Irish Drama Masterpieces: A Doll's House & Juno and the Paycock

1. DRAMA IILecture 9

2. Synopsis PART I Dramatic Structure of A Doll's House A Conclusive Talk on The Doll’s House PART II An Introductory Talk: An Overview of Juno and the Paycock Play’s Background Settings Plot Characters • Writer’s Life and Work • The Play and its Social Significance

3. PART I Thematic Structure of A Doll's House

4. Ibsen’s WorkWhat Writer’s Have Said About Henrik Ibsen: “All of Ibsen is visionary drama… His mastery of inwardness is second only to Shakespeare’s.” — Harold Bloom “Had the gospel of Ibsen been understood and heeded, these fifteen millions might have been alive now.” — George Bernard Shaw (Discussing the loss of life during World War I) “His characters may hate one another or be happy together, but they will generate nobility or charm.” — E. M. Forster

5. A Conclusive Talk on The Doll’s House

6. A Conclusive Talk on The Doll’s House

7. A Conclusive Talk on The Doll’s House

8. A Conclusive Talk on The Doll’s House

9. Sean O’Casey ‘Juno and the Paycock’

10. PART II An Introductory Talk: An Overview of Juno and the Paycock Play’s Background Settings Plot Characters • Writer’s Life and Work • The Play and its Social Significance

11. Background to the play • ‘Juno and the Paycock’ is set in the 1920’s during the Irish Civil War between • the Republicans (Diehards), who wanted a united Ireland, and • the Free Staters, who were happy with Ireland being split in two. • The Free Staters accepted the Government of Ireland Act of 1920, which established the Free State of the 26 counties. Six counties remained under British rule and this was known as Northern Ireland.

12. Background to the play This Civil War lasted until 1923 and was bloody and terrible. Families and neighbours fought against each other and many lost their lives. This situation is reflected in the play and its pointlessness is highlighted through the characters. This futility is made all the more poignant through references to past romantic heroes and glorious episodes in Ireland’s past.

13. (They all share just two rooms) Johnny: ’Can’t you do it then, without letting the whole house know you’re taking off your trousers.’ Setting Mrs Boyle: He wore out the Health Insurance long ago, he’s afther wearin’ out the unemployment dole, From the opening sentence of the play, an impression is formed of the family’s living conditions. These ideas are supported further on in Act 1 Scene 1 ‘The living-room of a two-room tenancy occupied by the Boyle family in a tenement house in Dublin’ Poverty Cramped living conditions Irish historical background Lacks privacy Various references to the fighting, Diehards, the Free State etc. Johnny: ‘Oul’ Simon Mackay is Thrampin’ about like a horse over me head,’

14. Setting ‘Between the window and the dresser is a picture of the virgin; below the picture, on a bracket, is a crimson bowl in which a floating light is burning’ Idea of religion introduced Mary: “The full details are in it this mornin’; seven wounds he had-one entherin’ the neck, with an exit wound beneath the left shoulder blade; another in the left breast penethratin’ the heart, an’..” Idea of Violence introduced

15. Rundown house Hanging clothes Anchor Old sofa

16. Plot Four main strands are introduced in Act 1 and develop throughout the play

17. Plot Development Strands

18. Characters • Juno • Boyle • Mary • Johnny • Minor characters • Bentham • Joxer • Jerry • Mrs Tancred

19. ‘Captain’ Boyle Actor: Sean Connery • A lot of energy • Light-hearted tone • You think you know it all • Act as though you have to explain everything to Mrs. Boyle • Avoid conflict in scene at all costs

20. Mrs. Juno Boyle Actress: Susan Sarandon • Smart woman with strong opinions; act like your opinion matters • Let Mr. Boyle talk, accept that he’ll say something stupid • Caring towards children (Be concerned with Mary’s flirtatiousness and Johnny’s hallucination)

21. Charles Bentham Actor: Chris Evans • Embody the player/lady’s man persona • Have sneaky eyes • Be well spoken and confident • Dress well • You are refined and seemingly above these people

22. Mary Boyle Actress: Lily Collins • Shallow, vain way of speaking • Judgmental looks towards everyone • Be completely absorbed in flirting with Bentham, uninterested in political and religious talk

23. Johnny Boyle Actor: Joseph Gordon-Levitt • Act uneasy, pace often, shifty eyes • When topic of ghosts comes up, get defensive and stutter through lines • Pure horror at “sight” of Tancred; you see it, no one else does

24. Writer’s Life and Works

25. Sean O’Casey (1880-1964) • 1880 — 30 March: Born John Casey in Dublin, the youngest child of a respectable Protestant clerk. • 1886 — His father died, he became deeply devoted to his mother. • 1894 — Sent to work at fourteen

26. Sean O’Casey (1880-1964) • 1906— Involved himself with Nationalist movements, as Secretary of the Irish-speaking Gaelic League and a member of the Irish Republican brotherhood. • 1920—At forty, left home for the first time, disgusted by his brother's drinking. • 1919—His mother died. The Abbey rejected his first play • 1924— Juno and the Paycock was an unprecedented success at the Abbey. O'Casey was still a labourer, mixing concrete. 

