Irish Drama: Comparing Two Plays
British literary landscape has long been diligently adorned and complemented by the magnificent works of Irish authors, all of them mirroring the peculiar culture, mentality and traditions of the people. In Irish literary legacy, dramaturgy is a remarkable genre, while history and myths are the common thematic aspects of the works. Interestingly, due to the complex historical background of Ireland and its Northern part, one could draw parallels even between seemingly different plays separated by decades.
A good example is observed in a kind of symbolic interplay between the plays Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme by Frank McGuinness and On the Baile’s Strand by William Butler Yeats: despite different historical contexts they were written in and the overall different in the form, there is a range of similar or parallel traits in these works that signifies its origins in Irish culture zealous towards its sovereignty and unique identity.
Summary
The most obvious similarity of the discussed plays lies in their historical orientation and the authors’ focus of the events of the past. William Yeats’ On the Baile’s Strand, which was originally written for Ireland’s National Theatre at the turn of the twentieth century, presents a rather brief yet tragic story of Ireland’s “troubled past” and “centers on the self-defeating passion of a legendary Irish hero” (Doggett 545). The play narrates the story of the glorious Cuchulain who swore the oath of devotion to the Ulster’s King and fought against the Young Man who came from overseas to conquer Irish land through fighting against the strongest and greatest hero in Ulster. However, Cuchulain eventually learns from the Blind Man that the Young Man from overseas was his own son: “He was my son, and I have killed my son” (Yeats 83). Having gone mad with grief, the hero goes out to the see, fights the waves – a scene that evokes slight associations with the scene of Don Quixote struggling against wind mills.
The second play, Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme, is also centered in portrayal of Ireland’s turbulent past: here, the main focus is the notorious bloodbath of the World War I, the Battle of Somme. However, McGuinness blurs the frames of historical narrative, portraying the way through only eight characters, eight ‘sons of Ulster’ consciously going to death to the great battle.
The narrative, however, is dominated by the only survivor among them, the elderly man Kenneth Pyper whose war trauma keep bringing visions of his comrades’ ghosts to him. Although the opening monologue already hints at the perspective that would prevail in the play, that is, memories of the elderly battle survivor, “virtually all the action in the play is set in the period from the men’s first enlisting to its climax at the Somme” (Hill 37).
Some of the men are enlisted in pairs, others have come to the Division on their own, but the strong bonding forms between them as they are paired and in their trench experience at the Somme.
When looked at for the first time, the two plays of two celebrated Irish playwrights seem rather different, except for the mere fact of focusing on historic past of their motherland. However, taking a closer look, one could identify a number of implicit similarities or, at least, connections.
Whereas Yeats focuses on the famous part of the Ulster cycle mythology, McGuinness, who worked eight decades later, provides a dramatic insight into the ravages of the World War I, the period that was only impending as Yeats worked on his play amongst rebellions and political turmoil. However, both authors look back to find the explanations for the events and situations of modernity.
Interestingly, the protagonist of Observe the Sons of Ulster in his late years reflects on the act of bravery and sacrifice committed by his fellow soldiers, drawing parallels between the contemporary events and the glorious past: “The sons of Ulster will rise and lay their enemy low, as they did at the Boyne, as they did at the Somme, against any invader who will trespass on to their homeland. Fenians claim a Cuchullian as their ancestors, but he is ours, [] we took up arms and fought against an ocean” (McGuinness).
McGuinness not just proliferates the idea of struggling for sovereignty of the homeland, he also draws parallels to the glorious victory of the Irish hero who defended Ulster from enemies coming from across the ocean, the story portrayed by Yeats in On the Baile’s Strand. On the other hand, the latter seems to be an attempt of Yeats to make sense of and reflect the political and social climate of his years: rigorous controversies between the Free State and the Home Rule, IRA, rebellions and revolutionary attempts.
While both plays bear strong influence of authentic Irish mythology, historical events that lying in the core of the narratives are portrayed in a very peculiar manner – by both authors. McGuiness has long been praised for shifting the focus in depiction of what is commonly called ‘history’: Observe the Sons of Ulster contains no mentions of official aspects of the Battle, of marches, of officers, of atrocities caused by the warfare (Lojek 450). Surprisingly, the play is focused on people, whose ‘little’ personal storied and background actually make up the historical event. Pyper interrogates why the reasons that made him and his comrades go to the battle and die “without complaint for what they believed in” (McGuinness).
