Book Description
One of the most important playwrights of the Irish Renaissance, John Millington Synge is receiving renewed attention as his works are reread in light of the political and cultural contexts of his time. This book argues that his plays are far more deeply rooted, thematically and aesthetically, in the ancient native literature than was previously believed. It demonstrates that Synge borrowed themes and ideology from the ancient culture, serving as a nationalist agenda far more radical and modern than the agendas of the most common nationalists in his day. Synge rejects these nationalists, whom he believed were embracing foreign influences that were drowning Ireland in conservatively capitalistic initiatives and values. The book's most important section examines The Playboy of the Western World. It discusses the play's characters as representative and recognizable types and reconsiders the play's thematic depiction of violence. Synge's representation of both commenced the process of separating and identifying the nationalist camps in Dublin from 1907 on. The volume argues that Synge's play drafted what became the Easter Rising. This argument is furthered through Synge's Deirdre of the Sorrows and the influence that his works ultimately bore on the plays and ideologies of Thomas MacDonagh, Padaraic Pearse, and James Connolly. The book also explores the acting style originally used to perform Synge's plays, thus gathering further evidence for its argument. ... 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

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
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

Amazon.com
Nothing much happens on the Aran Islands--at least, not much went on there in the late 19th century, when John Synge sailed out to these mist-shrouded, salt-sprayed, and wave-battered chunks of rocks south of Ireland.Therein lies the charm of the setting and of this lovely book, which captures the saltiness of both the marine air and the time-lost characters, who deeply believe in the magical "wee people." In cottages where nets and fishing tackle hang from beams, the women (who always wear red dresses and petticoats, as do some of the boys) sit at their spinning wheels or sew cow-skin sandals, while the fishermen spin yarns about fairies, sunken vessels, and bags of gold gained from adulterous wives. The big happening of the year is when roofs are rethatched--an event that blossoms into a festival with twisted rope stretching from kitchen table through lane to nearby field. Synge seems an ambassador from a different world: addressed as "noble person," he brings tokens of modernity--be they clocks or simple magic tricks that beguile the locals. First published in 1907, this re-released travelogue gives a poignant peek into another time and begs a visit to the Aran Islands to see how, or if, they have changed. --Melissa RossiBook Description
The Aran Islands of Aranmor, Inishmaan, and Inishere lie thirty miles from Galway, and so attracted J.M.Synge that he returned to them time and time again. He here recounts his travels and encounters on the islands, telling of magic wells, poteen drinkers, fishing expeditions in currachs, and stories of druids and fairies. The book includes fourteen of Synge's own photographs, depicting many fascinating aspects of island life.Download Description
A few of the younger men looked doubtful, but the older people, who have watched the rye turning into oats, seemed to accept the magic frankly, and did not show any surprise that 'a duine uasal' (a noble person) should be able to do like the witches. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

Another world
Not only does this book describe a time long past but Synge has a deeper sense of the psychology of the inhabitants of the Aran Islands and how it differs with that of "civilized" people of the time. Anyone who is interested in this topic and enjoys this book would do well to read Twenty Years A-Growing by Maurice O'Sullivan, which is a personal account by Mr. O'Sullivan of his life on Ireland's Great Blasket Island and is a wonderful, lyrical read that shows alot of humor as well as love for the natural world around him.

Stories in another tongue
This book describes the adventures of J. M. Synge on the Aran Islands around the turn of the Twentieth Century.William Butler Yeats suggested that Synge visit the island in order to learn Irish and become acquainted with traditional Irish culture as it had been preserved on the islands.Synge followed his suggestion, and made four lengthy trips to the islands.In this book, he recounts his experiences on the islands, together with some of the stories and poems that were recited to him there.

The book is a unique collection of travelogue, journal, and research notebook.Synge describes his relationships with individuals on the islands, as well as some of the common traits and customs observable there.He tells us about harrowing sea passages that he took from island to island in small rowed boats, and records a number of folk-tales that were shared with him by island residents.Synge was to draw on all of this material in his later writing career, making the book quite interesting for those who enjoy his plays.The book also provides informative details of what daily life was like in this remote region at the time.

Lively Reading
The search for authentic experiences is regarded as an important theme in postmodernism.John Millington Synge's book demonstrates that this quest for authenticity has been an important part of cultural inquiry for a long time.This wonderful book was written almost one hundred years ago, but it reads like a contemporary ethnographic inquiry.He provides vivid descriptions of daily life and wonderful presentations of the folklore of the Aran Islands.The book is primarily descriptive, but there are interesting textures and conclusions throughout Synge's writing.I would recommend reading this book and then watching Flaherty's film "Man of Aran."Follow up that visual feast with Stoney's "The Making of the Myth."To complete your excursion, top things off with a reading of Synge's "Playboy of the Western World" and "Riders to the Sea," two fine plays that he set on the Aran Islands.The stories, descriptions, and textures within Synge's book will become very clear when you're finished.

An Insight Into The Irish Soul
"The Aran Islands" is a delightful rendition of the experiences of J. M. Synge during his visits to the Aran Islands just over a century ago.Synge's journey had been encouraged by William Butler Yeats. "Go to the Aran Islands.Live there as one of the people themselves; express a life that has never found expression."Here Synge gained an insight into the Irish character which would enrich his later works.

The Aran Islands are a chain of islands off the coasts of Connemara and Clare.Isolated by the sea, the Arans, like the Galapagos in the natural world, preserve the language and customs of traditional Ireland.

The book is a narrative of what Synge saw and the stories he heard during his stays in the Arans, told by a master storyteller in the finest Irish tradition.The language is delightful, the stories are entertaining and the insight into the Irish soul is profound.A must read for any lover of the Irish.

I was named after the island
My dad was born there in the 1950's and i was named after it.not a bad place, not much to do but nice to visit.the book is informal but informative. ... Read more

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
This volume from one of Ireland's greatest playwrights includes "In the Shadow of the Glen," "Riders to the Sea," and "The Playboy of the Western World." ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Sounds Like Shakespeare
At one point in Ulysses, Stephen thinks--or says something to somebody about how you can always tell Synge because he sounds like Shakespeare. That's a jab, but a friendly one.I don't think it's intended to be far off from the truth either.

I agree that reading these plays aloud is wonderful.

In a class I took, we read extended portions of "Playboy of the Western World".The class was busting, tearing up with laughter. The play is fall-over funny even if you're reading to yourself.

I just have to say though, that the plays are for performing.

A friend of mine and I did a scene as an acting exercise for a class she was taking--it was one of the scenes in which Christy courts Pegeen Mike--from "Playboy of the Western World". The audience--about 15 people--were spellbound. We looked out at dropped jaws.
This friend of mine and I did a competent job of acting. What blew the class away, really, was the ecstatic language and the infatuation one feels for the characters, their solidity, and the dramatic electricity between them... Lines from this bit come back to me, what? 20 years later? It's like music! The action goes from high tragedy to knockabout.
Well, it's what makes the Irish the Irish.
And the play's been just as good when others did it.

"Riders to the Sea" is like a religious ceremony, similar to the way that the plays of Aeschylus and Sophocles are. They use choruses to much the same effect. The action is ritualized and repetitive. Idealized characters utter formula phrases."Riders" sounds out some elemental terrain:it packs a deep sort of wallop.I'd love to see this performed.

Playboy of he Western World and other Plays, J. M. Synge
These are classic plays by Irish playwrite and poet John Millilngton Synge, with the attention to language and folklore that is typical of Synge. Best enjoyed by reading the plays aloud. ... Read more