J. M. Synge

Drama Classics: The World's Great Plays at a Great Little Price J.M. Synge's extraordinary play about a young man on the run, and his unexpected elevation to folk hero. A stranger, Christy Mahon, arrives in a village bar in County Mayo in the West of Ireland, claiming to have killed his father. The locals are impressed – some can even directly relate to the deed – and Christy is lauded as a folk hero. He can't believe his luck, and confidently pursues the affections of the barmaid Pegeen, until the arrival of his not-so-dead father takes the winds out of Christy's sails... The Playboy of the Western World was first performed at the Abbey Theatre, Dublin, in January 1907, causing riots across the city. This edition of the play, in the Nick Hern Books Drama Classics series, is introduced by Margaret Llewllyn Jones.

In 1907 J. M. Synge achieved both notoriety and lasting fame with The Playboy of the Western World. The Aran Islands, published in the same year, records his visits to the islands in 1898-1901, when he was gathering the folklore and anecdotes out of which he forged The Playboy and his other major dramas. Yet this book is much more than a stage in the evolution of Synge the dramatist. As Tim Robinson explains in his introduction, "If Ireland is intriguing as being an island off the west of Europe, then Aran, as an island off the west of Ireland, is still more so; it is Ireland raised to the power of two." Towards the end of the last century Irish nationalists came to identify the area as the country's uncorrupted heart, the repository of its ancient language, culture and spiritual values. It was for these reasons that Yeats suggested Synge visit the islands to record their way of life. The result is a passionate exploration of a triangle of contradictory relationships – between an island community still embedded in its ancestral ways but solicited by modernism, a physical environment of ascetic loveliness and savagely unpredictable moods, and Synge himself, formed by modern European thought but in love with the primitive.

The well of the saints: A comedy in three acts is a dramatic exploration of perception, beauty, and human illusion framed within the simplicity of rural life. Through humor and irony, the play examines how vision, both literal and metaphorical, can distort understanding rather than clarify it. The narrative follows two blind beggars whose contentment in darkness is disrupted when they are granted sight, revealing the unsettling reality behind their imagined world. Their awakening becomes a reflection on how people construct beauty and meaning from ignorance, and how truth, when uncovered, can bring pain instead of enlightenment. The play's dialogue intertwines lyrical wit with moral depth, presenting a study of human vanity, pride, and vulnerability. Its pastoral setting amplifies the tension between spiritual faith and worldly perception, capturing the fragile balance between illusion and awareness. With a mix of satire and compassion, the work portrays blindness as both a curse and a refuge, questioning whether seeing truly brings understanding.

In Wicklow and West Kerry captures J. M. Synge's intimate portrayal of rural Ireland, where landscape and livelihood merge into a portrait of endurance and grace. Through his travels, Synge observes the lives of tramps, farmers, and wanderers, finding in their existence a reflection of Ireland's unyielding spirit. His writing transforms the rugged countryside into a living character, revealing both its beauty and its austerity. The essays intertwine social observation with poetic insight, offering glimpses of humor, hardship, and quiet resilience among the people who inhabit these remote regions. Each encounter-whether with an aged vagabond proud of his dignity or a sickly youth striving to survive-underscores the dignity found in struggle and the harmony between humanity and the land. Synge's prose conveys a deep empathy for the overlooked and a reverence for the cultural rhythms that shape everyday life. The result is a lyrical meditation on identity, poverty, and belonging within Ireland's timeless and untamed landscape.

J. M. Synge is the author of the play "The Playboy of the Western World: A Comedy in Three Acts". The drama, which is set in rural Ireland, centers on Christy Mahon, a young man who claims to have murdered his father and shows up in a tiny community. He becomes a local celebrity as a result of his patricide story garnering the affection and attention of the community. Pegeen Mike, the daughter of the neighborhood publican, expresses romantic interest in Christy as he becomes more well-liked and the "playboy" of the community. As other males in the hamlet compete for Pegeen's attention, a love triangle develops. The play "The Playboy of the Western World" investigates the essence of heroism as well as issues of identity and self-presentation. The gap between fact and perception is explored since Christy's reputation is based on a made-up narrative. The social dynamics and cultural practices of rural Irish villages are also discussed in the play. The lyrical language, vivid characterizations, and sardonic wit in Synge's play are well-known. It tackles the complexity of human nature and social expectations while capturing the authenticity of rural Irish life.

This collection of literature attempts to compile many of the classic works that have stood the test of time and offer them at a reduced, affordable price, in an attractive volume so that everyone can enjoy them.

Riders to the Sea: A Play in One Act by J. M. Synge. Riders to the Sea is a play written by Irish Literary Renaissance playwright John Millington Synge. It was first performed on 25 February 1904 at the Molesworth Hall, Dublin, by the Irish National Theater Society. A one-act tragedy, the play is set in the Aran Islands, Inishmaan, and like all of Synge's plays it is noted for capturing the poetic dialogue of rural Ireland. The plot is based not on the traditional conflict of human wills but on the hopeless struggle of a people against the impersonal but relentless cruelty of the sea. It must have been on Synge's second visit to the Aran Islands that he had the experience out of which was wrought what many believe to be his greatest play. The scene of "Riders to the Sea" is laid in a cottage on Inishmaan, the middle and most interesting island of the Aran group. While Synge was on Inishmaan, the story came to him of a man whose body had been washed up on the far away coast of Donegal, and who, by reason of certain peculiarities of dress, was suspected to be from the island. In due course, he was recognised as a native of Inishmaan, in exactly the manner described in the play, and perhaps one of the most poignantly vivid passages in Synge's book on "The Aran Islands" relates the incident of his burial. The other element in the story which Synge introduces into the play is equally true. Many tales of "second sight" are to be heard among Celtic races. In fact, they are so common as to arouse little or no wonder in the minds of the people. It is just such a tale, which there seems no valid reason for doubting, that Synge heard, and that gave the title, "Riders to the Sea", to his play.

The story of a man who becomes the town hero after he boasts of murdering his father. Riots greeted the first performance of this 1907 comic masterpiece of the Irish Literary Renaissance.

This is a pre-1923 historical reproduction that was curated for quality. Quality assurance was conducted on each of these books in an attempt to remove books with imperfections introduced by the digitization process. Though we have made best efforts - the books may have occasional errors that do not impede the reading experience. We believe this work is culturally important and have elected to bring the book back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. This text refers to the Bibliobazaar edition.

This collection chronicles the fiction and non fiction classics by the greatest writers the world has ever known. The inclusion of both popular as well as overlooked pieces is pivotal to providing a broad and representative collection of classic works.

In RIDERS TO THE SEA, J.M. Synge tells the story of a household grieving over the loss of five sons, all of whom have drowned. As the sixth and final son prepares to ride to the sea, Maurya, his mother, prophesies that he will die as well. This gripping and poignant short drama is considered one of the finest one-acts ever written. (2M, 3W)IN THE SHADOW OF THE GLEN, a lovely lyrical comedy, finds a tramp knocking on the door of Nora and Dan Burke. After being invited in for food and shelter he is shocked to discover Dan lying dead in the corner. Or is he? (3M, 1W)