exploiters. That’s why they degenerate even more. Thus, the whole burden is on Juno. Juno runs the house. She also symbolizes “Juno” the goddess of household. She is a conventional wife. She has an interesting relationship with her husband. Since she is the earning hand of the family, she dominates and scolds her husband but as a good wife, she also considers her husband as a lord and wishes to serve him. All this creates a very interesting situation. In a way this is a feminist play that Juno struggles evenhandedly to serve her family. She suffers most of all. So, women are weakest of the weak and exploited of the exploits. One very great feature of the play is the realistic depiction of the slum life in Dublin.

I enjoyed The realistic presentation of tragic events leavened by comic moments. The play is considered one of the most effective plays in English literature. O'Casey's handling of both mythic and contemporary themes is matchless. This has heightened the tragic effects and made trivial family story a great tragedy. The play is very humorous and very tragic at same time. O’Casey is the master of creating humour in tragedy and tragedy in humour. In this art, he is very close to Shakespeare. and caricature make this a great play that has been popular in Ireland and elsewhere since its first production.

[anna cabrespina · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The clergy always had too much power over the people in this unfortunate country"
Llegit per classe de literatura dublinesa... divertidíssima aquesta breu obra de teatre. tinc ganes de parlar-ne a classe, i si me'n recordo miraré l'adaptació de hitchcock. Tot passa a la mateixa habitació, bastant addictiu, això sí, m'he perdut bastantes referències al context històric, però bé, poc a poc. he descobert que aquesta obra forma part d'una triologia, de la que el punt d'unió és, evidentment, Dublín.

[Jessica López-Barkl · Rating 4 out of 5]

I haven't read much of Sean O'Casey. I read THE SILVER TASSIE and THE PLOUGH AND THE STARS in undergraduate school, when looking for an Irish monologue and I had remembered that my beloved Theater History Professor, John Wilson, really liked him, so...I just read those and found an adorable monologue from THE SILVER TASSIE, and looked no further. There is an audition for JUNO AND THE PAYCOCK in the coming weeks, and I wasn't sure if there were any parts I'd be right for, so I thought I'd read it. I also watched the 1930 Alfred Hitchcock film of it, as well.

I tried to look at this play objectively. Sometimes I feel my tribe of theater artists likes to sentimentalize classics, and then it's hard to actually like or dislike the play because it has this almost "saint-like" reputation. I watched a preview on youtube of Irish Repertory Theatre's 2013 production of it, and I wanted to hate the play based on how the actors and the directors talked about it: the "sainthood epidemic" was in full-swing. But...after reading it...I liked it...I don't know if it lives up to its "sainthood status," but it's a lovely chamber piece of a family tragi-comedy. It's an authentic microcosm of what families in the tenements in Dublin in the 1920s would have been experiencing. It's also a microcosm of the changes women were going through at the time. And, strangely, it is also a microcosm of the Irish Revolution. I appreciated the fact that the characters were not sentimentalized or completely likable. Jack Boyle, the head of the household and largest character, is likable and despicable all at the same time; great role for any 50-60 year old character actor. His friend Joxer also lives in that grey area of likable/despicable. The women are also not perfect, but...they're definitely what holds the clan together, and there's an (almost) funny moral at the end where Juno mentions that it's not particularly a bad thing that Mary's child won't have a father; it'll have something better: two mothers.

In comparison to the Alfred Hitchcock movie, which, apparently, is his first example of his long shot...for film buffs, and I'm not one, so...if you are...I guess that's a reason to watch it (the entirety is on youtube); it is an okay adaptation. What I enjoyed about the film were the actors. The original Juno, Sara Allgood, is in the film, and she's a very intriguing actress to watch. Her sister, Maire O'Neill, plays Mrs. Madigan, a small role, but as an actress, she's a clear standout. These two women also grew up in many of the situations depicted in the film, and there's a lovely unapologetic way they approach the acting. Also, for Irish Theater people, Maire O'Neill, is the woman who inspired J.M. Synge to write THE PLAYBOY OF THE WESTERN WORLD, and even though she's older in this film, I can see why; she definitely makes you want to watch her. Two British actors: John Laurie and Sidney Morgan play Jack Boyle and Joxer, respectively, and they were also extraordinarily fun to watch. The part of Mary is very edited in the film, and it's unfortunate, because in the play, she is much stronger, but...it's a film, I suppose something has to go.

Well, for those of you on the fence about reading JUNO AND THE PAYCOCK, it's worth it for the dialect and the authentic representation of poverty and those that want out.

