Christianity, Paganism and Celtic Mythology in the Plays of J.M. Synge: Quest for Essential Irish Identity

Since 1880, Ireland was producing a generation of young writers who played a crucial role in the creative and intellectual awakening of Irish culture which came to be known as the Celtic Renaissance. The Irish Literary Renaissance was the result of the collective efforts of diverse talents in the fields of folklore, fiction, translation, poetry, and drama. J. M. Synge is regarded as the most distinguished dramatist of the Irish Literary Renaissance.His plays in particular, exhibit the characteristic qualities of intense lyric speech drawn from the native language and dialects of Ireland, roman tic characterization in primitive settings, and dramatic construction after the classics of European drama. Synge's entry into the theatrical world of Dublin was by no means triumphant one. Almost all his major plays, at first, failed to attract the audience and his 'The Shadow of the Glen' and 'Playboy of the Western World', were received with indifference and hostility. Hence, the present study explores Synge's quest for the essential national identity in Ireland by presenting the authentic Irish mythological and folkloric elements in his plays to stir the Irish national consciousness.