Similarly, the mythical narrative created by Yeats lacks descriptions of and mentions of military preparation and battles; instead, he places bravery and passion of Cuchulain in the limelight, focusing on his own experience and tragedy. Thereby, the peculiar feature of both dramaturgical works lies in the increased attention paid to psychological, symbolic and relational aspects rather that careful chronicling of the military, historical or legendary events. the
Furthermore, it is easy to trace the impact of Irish national identity, unique collective culture and loyalism in McGuinness and Yeats’ works. In Observe the Sons of Ulster, the audience is faced with the men who gave up their lives in the battle, fighting for the Ulster Division and defending the homeland from Germany.
Remarkably, they were Protestants and unionists who did not approve of the IRA ideas and apparently felt themselves as a part of the large and proud Britain. At the same time, “Cuchulainn's misguided battle with his son [in Yeats’ play] becomes a recurrent paradigm of the impossibility of a national, civil society” (Meaney 243).
In both pays, a certain type of oath exists between the characters, these are the oaths sworn voluntarily and supporting loyalty the characters have towards their land (first of all). In Observe the Sons of Ulster, thee eight men are completely different and are connected neither by their backgrounds nor by their personalities; instead, the link between them all is the signed induction form that automatically implies loyalty to the ideals of the British army in this war. In On the Baile’s Strand, too, the warrior is bound by an oath of loyalty that should not be broken.
Another interesting commonality traced in the two plays is the motif of ghosts haunting the character. Obviously, the ghosts embody no good omens but rather symbolize the itching feeling of guilt, unfinished missions or terrors of the past that disturb one’s memory and mind. In Observe the Sons of Ulster, Pyper is haunted by nightmares of the terrible Battle of the Somme and ghosts of his seven comrades who perished in this unnecessary bloodbath.
The opening monologue presented in the play expresses irritation and terrible weariness of the elderly survivor: “Again. As always, again. Why does this persist?” (McGuinness). His desperate requests to stop seeing ghosts addressed to ‘Dear Lord’ seem to reflect so-called ‘guilt of a survivor’ and the overall regret of “inviting death upon himself” (McGuinness).
It does not mean that the war was purposeless, yet the war always brings about death and suffering on both sides. In the play written by Yeats, there is a remarkable viewpoint expressed by the elderly king Concobar: “I have no need to be afraid of ghosts, for I have made but necessary wars” (Yeats 58). By these words, the king virtually reasserts his clean conscience due to ‘making’ no purposeless and overtly atrocious wars. Like in McGuinness’ play, the motif of haunting ghosts is connected to war.
Overall, most significant differences traced in the compared plays could be attributed to form and the way of presentation. It is rather interesting how Yeats deploys blank verse as a form of dramatic narrative: although the poet and playwright of the early twentieth century, Yeats uses a kind of ‘elevated’ language to allocate the story. Such choice carries the audience back to Shakespearian times and, at the same time, paired with the mythological plot, alludes to the classical ‘Song-of-Roland-like’ epic.
On the other hand, McGuinness used prose and vested the story in a rather concise and contemporary language form, ‘softening’ the focus on its heroic nature and emphasising universal human component in it.
Therefore, the dialogues between the enlisted soldiers are rather succinct and free from excessive adornment, it seems that McGuinness decided to focus on the horrors of the war and its impacts on ordinary people, endowing the narrative with a sort of realistic air.
Conclusion
It is beyond all doubt that both dramatic pieces created by William Butler Yeats and Frank McGuinness bear traces of unique Irish identity and reflect concerns and cultural peculiarities characterising Ireland. Although the plays are separated by several decades and an immense range of historical events, they still have much in common in terms of themes they reflect, historical interpretations they use, adherence to and respect of the great mythological legacy of Irish lands, and even use of certain motifs. And, most important, both plays pay tribute to Irish culture and identity, though in different historical backgrounds.
Works Cited
Doggett, Rob. "Mixing Everything At The Beginning: Telling Stories About Empire In Yeat's On Baile's Strand." Modern Drama 45.4 (2002): 545. International Bibliography of Theatre & Dance with Full Text. Web. 18 Apr. 2016.
Hill, Jacqueline. “Art Imitating War? Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme and its Place in History”. Études irlandaises, 34.1 (2009): 37-52.
Lojek, Helen. “Myth and Bonding in Frank Mcguinness's "observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme"”. The Canadian Journal of Irish Studies 14.1 (1988): 45–53.
McGuinness, Frank. Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme. Faber & Faber, 2013.
Meaney, Gerardine. "The Sons Of Cuchulainn: Violence, The Family, And The Irish Canon." Eire-Ireland 41.1/2 (2006): 242-261. OmniFile Full Text Select (H.W. Wilson). Web. 18 Apr. 2016.
Yeats, William Butler. On the Baile’s Strand. Web. April 18, 2016. < http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/yeats/isw/isw14.htm>
