Juno and the Paycock: Analysis of Setting
"Juno and the Paycock" is a play set in a cramped tenement apartment in Dublin, Ireland, occupied by the Boyle family. The setting reflects a sense of claustrophobia, as the family's activities are confined to a small front room of their two-room flat, emphasizing their poverty and limited options amid the broader historical context of Ireland's struggle for independence from British rule. The sparse and dilapidated furnishings within the apartment serve as symbols of the family's stagnant lifestyle, where time seems to stand still and their concerns are rooted in the past rather than looking forward to the future. Notable objects, such as a laborer's shovel, signify the father's avoidance of work, while a clock lying face down reinforces the theme of time lost. Changes in the setting occur dramatically when an inheritance appears to uplift the family's fortunes, leading to an influx of gaudy furniture, only for it to be repossessed by the end of the play, symbolizing the transient nature of hope and prosperity. Additionally, religious imagery, such as the ever-lit votive candle beneath a picture of the Virgin Mary, underscores the family's struggles and foreshadows tragedy. Overall, the apartment serves as both a reflection of Sean O'Casey's own background and a poignant commentary on the lack of opportunity faced by many in Ireland during this period.
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Juno and the Paycock: Analysis of Setting
First published: 1925
First produced: 1924
Type of work: Drama
Type of plot: Satire
Time of work: 1922
Places Discussed
Boyle apartment
Boyle apartment. Tenement in Dublin, Ireland, in which are crammed the four members of the Boyle family. The atmosphere is one of claustrophobia—all actions occur in the front room of this two-room flat—while beyond its confines Ireland is struggling to gain independence from England and, in a larger sense, its colonial past.
Stage directions indicate a place that is sparse and dilapidated, though a few possessions are significant—a laborer’s shovel, which sees no work given the captain’s assiduous avoidance of employment. A clock rests face down on the mantel, and time seems to stand still for the Boyles; their concerns have less to do with the unfolding future than with a repetition of predictable patterns from the past. Historical changes are overtaking them and will belie their predictable lifestyle. Another symbolic ornament is a picture of the Virgin Mary, under which a votive candle remains perpetually lit until it burns out in act 3, signaling the end of son Johnny’s life.
Beginning with act 2, the furnishings change dramatically when it appears that the captain has been blessed with a generous inheritance. Gone are the meager furnishings, replaced by “glaringly upholstered” chairs, cheap pictures, and artificial flowers. By act 3 all this has been repossessed, and the family’s fortunes fall precipitously.
In many ways this apartment is a mirror of Sean O’Casey’s own humble origins in the tenements of Dublin’s poorest neighborhoods and a symbol of the lack of opportunity in Ireland.
Bibliography
Ayling, Ronald. Sean O’Casey. Nashville, Tenn.: Aurora Press, 1970. Selection from O’Casey criticism includes valuable comments on Juno and the Paycock. Considerations of O’Casey’s poetic gifts, his use of symbols, his socialism, and his place in the Irish dramatic movement.
Hogan, Robert. The Experiments of Sean O’Casey. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1960. A synthesis of dramatic theory and theatrical technique. Argues that in his Dublin trilogy, O’Casey is continually expanding his technical capacities and that Juno and the Paycock is a stage in his continuing experimentation.
Kilroy, Thomas, ed. Sean O’Casey: A Collection of Essays. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1975. An excellent selection from leading Irish, British, and American O’Casey critics: his politics, dramatic technique, and development. Representing disagreements about O’Casey’s achievement as a political dramatist.
Krause, David. Sean O’Casey: The Man and His Work. New York: Macmillan, 1975. One of the best studies of O’Casey’s dramatic genius and the complex engagement between this milieu and his dramatic work. Describes the economic, political, and religious tensions in Dublin in his time, his involvement with Irish revolutionary movements, the Gaelic League, and the Irish Labor Movement.
Owens, Cóilín, D., and Joan N. Radner, eds. Irish Drama: 1900-1980. Washington, D.C.: Catholic University of America Press, 1990. Places Juno and the Paycock in the context of the Irish dramatic movement, provides a clear general introduction to the critical issues in the play, a bibliography, and comprehensive annotations to the text.