Dec 17, 2009

Dancing at Lughnasa | Critical Overview

Brian Friel is one of the leading Irish playwrights of the twentieth century. Friel's works have been praised for their skillful focus on Irish cultural identity. Referring to Friel as a ‘‘modern master,’’ and ‘‘Ireland's most important contemporary writer,’’ Richard Pine praises the playwright who ‘‘has maintained a tradition of Irish literature by addressing local themes which have universal significance.’’ Pine goes on to describe the thematic concerns of Friel's dramatic settings in Ireland:

Friel's Ireland, if it exists at all, is a...