[Leslie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read in my hardcover of Five Great Modern Irish Plays & listened to a full cast audio production on YouTube (introduced by the author).

This play is set in 1922 Dublin during the tail end of the Irish War of Independence and is about the Boyle family. While 'Captain' Jack Boyle, the father, is something of a buffoon, this is by no means a comedy. Juno Boyle, the mother, is struggling to keep the family going while her husband, unemployed, drinks with his 'butty' Joxer; the son Johnny, who lost an arm in the Easter Rising of 1916, is on the verge of a nervous breakdown; and the daughter Mary has thrown over her young man Jerry Devine. In case you were wondering, 'paycock' is the word "peacock" pronounced with an Irish accent.

I found this play to be tragic in a Shakespearean sense -- while it looks like things might improve for the family early on, in the end everything is much much worse. I wonder if O'Casey was trying to say that independent Ireland ended up worse off than they had been before....

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

From BBC Radio 3 - Drama on 3:
Sean O'Casey's tragic-comic masterpiece, set in a working-class Dublin tenement during the Civil War is arguably the finest Irish play of the last century. Will a surprise inheritance improve life for the Boyle family?

Juno and the Paycock (1930) is a film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, and starring Barry Fitzgerald, Maire O'Neill, Edward Chapman and Sara Allgood.

This movie is available at YouTube.

[Fiachna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Had to read this for my Leaving Cert. and have to say really enjoyed it. Great characters and entertainment.

[سلوان البري · Rating 5 out of 5]

«الأمر كما توقعت تمامًا.. إن إنسانيتك ضيقة كالآخرين.»
.........
بهذه الجملة في مسرحية (جونو والطاووس) للأديب/شون أوكاسي تنهي إحدىٰ بطلات العمل حوارها مع رجل يدعىٰ (جيري) تقدم للزواج منها بعد أن أخبرها بحبه الشديد لها، إلا أن شيئًا ما في نفسها أشعرها بأنه لا ينطق بحقيقة ما يشعر به حقًا. لذلك قررت أن تطلعه علىٰ إحدىٰ مشاكلها مختبرة رد فعله وقدرته علىٰ التصرف.
فما كان من الرجل إلا أن سحب عرضه فورًا بالزواج!
.. وكأن ما قاله منذ دقائق لم يكن.
في المسرحية برر الأديب هذا الأمر واصفًا إياه بأن (جيري) علىٰ استعداد لأن يحب الآخرين.. لكنه يحبهم إلىٰ حد محدود.. حد لا يُهدد مصالحه في الحياة.
وكأن المسرحية تتساءل كم من (جيري) في حياتنا!
يدعي المحبة الصادقة بينما هو لا يحب سوىٰ ذاته وما يرضيها وحدها دون الآخرين، فإذا ما توافقت مصلحته مع أحدهم أحبه، وإذا ما حدث وتعارضت هذه المصلحة -ولو بنسبة قليلة- فإن حبه سيزول فجأة كما ظهر فجأة..
ذلك لأن إنسانيتهم ضيقة لا تسع سواهم فقط!

#قراءات_حول_العالم #حكايات_مسرحية

[Evelyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

A few years back, there was a superb documentary about Lorraine Hansberry on American Masters. One of the points made was how taken Hansberry was with O'Casey's work, she had seen the trilogy of related plays prior to writing A Raisin in the Sun (the other O'Casey plays are Shadow of a Gunman and The Plough and Stars, ideally they are staged together). Ever since I saw that documentary, I've wanted to see these plays. Found a very old edition at an estate sale (price: three shillings!). JUNO left me flooded with thoughts of Brian Friel, Hansberry of course, and also August Wilson. I hope I get a chance to see it produced or find a strong version online. But the read just blew me away. The way women are presented is particularly striking. Can't believe I got this old before reading Juno and the Paycock, and look forward to finishing the trilogy.

[charlotte 🪴 · Rating 4 out of 5]

O’casey > Joyce

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Seán O'Casey's Juno and the Paycock is the first play in its author's Dublin trilogy, all of which are plays set around the time of the Irish Civil War. "Captain" (an undeserved honorific) Jack Boyle lives in a tenement with his wife Juno, his son Johnny, and his daughter Mary.

Except for Juno, who tries to soldier on despite a lack of support from her family. The "Captain" spends all day drinking ale and tea with the worthless Joxer Daly, who says everything twice. Johnny was wounded in some Civil War conflict, though it seems he turned his comrade in to the police; and Mary gets herself pregnant after splitting with the boyfriend who impregnated her.

As the "Captain" says, the whole world is in a state of "chassis" (crisis? chaos?).

