John Synge’s Playboy And The West Of Ireland

Between the end of the 19 th century and 1930 s, Ireland witnessed high rising national consciousness among her people, which contributed to the world-renowned movement — Irish Literary Revival, and the major achievement is on the dramatic field. In addition, the western Ireland has been seen as a paramount culture shrine by numerous Irish revivalists, because it contains true Gaelic culture and national identity not only from geographical landscape but from its folklore history. As a brilliant representative of Irish Dramatic Movement, John Synge authentically portrays traditional culture of western Irish people, and his masterpiece The Playboy of the Western World, which will be analyzed in this thesis, caused a huge riot in the premiere of Abbey Theatre, with much controversy. However, it definitely proves Synge’s promise to the Irish national liberation, “I wish to work in my own way for the cause of Ireland”. His lifetime is short but he had made great contributions.In this play, western Irish characterization is clear and distinct. The protagonist,Christy Mahon, is the image of a patricide tramp, but the irony is, villagers in Mayo praise him as a hero, and finally he achieves his own self-consciousness. Female images, Pegeen and Widow Quin, embody two opposites — illusion vs. reality and sensibility vs. intellectual. At last, two classical peasant images Shawn and Michael even reflect the true condition of status between western Irish men and women.Indeed, the western Irish geographical landscape, in Synge’s view, is desolate and lonesome, but the most characteristic is his linguistic innovation and poetic language on drama, which attains Gaelic construction and rhythm and creates a kind of English with Gaelic way of thought. Meanwhile, in terms of this play, no matter the western Irish traits or cultural life, this thesis argues that Synge combines reality with imagination, broadening writing mode of contemporary drama, and successfully brings tragic comedy onto the stage. He not only makes the west of Ireland received widespread attention, but also leaves a deep influence on the great value and meaningof Irish west in the Irish Literary Revival. Up to this day, a strong complex of the west of Ireland still ties onto Irish people.