Gerald Griffin
Gerald Griffin was an Irish author and poet born into a prosperous brewing family in Limerick, Ireland. Initially pursuing a career in law, he ultimately shifted his focus to writing, producing nine novels, with only three published during his lifetime. His most renowned work is "The Collegians," which explores themes of Irish life, particularly the experiences of peasants, fishermen, and smugglers, in contrast to the landed gentry. Additionally, Griffin created several volumes of short stories, an opera titled "The Noyades," and a play called "Gisippus," showcasing his diverse talents before the age of twenty.
Griffin's poetry gained popularity due to its reflection on Irish culture and life, though he later experienced doubts about his literary contributions. In 1838, he joined the Society of the Christian Brothers as Brother Joseph, motivated by concerns about the moral implications of his work, leading him to destroy many of his manuscripts. Tragically, Griffin contracted typhus and died shortly thereafter. His posthumously produced play "Gisippus" was met with critical acclaim in London, and later adaptations of his work, like Dion Boucicault's "The Colleen Bawn," further solidified his legacy in Irish literature. Critics have noted that while Griffin is often recognized as a novelist, he excelled in the short story format, where his narrative simplicity shines as a strength.
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Gerald Griffin
Irish playwright, novelist, and poet
- Born: December 12, 1803
- Birthplace: Limerick, Ireland
- Died: June 12, 1840
- Place of death: Cork, Ireland
Biography
Gerald Griffin was the son of a well-to-do brewer in Limerick, Ireland. As a boy, he studied with a tutor part of the time and attended schools in Limerick and Longhill. He later went to England and studied for a time at the University of London, intending to become a lawyer. He turned to writing and became the author of nine novels, although only three were published during his lifetime. The most famous of his novels is The Collegians. He also wrote several volumes of short stories, as well as an opera, The Noyades, and the playGisippus, which he wrote before he was twenty.
In his works, Griffin dealt generally with the people and countryside of his native Ireland. He dealt especially with the lives of peasants, fishermen, and smugglers on the Irish coast, and with the differences between their lives and those of the landed gentry. As a poet, he achieved popularity in Ireland because his lyrics were concerned with Ireland and Irish life. In his maturity, Griffin came to doubt life, and in 1838 he entered the Society of the Christian Brothers under the name of Brother Joseph. Fearing the moral influence of his writings, he destroyed many of his manuscripts. Before he finished his novitiate, however, he contracted typhus and died. His tragedy Gisippus, which had escaped destruction at his hands, was produced in London in 1842, two years after the author’s death, and was hailed as a stage success. Some years later, Dion Boucicault created a famous melodrama, The Colleen Bawn, based on The Collegians. Later critics have been in agreement that Griffin, although known as a novelist, was a better artist with the short story, for his longer prose tends to lose unity; the simplicity of the tales, which in the short stories is a virtue, becomes a fault in his longer fiction.
Bibliography
Cronin, John. Gerald Griffin (1803-1840): A Critical Biography. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1978.
Davis, Robert. Gerald Griffin. Boston: Twayne, 1980.
Eckley, Grace. “Griffin’s Irish Tragedy, The Collegians, and Dreiser’s American Tragedy.” Éire-Ireland 19, no. 1 (1977).
Flanagan, Thomas. The Irish Novelists, 1800-1850. 1959. Reprint. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1976.
Griffin, Daniel. The Life of Gerald Griffin. 2d ed. 1857. Reprint. New York: Garland, 1979.
Mannin, Ethel. Two Studies in Integrity: Gerald Griffin and the Rev. Francis Mahony (“Father Prout”). New York: Putnam, 1954.
Moynahan, Julian. “Gerald Griffin and Charles Dickens.” In Literary Interrelations: Ireland, England, and the World, edited by Wolfgang Zach and Heinz Kosok. Tübingen, Germany: G. Narr Verlag, 1987.