Murder And Patricide

With the resurgent interest in Irish Nationalism and subsequent Literary revival, many artists were encouraged to create works that were separate and distinct from all things English. This newly found undertaking was to draw upon the opulent and fertile tapestry of Irish history. As Synge prefaced in The Playboy of the Western World, “in countries where the imagination of the people, and the language that they use, is rich and living, it is possible for a writer to be rich and copious in his words”. Synge’s preface alludes to the remembering of the rich and vivid history that Ireland had and has, that it needed to be capitalised on and brought to the fore before it becomes a “memory …show more content…
They accuse Christy of murder initially, however when he admits to patricide the reaction of the pub is quite unexpected and the murder of one’s own kin appears to be somewhat acceptable. Christy’s tale of murder and patricide is not met with the atypical appalled reaction, shunning or hanging. Instead his “heroic” tale is met with reverence and awe. His violent and murderous act is then rewarded with a cadre of new admirers, garments and the respect of his peers for being able to act in such a manner. You can see why this would have gone someway to angering the audience in the Abbey theatre that night, to see such a blatantly heinous act garner such a gaggle of admirers, effectively painting the pub folk, and by proxy the Irish people, as these unconscionable simpletons, their anger reinforced by Christys reflection on why he had not earlier killed his “father in the years gone by”. Christys role in the play could be considered twofold. He represents both the man with the past and ultimately, with the aid of the villagers, the man that he could be. His father, upon his initial arrival, describes him as a malingerer and idler. By “killing” his father, moving away from his home and destroying any connections that he had, it allows him to start …show more content…
Historically Ireland had always been under the rule of Britain in some shape or form and was constantly striving for her independence. When the play was staged Ireland had already had two Home Rule bills rejected by the British parliament and so the cultural revival, to many, should have been a showcase of Irish strength and dignity on all fronts, exhibiting Irelands strong nationalistic sentiments, their advocacy of women and deference to the Church, all of which were summarily squashed over three acts. The indignation of the audience on the opening night in Dublin and subsequently in New York a few years later, particularly from many high ranking officials such as Arthur Griffith, who stated that the Playboy was “a vile and inhuman story told in the foulest language we have ever listened to from a public platform’ was relatively short-lived. There were ultimately many proponents of the Playboy of the Western World and in an almost prescient turn Christy was paralleled with those who would defend the play, “it’s the poets are your like, fine fiery fellows with great rages when their tempers roused”. Subsequently, after a riot occurred at one of the stagings of The Plough and the Stars many years later, it would be a poet who would be