Sean O'Casey Criticism
Sean O'Casey (1880–1964), originally named John Casey, was a pivotal Irish dramatist whose work is renowned for its vivid depiction of Irish political struggles and social intricacies. His early plays, forming the celebrated "Dublin Trilogy"—The Shadow of a Gunman, Juno and the Paycock, and The Plough and the Stars—are noted for their naturalistic style that captures the socio-political landscape of early 20th-century Ireland with authenticity and depth. These works employ irony, satire, and vernacular to explore themes of political and social critique, vividly portraying the lives of Dublin's slum-dwellers during significant historical events like the Easter Rising and the ensuing civil war. Critics such as Ronald Ayling and Bernice Schrank highlight how O'Casey challenged audiences with complex portrayals of human courage and societal breakdown.
O'Casey's early works are celebrated for their sympathetic portrayal of Dublin's working-class life and thematic focus on the absurdity and brutality of war. Critics like Raymond Williams have discussed how these plays, such as Juno and the Paycock, exploit the irony between the violence of life and the carefree language of its people, with reviews from Living Age and The Times praising their blend of humor and tragedy. Joseph Campbell's review of Two Plays reflects on the authentic representation of Dublin's tenements.
As O'Casey's career progressed, his work evolved to incorporate expressionist techniques influenced by figures like Strindberg and German writers. This evolution is evident in plays such as The Silver Tassie and Cock-A-Doodle Dandy, as noted by Joan Templeton. O'Casey began to explore universal themes of individuality amidst conformity, employing symbolic characters and theatrical disintegration to convey his thematic concerns. Although these later works faced mixed receptions, with critics like Charles Morgan questioning the aesthetic impact of his political views, they nonetheless demonstrate his commitment to creative freedom and socialist ideals.
One of his impactful later plays, The Silver Tassie, uses symbolic frameworks to critique societal values through themes of war, religion, and sexuality, as analyzed by Jacqueline Doyle. O'Casey's dramatic portrayal of the quest for order amidst chaos is further explored by Ronald Ayling, who delves into themes of social and economic exploitation. This thematic expansion into expressionism did not represent a rupture from his earlier style but rather a continuity in his exploration of Irish socio-political issues, as noted by Christopher Innes.
O'Casey's legacy extends beyond his iconic Dublin Trilogy, as his innovative blend of comedy, tragedy, and political discourse revitalized the Irish-Anglo theatrical tradition. His works continue to be the subject of scholarly interest and theatrical productions, as Heinz Kosok emphasizes. His autobiographies, beginning with I Knock at the Door, further showcase his literary abilities, with Horace Reynolds noting their dramatic potential. In sum, Sean O'Casey remains a defining figure in Irish and global theatre, whose work encapsulates the intricate interplay of political, social, and theatrical expression.
Contents
- Principal Works
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O'Casey, Sean (Vol. 1)
(summary)
In the following essay, William A. Armstrong contends that Sean O'Casey's plays are deeply rooted in Irish cultural and political contexts, highlighting his ability to transform local, realistic settings into universal mythic narratives, while his style ranges from pedestrian to rhetorically powerful, often reflecting a search for hope amidst tumultuous times.
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O'Casey, Sean (Vol. 11)
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The Essential and the Incidental
(summary)
In the following essay, Samuel Beckett argues that Sean O'Casey's work, particularly in pieces like "The End of the Beginning," is marked by a mastery of theatrical disintegration, where the principle of knockabout is central to his dramatic and thematic expression, contrasting with less dynamic elements in his other writings.
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Ever a Fighter: 'The Drums of Father Ned'
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In the following essay, G. Wilson Knight analyzes O'Casey's play "The Drums of Father Ned," highlighting the use of symbolic characters to explore themes of authority, youth, and enlightenment, while also critiquing the limitations of O'Casey's portrayals of Irish priesthood and communism.
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Sean O'Casey and Expressionism
(summary)
In the following essay, Joan Templeton argues that Sean O'Casey extensively employed Expressionist techniques in his plays, influenced by Strindberg and German writers, using them not only as isolated stylistic experiments but as a crucial component for thematic development, evident in works from The Silver Tassie to Cock-A-Doodle Dandy.
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Popular Tradition and Individual Talent in Sean O'Casey's Dublin Trilogy
(summary)
In the following essay, Ronald Ayling argues that Sean O'Casey's Dublin Trilogy—comprising Juno and the Paycock, The Plough and the Stars, and The Shadow of a Gunman—employs a complex blend of irony, satire, and vernacular allusion to critique political and social attitudes, challenging the audience's preconceptions and highlighting genuine human bravery.
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Take a Member of the IRA
(summary)
In the following essay, Julius Novick argues that Sean O'Casey's The Plough and the Stars is a pacifist play that subverts the romanticism of revolutionary warfare by highlighting the suffering and disillusionment brought about by the Easter Rebellion, capturing the harsh realities of pain, fear, and death.
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Poets, Poltroons and Platitudes: A Study of Sean O'Casey's 'The Shadow of a Gunman'
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In the following essay, Bernice Schrank argues that Sean O'Casey's play "The Shadow of a Gunman" presents a comprehensive depiction of societal breakdown, highlighting themes of religious hypocrisy, political violence, and personal exploitation, with characters trapped in destructive patterns due to the disconnection between language and action.
