The Playboy of the Western World: Analysis of Setting
"The Playboy of the Western World" is a play set in a remote tavern in County Mayo, Ireland, a location that embodies both isolation and community. This unlicensed public house serves as the focal point for the characters, who are shaped by their rugged surroundings and the harsh realities of rural life. The setting reflects playwright John Millington Synge's critical perspective on the ignorance of the impoverished Irish populace, influenced by his own background in a Protestant family with land in various counties. Within the tavern, patrons engage in social interactions that reveal their dependence on gossip and news from the outside world.
Despite the vibrant community spirit, the setting is fraught with tension and fear, as the locals contend with threats from both imagined and real dangers, such as wandering madmen and oppressive authority figures. The arrival of Christy, a young man from eastern Ireland with a sharper wit, disrupts the status quo and sparks a shift in the dynamic among the tavern's inhabitants. His presence exposes the complexities of identity and heroism, as the community initially embraces him but later turns against him when the truth is revealed. Ultimately, the setting of the tavern becomes a microcosm of broader societal themes, highlighting the interplay between isolation, community, and the darker aspects of human nature.
The Playboy of the Western World: Analysis of Setting
First published: 1907
First produced: 1907
Type of work: Drama
Type of plot: Comic realism
Time of work: Early twentieth century
Places Discussed
Tavern
Tavern. Unlicensed public house in the wild Mayo County region on the west coast of Ireland in which the play is centered. The location is somewhat north of John Millington Synge’s beloved Aran Islands, and thus an apt setting in which to illustrate Synge’s repulsion at the ignorance of Ireland’s poor. Synge came by this disdain honestly, through his fiercely Protestant family, who owned land in both County Galway and County Wicklow (thereby bracketing the island both east and west).
Within the setting’s isolation, there is community. The tavern stands alone but is constantly filled with people. These people have carved an existence out of their remote setting, relying on contact with the larger world both through the post and the gossip at social gatherings. Nevertheless, this is a place beset by evil, both real and imagined. There are strange people out at night, from the madmen of Keel to the ten tinkers in the glen to the thousand militiamen in the countryside. Even the unseen priest, Father Reilly, haunts the action. The people surrounding this public house threaten it with madness, theft, war, or religion. Into this place comes Christy, a boy from eastern Ireland, and therefore one possessing more native wit than the westerners he encounters. He brings the evil of the outer world with him but wins over the local folk. When the truth is found out, they turn against him savagely. However, after he is reprieved from a lynching, he goes forth, returning to the east, a new man, having briefly seen himself as a hero in the eyes of the local people and found out a bit of his true nature.
Bibliography
Bloom, Harold, ed. Modern Critical Interpretations: John Millington Synge’s “The Playboy of the Western World.” New York: Chelsea House, 1988. Eight representative essays consider Christopher’s self-transformation and parallels with Christ, the realistic and fantastic aspects of the play, its complexity and ambiguity, and its irony, wit, and poetry.
Greene, David, and Edward M. Stephens. J. M. Synge: 1871-1909. Rev. ed. New York: Macmillan, 1989. The standard, authorized biography based on Synge’s diaries, letters, and manuscripts. Provides the basic accounts of the composition of The Playboy of the Western World and of its riotous reception in 1907.
Kopper, Edward A., Jr., ed. A. J. M. Synge Literary Companion. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1988. A valuable collection of sixteen chapters by leading scholars, covering all aspects of Synge’s life and work. Excellent introduction to the critical literature. Good bibliographies.
Owens, Cóilín, and Joan Radner, eds. Irish Drama: 1900-1980. Washington, D.C.: Catholic University of America Press, 1990. Places the play in the general context of the Irish dramatic movement. Concise introduction, map, and the best detailed annotations to the text of the play.
Whitaker, Thomas R., ed. Twentieth Century Interpretations of “The Playboy of the Western World”: A Collection of Critical Essays. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1969. Thirteen judicious selections on the composition of the play, its milieu, early audience reaction, and production values. Interpretive essays consider the paradoxes of Christopher’s characterization, Synge’s ironic language, and the play’s surrealistic qualities.