The Playboy of the Western World (Cyclopedia of Literary Characters)
At a glance:
- Author: J. M. Synge
- First Published: 1907
- Type of Work: Play
- Type of Plot: Comic realism
- Time of Work: Early twentieth century
- Setting: County Mayo, Ireland
- Genres: Realism, Drama, Comedy
- Subjects: Parents and children, Mythology or myths, Twentieth century, Rural or country life, Fathers, Fratricide, parricide, or filicide, Ireland or Irish people, Peasantry or peasants, Braggarts
- Locales: Mayo, Ireland
Characters Discussed
Christopher (Christy) Mahon, the playboy of the Western World. Arriving one evening in a village on the wild coast of County Mayo, cold, tired, and hungry, he captures the imagination of the people when he tells them how he split the skull of his harsh, unimaginative old father with a loy. Timid no longer, the young man outleaps and outruns his competitors during the rigorous village sports. His reputation for bravery is tarnished, however, when his father, with a bandaged head, arrives in town. When the athletic young man attacks his father a second time,...
[The entire page is 862 words long]
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