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The Essential and the Incidental
(summary)
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O'Casey, Sean (Pseudonym of John Casey)
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Sean O'Casey
(summary)
In the following essay, Emil Roy examines Sean O'Casey's work, highlighting his use of melodramatic devices, his urban primitivism, and his ambivalence towards authority and the artist's role, ultimately recognizing O'Casey’s early plays for their powerful dramatization of societal and moral paralysis, despite his later experimental failures.
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Recurrent Patterns in O'Casey's Drama
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In the following essay, Ronald Ayling examines Sean O'Casey's thematic preoccupation with the quest for order and harmony amidst chaos, highlighting how his works explore social and economic exploitation, the ambiguous nature of law and order, and the pervasive influence of poverty and money on human values and morality.
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Liturgical Imagery in Sean O'Casey's 'The Silver Tassie'
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In the following essay, Jacqueline Doyle argues that Sean O'Casey's play The Silver Tassie employs a complex symbolic framework, integrating liturgical imagery and themes of war, religion, and sexuality, to convey a critique of self-sacrifice and the destructive impact of war, diverging from traditional character-driven narratives.
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Sean O'Casey
(summary)
- O'Casey, Sean (Vol. 5)
- O'Casey, Sean (Vol. 9)
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O'Casey, Sean (Vol. 88)
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Two Plays: Juno and the Paycock [and] The Shadow of a Gunman
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In the following review of Juno and the Paycock and The Shadow of a Gunman, the critic hails O'Casey as an impressive talent whose early work "deserves serious consideration."
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Two Plays
(summary)
In the following excerpt, Campbell contends that Juno and the Paycock and Shadow of a Gunman authentically and sympathetically portray Dublin's working classes and that these dramas also espouse a feminist political agenda.
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Sean O'Casey, Up to 12
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In the following review of I Knock at the Door, the first of O'Casey's autobiographies, Reynolds asserts that the book's dramatic portraits and dialogue prove "again what a greatly gifted dramatist O'Casey is."
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An Irish Proletarian
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In the following review of Inishfallen, Fare Thee Well, he faults O'Casey's writing as overly polemical and intemperate, yet concludes that its vitality and verbal invention redeem these shortcomings.
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Himself, and Things That Happened
(summary)
In the following mixed review of Sunset and Evening Star, he asserts that, in spite of its quarrelsome tirades and general irascibility, O'Casey's prose still evokes 'grandeur' and a joyous affirmation of life.
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An extracted interview in The Sting and the Twinkle: Conversations with Sean O'Casey
(summary)
In the following essay, Sean O'Casey and W. J. Weatherby discuss O'Casey's evolution from realistic drama to more extravagant styles post-Juno and the Paycock, O'Casey's views on education and politics, and his reflections on the reception and production of his plays, particularly emphasizing his disdain for restrictive realism and his desire for creative freedom.
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The Anti-heroic Vision
(summary)
In the following essay, which was originally published in a different form in Krause's Sean O'Casey: The Man and His Work (1960), Krause argues that O'Casey's first four plays articulate an antiheroic condemnation of war.
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The Sean O'Casey Reader: Plays, Autobiographies, Opinions
(summary)
O'Neill-Barna asserts that O'Casey's status as a major playwright and a social and theatrical visionary, long obscured by the opposition of the Irish poet William Butler Yeats and other influential critics, is firmly established in The Sean O'Casey Reader.
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Sean O'Casey
(summary)
In the following excerpt, originally published in his Drama from Ibsen to Brecht (1968), Williams contends that O'Casey's dramas primarily exploit the ironic contrast between the violence and desolation of life in Dublin and the carefree language of its working-class residents.
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The Letters of Sean O'Casey, Vol. I, 1910–1941
(summary)
In the following review, a small portion of which appeared in CLC-5, he contends that O'Casey's literary reputation has been unduly inflated by critics, and that the value of his correspondence is not in "revelation about what-lies-behind-greatness … [but] that of insight into a flawed career."
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A Revaluation in the Light of the Absurd
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In the following essay, Kleiman argues that O'Casey's plays express an absurdist view of life, but in a more humanistic tone than is registered in the works of Eugène Ionesco, Samuel Beckett, and other playwrights associated with the 'Theater of the Absurd.'
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O'Casey, the Style and the Artist
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Hogan discusses O'Casey's 'expressionistic' use of rhetorical, dramatic, and stylistic artifice, which sharply contrasts with the more familiar methods of realism.
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Liturgy and Epiphany: Religious Experience as Dramatic Form in Two of Seán O'Casey's Symbolic Plays
(summary)
In the following essay, Zeiss analyzes O'Casey's use of formalized dialogue and epiphanies in The Silver Tassie and Red Roses for Me, contending that O'Casey's usage suggests a religious view of experience.
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Two Plays: Juno and the Paycock [and] The Shadow of a Gunman
(summary)
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O'Casey, Sean 1880-1964
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Criticism: Overviews And General Studies
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The Passionate Autodidact: The Importance of Litera Scripta for O’Casey
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In the essay below, Jordan examines the importance of literary allusions in O’Casey’s dramaturgy.
