Deirdre (Cyclopedia of Literary Characters)
At a glance:
- Author: William Butler Yeats
- First Published: 1907
- Type of Work: Play
- Type of Plot: Tragedy
- Time of Work: Antiquity
- Setting: Ireland
- Genres: Drama, Tragedy
- Subjects: Mythology or myths, Love or romance, Suicide, Escapes, Music or musicians, Kings, queens, or royalty, Legends, Kidnapping, Fate or fatalism, Heroes or heroism, Ireland or Irish people, Middle Ages, Celtic Twilight, Celts
- Locales: Ireland
Characters Discussed
Deirdre (DEER-druh), a young queen. The drama’s tragic conclusion seems unalterable, but Deirdre struggles valiantly against it. At first apprehensive of King Conchubar’s false offer of safety, she is quick to discover that she and Naoise have been snared in a trap. She attempts to rouse Naoise to flight, to no avail, then to persuade Conchubar, her captor, to release them. When that proves useless, she begs him to free Naoise. Finally, confronted by Naoise’s murder and her imminent vassalage as a captive queen, she pretends to accede to Conchubar’s...
[The entire page is 945 words long]
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