27. 1927 –Married actress Eileen Carey Reynolds (who played Nora in The Plough and the Stars in London). • 1930 –Film of Juno and thePaycock, directed by Alfred Hitchcock, released. Copy of the film burned in the street by Irish nationalists in Limerick.

28. Sean O’Casey (1880-1964) • 1964 • Lifted ban on Irish productions so that The Abbey could present Juno and the Paycock in the World Theatre Season in London. • 18 September: died in Torbay. • In his later years, O'Casey ceased writing for the stage and put all his creative energy into his highly entertaining and interesting six-volume Autobiography.

29. 13th child in a Protestant family • Grim childhood, poor eye sight, and ill health • Father—a clerkMother—raised her children alone after O’Casey’s father died • Two of his most appealing characters are created by his mother’s image. • The first Irish playwright to write about the Dublin working classes.

30. Sean O’Casey’s Plays and Works

31. Sean O’Casey’s Plays • Early in his adult life — Gaelic League and the amateur theatre movement • Early forties — quick succession of three realistic plays about the slums of Dublin: The Shadow of a Gunman, Juno and the Paycock, and The Plough and the Stars.

32. These three plays provoked public outcry mainly because of O'Casey's consistent refusal to glorify the violence of the nationalist movement, instead mocking the heroics of war and presenting the theme that dead heroes were far outnumbered by dead innocent people.

33. "All the world's a stage and most of us are desperately unrehearsed." --Sean O’Casey

34. Sean O’Casey’s Works • Juno and the Paycock (1924) and ThePlough and the Stars (1926), probably O'Casey's two finest plays. Both deal with the impact of the Irish Civil Waron the working class poor of the city. • Juno and the Paycock was successfully filmed by Alfred Hitchcock. • In 1959 O'Casey gave his blessing to a musical adaptation of the play by American composer Marc Blitzstein. The musical, retitled Juno.

35. The Play and it’s Social Significance Society

36. Juno and the Paycock • The paycock, or peacock represents the chaos that Juno endures during the play. • In mythology, the name Juno is the Roman name for Hera, the goddess of marriage, and the peacock is her symbol. • The Boyle family: - a working class family in their attempt to escape their dilemmas- alienated from each other

37. Women in Juno and the Paycock Juno Boyle - Breadwinner • Realist in the family • Showing her strength in adversity Mary Boyle • On strike for her principle • Blinded by appearances

38. Men in Juno and the Paycock Jack Boyle • Idleness, a real cripple in life “Mary is always readin’ lately – nothing but trash, too..” (440) “I’m hardly able to crawl with the pains in me legs!” (440)

39. Men in Juno and the Paycock Jack Boyle • Self-deception, talking with a commanding and complacent gesture e.g. “Chselurs don’t care a damn now about their parents, they’re bringin’ their fathers’ gray hairs down with sorra to the grave, an’ laughin’ at it, laughin’ at it.” (440) e.g. “Captain’s able to take care of himself…” (441)

40. Men in Juno and the Paycock Johnny Boyle • Suffering from his betrayal to his comrade • Showing no sympathy to his sister Joxer Daly - Parasite • Crawler Jerry Devine • Judging love from material things • Turing his back on Mary when knowing she’s having Bentham’s baby Charlie Bentham - Bring fantasy and disillusion to the Boyle family

41. Mothers in Juno and the Paycock while facing the death of their sons: Mrs. Tancred - despairing and anticipates her own death “O Blessed Virgin where were you when me darlin’ son was riddled with bullets,…” (449) Juno Boyle - hardy and resolute “Ah, what can God do agen the stupidity o’ men!” (457)

42. Review Lecture 9 PART I A Conclusive Talk on The Doll’s House PART II An Introductory Talk: An Overview of Juno and the Paycock Play’s Background Settings Plot Characters • Writer’s Life and Work • The Play and its Social Significance

43. Agenda Lecture 10 1. Plot Overview 2. Genre 3. General Vision 4. Cultural Context 5. The play as reflection of social and personal influences 6. The Play’s Title vs. context :reference and relevance 7. Themes/Issues • Poverty • Religion • Reality and fantasy