The Playboy of the Western World: A Comedy in Five Acts

The paucity of reviews given to this edition of two of Synge's most famous works shows that his achievements have fallen victim to neglect. Its true that the worlds pictured in these two short dramas are couched in terms that are strange and unfamiliar to our contemporary, homogenized urban worldview. They hark back to a time and place in which local humanity was not defined by sociological stereotypes, but by the extremes of individuality and personality color activated by a difficult, at times harsh, yet beautiful natural environment. The dramatic setting, of the western coast of Ireland, is unique and so, too, are the customs and attitudes of the players. But if we look beyond the piquancy of character personality, it can be seen they are ultimately motivated by the universal human attributes featured by more famous playwrights, such as Shakespeare. It is this pungent Irish flavoring which seems to somewhat obscure the deeper, more general relevance of its themes. For instance the title of the first work, Playboy of the Western World, is ,in itself, probably enough to discourage prospective readers. To my mind, at least, it brings up a picture of some sort of frivolous farce. Though the play does perhaps have frivolous elements, that is a device which helps us to perceive the absurdity of behaviors which may be collectively accepted without question within a particular culture. In fact, "Playboy" in the vernacular of this group means "champion", and "the Western World" was western Ireland. In this play Synge showed the polar aspects of the rural Irish peasant's love of bold and fantastic stories told in colorful, heroic language. While this full-toned perception of life has vibrancy and brilliance, it can lead to a concentration on the superficial and obvious, while ignoring the more realistic and sensible. But in this story of the local rise of a hero, his fall from grace, and subsequent rehabilitation, we see that most of the factors which caused these transitions of popular opinion were due to preconceived notions and prejudices inherent in the minds of the populace. Fickleness of public opinion, vanity , arrogance,, and loutish behavior as a perpetuated tradition are shown as the parodied underside of what is perceived by the locals as a grand, heroic, entertaining tale. Many of Synge's contemporaries greatly resented this deflating view of Irish glamor, and actual riots took place where it was presented in Dublin. But it is nevertheless also a fact that the language of this play is lyrical, variegated and extremely expressive. The beauty of its imagery and the droll biting wit of its figures of speech enlarge the total experience of the story by bringing into our consciousness a much wider view of the place and people than what is contained merely in the plot. "Riders to the Sea", the second play, is only a few pages in length. But in my opinion, it is a somber masterpiece which in those few pages conveys more about the harsh human strug

It is a wild, woolly, farcical, slapstick, poetic-philosophical comedy, which deserves a reading, as the Irish accents can be largely non-understandable. The play had the feel of a classic, although it helps to know the times and the Irish reaction to it, historically.