The Words upon the Window-Pane (Masterplots II: Drama, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: William Butler Yeats
- First Published: 1934
- Type of Plot: Naturalistic
- Time of Work: The 1920’s
- Setting: Dublin, Ireland
- Principal Characters: Dr. Trench, Miss Mackenna, John Corbet, Cornelius Patterson, Abraham Johnson, Mrs. Mallet, Mrs. Henderson
- Genres: Naturalistic literature, Drama
- Subjects: Gambling, 1920’s, Fantasy, Spiritualism, Ireland or Irish people, Time, Aging
- Locales: Dublin, Ireland
The Play
The action of The Words upon the Window-Pane takes place in the parlor of a now-seedy Dublin boardinghouse that has an illustrious history. Built in the eighteenth century and originally owned by friends of Jonathan Swift, the house has had as its occupants two celebrated Irish patriots, as well as Esther Johnson (1681-1728), Swift’s “Stella.”
As the one-act play opens, guests are arriving for a séance, to be conducted by Mrs. Henderson, a medium who has journeyed from London at the invitation of the Dublin Spiritualists’ Association. The...
[The entire page is 2826 words long]
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