Doomed volunteers: two great political plays from Ireland
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5007/2175-8026.2010n58p77Abstract
Seamus Byrne's Design for a Headstone (1950) and Brian Friel's Volunteers (1975) are some of the most controversial plays in the canon of Irish drama, exceptional in their explicit political implications. Loosely based on the role of the IRA in the Republic, they achieve a high degree of universality in their discussion of such provocative issues as political radicalism, internment, hunger strike, the role of the Church in society, passive resistance vs. active rebellion, justice vs. humanity, and loyalty vs. betrayal. In their tragic endings, both plays reveal a deep pessimism on the part of their authors.Downloads
Published
2010-01-01
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