Irish Literature

Catalog description

In 1904, poet W. B. Yeats and playwright and translator Lady Gregory launched what would become the first state- subsidized anglophone national theatre, which they called the Abbey Theatre. They did so, in their words, to prove to the world that “Ireland is not the home of buffoonery and of easy sentiment…but the home of an ancient idealism.” Aiming to correct centuries of misrepresentation, the Abbey Theatre set out to show the world that Ireland could be a cultural center despite the fact that it was considered, at the time, culturally backwards, a thorn in the side of the British Empire, and a victim of unrelenting years of famine and economic impoverishment. More than a century later, the Irish arts scene now produces acclaimed novelists, poets, playwrights, filmmakers, and actors—from Sally Rooney to Martin McDonagh to Saoirse Ronan. In fall, we will track this development: beginning in the 19th century, with the rise of the Anglo-Irish novel written by a settler class of Protestant writers; through the Irish Literary Revival, which championed the Irish language, myths, and arts; and then through revolution, partition, and civil war leading to the founding of the Irish Free State. In spring, we will follow the new independent Ireland through years of repressive Catholic control and censorship of the arts and through the late 20th century and early 21st, which saw an economic boom and bust known as the “Celtic Tiger”—the Good Friday Agreement establishing peace in Northern Ireland, as well as a series of public referendums legalizing divorce, gay marriage, and, eventually, abortion. In Ireland, literature and politics are tightly intertwined, with writers fighting as revolutionaries and works of art directly fueling public events such as the Easter 1916 Rising. The course will include readings of playwrights such as J. M. Synge, Samuel Beckett, Brian Friel, and…