Understanding Contemporary Irish Fiction and Drama

Understanding Contemporary Irish Fiction and Drama

A study of the key themes and events essential to understanding Irish fiction and drama

In Understanding Contemporary Irish Fiction and Drama, Margaret Hallissy examines the work of a cross-section of important Irish writers of the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries who are representative of essential issues and themes in the canon of contemporary Irish literature. Included are early figures John Millington Synge and James Joyce; dramatists Brian Friel, Conor McPherson, and Tom Murphy; and prize-winning contemporary fiction writers such as Edna O'Brien, Joseph O'Connor, William Trevor, Roddy Doyle, and Colum McCann.

Each chapter focuses on one significant representative piece of contemporary Irish fiction or drama by filling in its cultural, historical, and literary background. Hallissy identifies a key theme or key event in the Irish past essential to understanding the work. She then analyzes earlier literary compositions with the same theme and through a close reading of the contemporary work provides context for that background. The chapters are organized chronologically by relevant historical events, with thematic discussions interspersed. Background pieces were chosen for their places in Irish literature and the additional insight they provide into the featured works.

  • Cover
  • Understanding Contemporary Irish Fiction and Drama
  • Title
  • Copyright
  • Dedication
  • Contents
  • Series Editor’s Preface
  • Introduction
  • 1. “Nothing can happen nowhere”: A Place in the World
  • 2. Just Tell Them the Story: Tradition Bearing
  • 3. “The abuse of language”: Irish, English, American
  • 4. An Gorta Mór: Hunger as Reality and Metaphor
  • 5. “Terrible beauty”: The Easter Rising
  • 6. The Big House: Symbol and Target
  • 7. “Fanatic heart”: A Legacy of Violence
  • 8. “Lots of fun at Finnegan’s Wake”: The Drinking Life
  • 9. “But come ye back”: The Yank
  • Conclusion
  • Notes
  • Bibliography
  • Index

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