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Juno and the Playwrights: The Influence of Sean O'Casey on Twentieth-Century Drama
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In the following essay, Kosok demonstrates that O'Casey's influence on contemporary dramatists was negligible beyond his work in the “Dublin trilogy.”
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The Essential Continuity of Sean O'Casey
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In the essay below, Innes argues that O'Casey's dramaturgical development exhibits a consistent pattern rather than a break in styles, as most critics maintain.
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The Passionate Autodidact: The Importance of Litera Scripta for O’Casey
(summary)
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Criticism: The Shadow Of A Gunman
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The Shadow of a Gunman
(summary)
In the following review of the London premiere of The Shadow of a Gunman, the critic focuses on O'Casey's dramatic technique, observing that the play's comedic overtones undermine its tragic dénouement.
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The Shadow of a Gunman
(summary)
In the following review of the Court Theatre production of The Shadow of a Gunman, Jennings perceives a problem with O'Casey's comedic timing and the play's tragic intent.
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History, Autobiography, and The Shadow of a Gunman
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In the following essay, Armstrong compares The Shadow of Gunman with certain parts of the fourth volume of O'Casey's autobiography, revealing the significance of the personal element that determines the play's formal features.
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The Shadow of a Gunman
(summary)
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Criticism: Juno & the Paycock
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Juno & the Paycock
(summary)
In the following review of the world première of Juno & the Paycock, the critic praises the play's deft blend of comedy and tragedy, particularly the light touch at its end.
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Juno & the Paycock
(summary)
In the following review of the debut of Juno & the Paycock at the Abbey Theatre, Jewell lauds O'Casey's “unique” interpretation of life in the Dublin slums, especially the authenticity of his characters that surpass cliches of the Irish peasantry.
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Juno & the Paycock
(summary)
In the following review of the London debut of Juno & the Paycock, the critic focuses on the dramatic atmosphere, local color, and Irish idiom of the play.
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Opening the Eyes of the Audience: Visual and Verbal Imagery in Juno & the Paycock
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In the following essay, Thomson outlines the delusions about Irish reality and the underlying causes that animate Juno & the Paycock, showing how visual and verbal imagery reinforces a pessimistic interpretation of the play's meaning.
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Juno & the Paycock
(summary)
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Criticism: The Plough And The Stars
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Another by O'Casey
(summary)
In the following review of the world premiere of The Plough and the Stars, Hayes assesses the play's mixed approach to comic and tragic themes, preferring its emotional motivation to its realistic presentation.
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The Plough and the Stars
(summary)
In the following review of the London debut of The Plough and the Stars, the critic describes the audience's differing responses to the comic and tragic aspects of the play.
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A review of The Plough and the Stars
(summary)
In the following review of the American premiere of The Plough and the Stars, Sayler addresses the emotional appeal of the play, noting that the production's general disregard for verisimilitude accented its humanistic concerns.
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The Sources and Themes of The Plough and the Stars
(summary)
In the following essay, Armstrong identifies specific sources for the main themes of The Plough and the Stars, drawing upon O'Casey's prose works to illuminate their significance.
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‘There's Nothin' Derogatory in th' Use o' th' Word’: A Study in the Use of Language in The Plough and the Stars
(summary)
In the following essay, Schrank analyzes the dramatic functions of language in The Plough and the Stars, describing the effects of a developing political consciousness on the characters' discourse.
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Another by O'Casey
(summary)
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Criticism: The Silver Tassie
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The Silver Tassie
(summary)
In the following review of the world premiere of The Silver Tassie, the critic comments on the success of O'Casey's experimental dramatic practices.
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The Silver Tassie
(summary)
In the following review of the London production of The Silver Tassie, the critic admires the “deeply felt and so remorselessly expressed” sentiments of the play. The review discusses the emotions of bitterness and defeat depicted by Sean O'Casey, highlighting the interlude of soldiers and the poignant story of Harry Heegan's tragedy.
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As London Sees O'Casey
(summary)
In the following review of The Silver Tassie, Morgan assesses the strengths and weaknesses of the dramatic techniques found in the London production, claiming that O'Casey's political prejudices hurt the aesthetic dimension of the play.
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The Silver Tassie: The Post-World-War-I Legacy
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In the following essay, Rollins and Rabby situate the dramatic patterns and techniques of The Silver Tassie within the context of other contemporary plays that deal with the horror of war, showing how O'Casey's adaptations of the theme contribute to the originality of the work.
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The Silver Tassie
(summary)
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Criticism: Cock-A-Doodle Dandy
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Weill Away
(summary)
In the following review of the London debut of Cock-a-Doodle Dandy, Brien faults the eloquence of O'Casey's dramatic language, which, in his opinion, detracts from the action and motivation of the play.
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An introduction
(summary)
In the following excerpt, Krause describes the historical and religious contexts of Cock-a-Doodle Dandy in relation to the comedic themes expressed in the play.
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Weill Away
(summary)
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Criticism: Overviews And General Studies
- Further Reading