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The Playboy of the Western World and Two Other Irish Plays
A murderer becomes the toast of the village as his charm negates his crime. A young countess saves her tenants from starvation, but only by selling her soul to the Devil. The sleepy parish of Nyadnanave sees a vision of a cockerel that dares the inhabitants to break the shackles of Church and State. All these plays were met with moral outrage and rioting in their native Ireland.
Yeats's 'The Countess Cathleen' (1892), J. M. Synge's 'The Playboy of the Western World' (1907) and O'Casey's 'Cock-a-doodle Dandy' (1949) emerged from a period of traumatic change for Ireland. While the plays bear witness to the immmense social upheavals of the turn of the twentieth century, they also represent a new age of Irish drama that rose from the turmoil, and their lessons ring true to this day.
Yeats's 'The Countess Cathleen' (1892), J. M. Synge's 'The Playboy of the Western World' (1907) and O'Casey's 'Cock-a-doodle Dandy' (1949) emerged from a period of traumatic change for Ireland. While the plays bear witness to the immmense social upheavals of the turn of the twentieth century, they also represent a new age of Irish drama that rose from the turmoil, and their lessons ring true to this day.
224 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1907
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
September 19, 2024
DNF the last one because no time. Will return post-term
February 28, 2017
Countess Cathleen - I liked this one the most. While one of the other plays had a magical element, it worked much better in this one. I also just love Yeats. The lyrical prose read quite beautifully.
Playboy of the Western World - So it seems that it's okay to say you killed your father, but when he comes back from the dead, you can't kill him again. I didn't really enjoy this one. Do people in Ireland talk like that? The slang reminded me of Their Eyes Were Watching God, and I highly doubt these two ethnicities speak the same. I didn't realize the Christ allusion until after my class discussion-- just as Christ was welcomed on Palm Sunday and then crucified, so too was Christy.
Cock a Doodle Dandy - I didn't enjoy this one too much either. It kind of reminded me of The Crucible. Beautiful Ladies and jealousy always cause such harm.
Playboy of the Western World - So it seems that it's okay to say you killed your father, but when he comes back from the dead, you can't kill him again. I didn't really enjoy this one. Do people in Ireland talk like that? The slang reminded me of Their Eyes Were Watching God, and I highly doubt these two ethnicities speak the same. I didn't realize the Christ allusion until after my class discussion-- just as Christ was welcomed on Palm Sunday and then crucified, so too was Christy.
Cock a Doodle Dandy - I didn't enjoy this one too much either. It kind of reminded me of The Crucible. Beautiful Ladies and jealousy always cause such harm.
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March 30, 2013Read: Playboy of the Western World. Moral of the story: Murder in the past will get you all the ladies. Murder in the present will drive them away.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews