Reading Journal 3

• Quick Notes on Spreading the News
• Jack Smith: tries to be helpful, forgets his hayfork
• Bartley Fallon: tries to be helpful, tries to return the hayfork
• Everyone else: speculates Bartley chased Jack and murdered him, so that he could elope with Jack Smith's wife to America
• Quick Notes on The Rising of the Moon
• Sergeant: trying to capture man who escaped prison
• Man: clearly the man the sergeant is looking for, unbeknownst to the sergeant, plays in his face
• Quick Notes on "Our Irish Theatre"
• Lady Gregory's Memoir
• strong defenses of Irish theater, see:
• Gregory's pompous statement
• defense from church
• Bernard Shaw's speech
• Quick Notes on The Gaol Gate
• Mary Cahel: son in prison, they think he ratted out the true criminals, ashamed her son ratted them out
• Mary Cushin: the step-daughter, married to the prisoner, mother of their child, more forgiving that Denis ratted out the true criminals
• Gatekeeper: reveals they hung Denis, that the actual criminals falsely ratted out Denis
• Quick Notes on Cathleen ni Houlihan
• Michael: engaged to be married
• Peter: secured a grand dowry for his son with cutthroat negotiation
• Bridget: Peter's wife
• Patrick: Michael's younger brother, goes to see what all the commotion is about
• Old Woman: looking for men who will give their lives for her, convinces Michael to abandon his betrothed, is seen by Patrick as a young girl, as a queen
• Quick Nots on The Pot of Broth
• Sibby: doesn't want to welcome a beggar
• John: Sibby's husband, more welcoming and slightly more common sense
• Tramp: tricks Sibby into feeding her, taking all her food, gives them her magic stone
• Reading Journal
• I know I signed up for Modern Irish Drama, but my true interests are strong persuasive essays, so Lady Gregory's memoir "Our Irish Theatre" is a very welcome assigned reading. I was initially confused. I know you had said all the plays were in the Norton anthology except for The Gaol Gate, but I did not see it in the table of contents, so I just found a copy on the internet and started reading. But after I read the first chapter, I realized there is no way this would not be in the anthology. This is absolutely required reading for any Irish Drama course, so I went back to the table of contents and confirmed my obvious conclusion--this had to be in the Norton anthology.
• We have been debating this question with Wilde: is Wilde a dramatist of Irish plays, or is Wilde a dramatist who happens to be born in Ireland? Even though "Our Irish Theatre" highlights the national importance of having an Irish theater with Irish actors portraying Irish issues, I do feel Lady Gregory makes a strong case regardless for a broad definition of an Irish dramatist. In her self-described pompous statement, she highlights a main purpose of Irish plays, that they "show that Ireland is not the home of buffoonery and of easy sentiment, as it has been represented, but the home of ancient idealism." This goal unites the country and has "the support of all Irish people, who are weary of misrepresentation, in carrying out a work that is outside all the political questions that divide us."
• She also quotes Bernard Shaw providing another broad definition of an Irish dramatist. She quotes Shaw claiming for any person, "wherever he may have been born, if he has been brought up in Ireland, that is quite sufficient to make him an Irishman." I know some of my classmates have had a narrow approach on what makes an Irish play, but it always felt wrong to me, and now I feel much more confident in my broader approach to approach this course.
• With that long preface, let me examine our five new plays. Spreading the News is definitely a melodrama, as we introduced in our last class discussion. There are the over-the-top emotions and the misunderstandings. As far as Irish themes, I think we get a new one in this third set of plays: a strong adversarial approach to authorities, in particular, law enforcement. Despite all the gossip and telling everyone they see what they heard, the Irish refuse to spread the gossip to the authorities. We see this same sentiment, of course, in The Gaol Gate, and seems to be a constant cultural ideal among oppressed people. And in The Rising of the Moon, despite the Sergeant being the authority, he still eschews the monetary reward and assists his countryman.
• None of these five plays exhibit stage realism, but I wonder is there another category we should be looking for beyond stage realism and melodrama? Until we discuss another one in class, let me make my own category, inspired by Lady Gregory, but plays that reveal ancient idealism. I put our last two plays in this category, ancient idealism. (The other three as well here. Admittedly, I think I may have constructed too broad a category.) In Cathleen ni Houlihan, we get this typical symbolic portrayal of Ireland as a young woman, but here disguised as an old woman. And in The Pot of Broth, we have the Irish theme of hospitality, as the inhospitable Sibby is tricked and played upon from her associated vice of greed.