1st Year
Synge and O’Casey were literary revivalists, they differed in how they portrayed Ireland in their plays ‘Riders to the sea’ and ‘Juno and the Paycock’. O’Casey’s plays were often written in heavy Irish slang and dialect whilst Synge developed a written technique which was quite broad, catering to Irish dialects throughout Irish province yet also including British language and dialect. Irish literary culture during the late 19th century and early 20th century was closely connected to folklore and mythology which was prevalent in many Irish literary revivalists, including Yeats, to maintain Irish heredity, as “some English writers… regarded Irish language as the source of Irish culture” (Gilmartin, Elizabeth. Pg.1). Despite Synge catering to multiple dialects, it is arguable that this developed more reach due to its easier reading, whilst O’Casey may have appealed more to Irish nationalists, regardless both were maintaining Irish legacy through literary means.
To understand literary revivalism, you need an understanding of Irish history, McCaffrey stated that “American and British newspapers tend to describe the conflict in Northern Ireland as a religious war, a throwback to the savagery of the seventeenth century” (McCaffrey, L. 1973. Pg.525). The conflict was between English protestant royalists attempting to change Ireland and their Catholic population into a British state. This dispute resulted in Irish militant groups such as the Irish Republican Army (IRA) amongst other sectarian groups which were trying to maintain Irish heritage, much like the literary revivalists including Synge, O’Casey, Yeats and many more. Whilst the IRA and other sectarian groups were fighting a civil war, the literary revivalists were dedicated to maintaining Irish folklore, dialect and mythology. As a result, literature and poetry written by literary revivalists is among the most important literature in modern history.
Both Synge and O’Casey’s plays displayed poverty and adversity in the name of tragedy. Synge’s play ‘Riders to the Sea’ was depicted in an impoverished country setting the Aran islands, in which he spent 4 years analyzing their language and behavior’s before writing his play. This, although different shares similarities to O’Casey’s ‘Juno and the Paycock’ where “O’Casey wrote of the lives of ordinary men and women at a particular time of social upheaval” (Ayling, Ronald. Pg.420), The social upheaval Ayling is referring to is the Irish civil war where poverty and rampant violence was becoming more prevalent, as Irish Catholics were in dispute with English protestant royalists.
Colloquialism in Synge’s ‘Riders to the Sea’ is quite easy to read as an outsider, although use of slang is prevalent, compared to Juno and the Paycock it is miniscule. It was argued that Synge’s lack of Irish identity in ‘Riders to the Sea’ was an insult to Irish nationalism, yet as a play it was more applicable globally than ‘Juno and the Paycock’ in terms of dialect. Synge used language from dialects from multiple states in Ireland but also used English language. Tactically this allows the play to be more accessible, although it doesn’t fit the strict regimen of some Irish literary revivalists. Although separate styles of writing, Riders to the sea still depicts living circumstances within the remote Irish Aran islands, regardless of whether it was a small fishing town in the Aran islands or tenement living in Dublin, they both depict the Irish lifestyle, poverty and social upheaval during the late 19th and early 20th century.
Turmoil during the early 20th century Ireland was a consistent theme as there were attacks from nationalist groups such as the Irish Republican Army (IRA) and attacks from English troops in which 4,000 deaths were recorded. According to Ayling, Juno and the Paycock captures the “most momentous events in recent Irish history, not from the point of view of the political and military leaders but from the ordinary people unwillingly caught up in the indiscriminate savagery and recrimination of civil war and revolution” (Ayling, Ronald. Pg.492). Displaying this tragedy through a Dublin family living in the tenements depicts the true nature and volatile situation Irish civilians were in, both nationalists and English royalist affiliated. These factors show the Irish as they truly are, in a state of war, poverty and turmoil making ends meet. Juno and the Paycock as a modern tragedy, showing tragedy on levels of political and social instability within a family, as the central theme of the play much alike to Synge’s Riders to the sea.
Irish literary revivalism at its core is the idea of maintaining Irish identity, in the confronting setting of the English protestant conflict literary revivalists were the Irish identity and believed that it was their duty to maintain Irish heritage. Irish literature is important due to the context, amidst the English invasion the Irish nationalist’s developed sectarian groups to overthrow the English protestant royalists to maintain Ireland as a republic. Nationalists of all factions served roles to maintain Irish heritage such as John O’Leary, Robert Emmet, Edward Fitzgerald and Wolfe Tone were all prominent nationalists, Yeats draws on these nationalists in his poem ‘September 1913’ in which he says Romantic Ireland’s dead and gone, It’s with O’Leary in the grave – (Yeats, 1913). This statement from Yeats shows the growing concern of Ireland, and its Celtic heritage.
Synge’s Riders to the sea’s characters can be observed as an abstract of Irish nationalism failing. During the 19th century men were the source of money for their families, Yeats mentioning “romantic Ireland’s dead and gone” (Yeats, 1913) can draw parallels to Maurya’s sons passing, and the imminent death of Bartley, her last surviving son. The passing of the men of the family can draw a connection to Irish nationalism failing, as the back bones of Ireland, much like the men of the family are passing, and the failing cause of the Irish literary revival.
Through studying the history of Ireland and its conflict during the late 19th and early 20th century we can understand the importance of colloquialism in Irish literature, especially through literary revivalists. According to McCaffrey, and justifiably so, the most controversial subject in Irish history is the complicated subject and relationship between Irish nationalism and Irish Catholics (McCaffrey, L. 1973. Pg.525). Although separate use of Irish dialect is present between Synge and O’Casey’s style of writing, the importance of Irish folklore, Irish mythology and the representation of the Irish people is a common theme between the two authors. Therefore, we can understand how both Irish culture and religion have impacted one of the most substantial moments in Irish history, the Irish civil war and the role of literary revivalists in preserving Irish culture. These literary revivalists have created such an impact it is visible in recent years, Irish musicians such as the Cranberries are still writing songs about Irish nationalism, including their song zombies which was released in 1994, regarding the bombings in England attributed to the IRA.
References
Ayling, Ronald. (1972) “Popular Tradition and Individual Talent in Sean O’Casey’s Dublin Trilogy.” Journal of Modern Literature, Vol. 2, No. 4 :491-504.
http://www.jstor.org/stable/30053205
Schrank, Bernice. (1975) “Dialectical Configurations in Juno and the Paycock.” Twentieth Century Literature 21, no. 4: 438-456.
Gilmartin, Elizabeth. (2004) “The Anglo-Irish Dialect: Mediating Linguistic Conflict.” Victorian Literature and Culture 32, no. 1 : 1–16. http://www.jstor.org/stable/25058649.
Saddlemyer, Ann. (2007) “Synge’s The Aran Islands (1907).” New Hibernia Review. 11/ 4:
http://muse.jhu.edujournals/nhesummary/v011/11.4saddlemyer.html
McCaffrey, L. (1973) “Irish Nationalism and Irish Catholicism: A Study in Cultural Identity.” Church History 42/ 4: 524-534.
Yeats, W.B, (1913), September 1913. Available at: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/57309/september-1913
