Book Description
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Book Description
This companion to Synge's work covers the important issues in Synge criticism from about 1900 to the present day. Each essay includes a bibliography, and a general bibliography follows. Also included are a brief chronology; a glossary of characters, locales, and motifs; and representative stage histories which also describe productions of Synge's plays in Ireland, the United States, and several other countries. The final essay is the editor's assessment of Synge's overall contribution, and the volume concludes with a general index. This work takes into account the prominence that Synge and other writers of the Irish Renaissance have attained in recent years in the worldwide academic community. The essays deal with Synge's use of language, his place in the Irish Renaissance, his reputation abroad, the forces that influenced his thought and writing, and the foreign productions of his plays. Each essay supplements the author's analysis with bibliographical citations and a synthesis of previous Synge criticism in order to allow for further research. By combining thorough coverage of the basic issues and sources of Synge criticism with fresh approaches provided by a group of distinguished scholars, Kopper has produced an important study of Synge and his milieu. It should prove valuable for college and university courses in modern literature and the Irish Renaissance, modern drama, and the theatre. ... Read more

Book Description
"Synge was like Frank McCourt of today but in more delicate circumstances, and he was a much greater, more original writer. . . . McCormack's biography, written in his distinctive, elegant style is refreshing and invigorating, a literary tour de force."
--Daily Telegraph

"Superb"
--Denis Donoghue, New York University

"Synge was a mass of contradictions, skillfully dissected in W. J. McCormack's definitive new biography. Fool of the Family is a magnificent labor of scholarship, which draws on much unpublished material to present a superbly rounded portrait."
--Terry Eagleton, Independent

"Well-researched and insightful. . . . At times it is beautifully gripping."
--Sunday Telegraph

Soulmate of James Joyce, J. M. Synge (1871-1909) is famous as the author of Playboy of the Western World, which provoked riots at its Dublin premiere in 1907. But the man himself, his peculiar religious background, and little-investigated death, have, until now, remained in the shadows. W. J. McCormack here recreates the complex religious and social environment in which Synge refined his talents as a writer. Placing Synge's life firmly in the context of the cultural revolution unfolding in Europe, this fresh and lively account will stand as the authoritative biography of this great writer. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Culture between East and West
Dr. Aixue Wang's book, A Comparison of the Dramatic Work of Cao Yu and J.M. Synge, is the best one you can find in comparison of these two famous authors and their dramas. In this book, Aixue convinced us that Cao Yu'sdramas are not simply copied from western culture and translated intoChinese. Indeed, Cao Yu created his original works based on his deepunderstanding of Chinese society and culture, plus the spirit of westernculture. ... Read more

Book Description

Book Description
A seminal study of one of Ireland's major dramatists, still held in highest regard today by scholars and critics. ... Read more

Book Description
J. M. Synge is generally considered one of the most important Irish dramatists, and his standing within the larger canon of world literature usually goes unchallenged. But his reputation may not be standing the test of time. A relative dearth of presentations on Synge's work at major national and international conferences and even at regional Irish studies conferences suggests that he is not studied as much as he once was, especially relative to other Irish authors such as Joyce, Yeats, O'Casey, and even Paul Muldoon and Eavan Boland. Tolerance for some of Synge's once-hailed extragavance is also lessening among students of his drama. The expert contributors of this book demonstrate that Synge's work is of continuing relevance to contemporary audiences and readers. Each of its essays illuminates the worth of Synge's dramatic canon either by some form of reassessment of individual plays or by comparison of Synge's work to that of authors whose reputation is still indisputably well established, such as Yeats, or to that of contemporary authors whose work is much in the public eye, such as Salman Rushdie. New approaches, including a feminist study of the language of Synge's heroines, also help establish the continued relevance of his drama to contemporary readers. ... Read more