The Aran Islands - Softcover

Synge, J. M.; Synge, John M.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1847022847 ISBN 13: 9781847022844

Publisher: Echo Library, 2006

Synopsis

When the wind is from the north the old woman manages my meals with fair regularity; but on the other days she often makes my tea at three o'clock instead of six. If I refuse it she puts it down to simmer for three hours in the turf, and then brings it in at six o'clock full of anxiety to know if it is warm enough.... The general ignorance of any precise hours in the day makes it impossible for the people to have regular meals. -from The Aran Islands At the behest of William Butler Years, whom he met in Paris during his bohemian sojourn there, JOHN MILLINGTON SYNGE (1871-1909) traveled to the remote Irish Aran Islands for part of every summer from 1898 to 1902. The native Dubliner was seeking the hidden treasures of his native land, and he found the inspiration for the plays that would see his name live in posterity, including 1907's The Playboy of the Western World. This beautifully revealing 1906 work is Synge's journal of his time in the primitive Arans and among its hale, stalwart inhabitants. From the folktales of the Aran people to the quirks of their Gaelic-tinged English, from the pagan remnants that inflect their rough Christianity to the coarse monotony of their diet, Synge celebrates the simplicity of life in the Arans but never romanticizes it. These are the people who sparked Synge's imagination so strongly that all his plays reflect their hopes, their dreams, and their tragedies.

About this title

From the Back Cover:

"In the late 1890s, John M. Synge, in his middle twenties and unsure of his vocations made his way to Paris intending to study French literature and become a literary critic. There he met William Butler Yeats. The eminent poet advised Synge to drop his involvements with fin de siecle French authors, return to Ireland, and describe a society with which he had some natural connection. Yeats recommended that Synge visit the Aran Islands, primitive and absolutely authentic places about which little had yet been written."--BOOK JACKET. "Synge first traveled to the Aran Islands in 1898. His six-week trip proved to be a wonderfully fruitful and decisive experience. He then went back for part of each summer until 1902. The book that he wrote - and that he called his "first serious piece of work" - was published in 1907. What he learned from his visits to the Aran Islands led directly to the great plays for which he is chiefly remembered."--BOOK JACKET.

About the Author:

In the late 1890s, John Synge, in his middle twenties and unsure of his vocation, made his way to Paris to study French literature and become a literary critic. There he met William Butler Yeats. The eminent poet advised Synge to drop his involvement with fin de siecle French authors, return to Ireland, and describe a society with which he had a natural connection. Synge first traveled to the primitive, little-known Aran Islands in 1898. His trip proved to be a wonderfully fruitful and decisive experience. He then went back for part of each summer until 1902."

About this edition

• Publisher: Echo Library
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 1847022847
• ISBN 13: 9781847022844
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 100