[Zan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Heart-wrenching. This is a gorgeous play situated against the background of the Irish Civil War. The Boyle's (Juno, the mother; 'Captain Boyle,' the 'paycock' of a father; Mary; Johnny) figure into this context with Mary on strike with her Union, Johnny disfigured from his involvement in the Easter Rising and more recent Republican activities, Boyle refusing to find work, and Juno trying to keep everything together. The family discovers that they are going to inherit a small fortune, but things unravel quickly in the final act.

I can't believe I haven't read this until now, but it's really stunning. I plan to read THE PLOUGH AND THE STARS soon to make that additional connection. Irish theatre constantly leaves me stunned in the most poignant ways.

[Kayla Burton · Rating 5 out of 5]

This play is brilliant. I went into it assuming I wasn't going to like it, because I had to read it for a class, and I actually cried at the end. The characters are so well created, the set brings the characters and the story to life, and the symbolism is subtle but perfect. I would suggest to people intrigued by this play to do some research on the Irish Civil War before reading it. My professor had us watch a documentary, and it helped with understanding the play so much.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

I saw this performed a few years ago, so I went into this play already aware of the plot. I'm studying this for the Leaving Cert, so I'm going to leave my thoughts until after I've actually become very familiar with it, rather than just after the one read through. I did enjoy the first read of it though, and I expect I'll feel even more strongly about it after I have a full appreciation for all of its intricacies. Full thoughts to come.

[Marwa El.tokhy · Rating 4 out of 5]

" If i were a blackbird, i'd whistle and sing,
I'd follow the ship that my true love was in:
And on the top riggin', I'd there build my nest,
And at night i would sleep on my Willie's white breast ! "

[Gill · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an excellent recording on YouTube of a radio performance of the play, with an introduction by Seán O'Casey himself.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=16ddT2H...


A wonderful mixture of farce and tragedy.

[Mary Tuley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Before I read this book, I'm sure I thought that the Irish were just like leprecauns, only taller. "Junot and the Paycock" helped me see the complexities of the people.

[Patrick\ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interpersonal troubles, some political, of the Irish kind in Ireland. O'Casey is an Irish master of the cadences of spoken English. The Irish do it best.

[Matt Micucci · Rating 4 out of 5]

This play is very good, and also good to be read not just for theatrical use. Its striking realism presented in comedy form makes the tragedy look all the worse when it does strike.

[Jackie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sean O'Casey's famous play deals with poverty, civil war, and family ties. It kind of reminds me of an Irish version of "a Raisin in the Sun," even though it was written first.

[Tasneem Nassar · Rating 5 out of 5]

الفصل الاول ممل بس

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sitting on our bookshelves is an almost 50-year-old book, Masters Of Modern Drama. Smack in the middle is this Irish tragicomedy, written by Sean O'Casey in the 1920s.

O'Casey is credited with being the first Irish playwright to feature working class Dubliners. In this troubled family, there is father Jack Boyle, a loafer who complains of pain in his legs whenever a job comes within sight; his formidable wife Juno, the only one who is working; embittered son Johnny, who has lost an arm and shattered a hip fighting for independence; and Mary, on strike from her job and newly enamored of a schoolteacher.

Well into the second act, there is nothing but broad comedy, as Jack and his wastrel friend Joxer fill the air with bragging, blarney and fear of Juno's sharp tongue.

Then, Mary's new beau announces that a Boyle relative with money has left half his estate to Jack, who immediately starts buying furniture on credit and borrowing from friends on the strength of the ship that's about to come in.

It's not hard to guess that this piece of fortune won't hold up. More mysterious is what may happen to young Johnny, who is suspected of informing on a fellow revolutionary.

And then Mary's life also takes a tumble and the whole play shifts from laughter to lament.

I won't give any more away, but will say that as much as this classic clipped along, it also struck me essentially as a melodrama that in the end offered very little hope for its characters or enlightenment about what made them tick.

[sina · Rating 5 out of 5]

one day i will write an essay about this play. there is so much i have to say about it and so much i enjoyed. it contained everything i love seeing in a play (i could list certain aspects but nope not now sorry).

[الشناوي محمد جبر · Rating 1 out of 5]

تصفحتها فقط
لم تعجبني من أولها
لم أستطع الاندماج معها
المسرح عموما نادرا ما يجذبني إليه شيء

[Berna · Rating 4 out of 5]

3,5 stars rounded up to 4.

[Pamela Adam]

I remember this play from my Higher English. I really liked it then and would like to read it again. I would gladly have slapped the paycock for being so self centered. A story of civil war, oppression and just trying to survive a whole series of events which could break anyone