The Playboy of the Western World by J. M. Synge

M. Synge

playwright, poet, prose writer, travel writer and collector of folklore

best known for his

play The Playboy of the Western World, which caused riots in Dublin during its opening run at the Abbey Theatre

Theatre Company’s 2005 production of The Playboy
Christy murders his father

with the blow of a loy

Michael Flaherty’s pub. When it eventually comes out that Christy

murdered his father with the blow of a loy, the locals stand in awe of him. Flaherty engages Christy as a pot-boy to help around the place and keep Pegeen safe on dark, lonely nights.
Act II: Christy, overjoyed to find himself with a job and a girl and a roof over his head, draws the attention of the local lasses, who trek over from town to marvel at the man who killed his father. Unexpectedly, Christy’s father, Old Mahon, approaches the pub.
Act III: Old Mahon returns and chaos ensues. Christy, sensing that public opinion has turned against him for appearing to be a liar, chases his father outside to kill him for good. Christy agrees to go with his father

Farrell
Sara Tansey, Susan Brady, Honor Blake, Nelly

the Plain of the Yews
Climax:
the local residents discover that Christy's father

is still alive
Themes: 
Value of rebellion
Darkness
Fathers
Social expectations

western-Irish speech
words or phrases common in other parts of Ireland

vivid

metaphors
hyperboles
humor

literary figures of the time, took a deep interest in

traditional Irish folklore and in the peasants for whom it was still an integral part of everyday life.



“I have used one or two words only that I have not heard among the country people of Ireland, or spoken in my own nursery before I could read the newspapers.”

Synge’s language