A Comparative Look of Irish Literature Throughout the Ages

Throughout the annuals of Irish history, the themes of the country's literature mirror the impact of the social environment of that time. During the time of famine and political freedom, it has been the voice within the literary community that has recorded successfully the struggles and elations of the Irish people. Many themes are expressed during the turbulent history of Ireland, but none was as devastating as the silencing of the Irish voice during the occupation by England.

With the commanding overtaking by the English and Scottish planters in the 1550s, Ireland's voice quieted over the centuries of disregard and brutality in the name of the Empire. This lack of voice is present in Brian Friel's play, Translations. One of the supporting characters, Sarah Johnny Sally, has difficulty speaking, and in fact, speaks very little throughout the play. Friel used the character of Sarah to embody Ireland during the centuries under the thumb of England. Sarah's lack of speech symbolizes Ireland's inability to rebel against the English invasion. By the time of the play, August 1833, Ireland had been under the rule of England for almost 300 years, and within the confines of those three hundred years, Ireland unsuccessfully revolted against them. For Friel, Sarah is the personification of the frustrations and anger Ireland had against the English. Sarah was unable to stand up for herself, as a majority of Ireland felt it could not stand up against the English.

In contract to Friel's play, W.B Yeats gives Ireland a voice in the body of an old woman. In Yeats' play, Cathleen Ni Houlihan, Ireland is personified by the visit of an old woman, who has walked across the entire country, meeting strangers. The old woman, later addressed as Cathleen Ni Houlihan, is reacquainting herself with her own country. In the play, the sense of pride for country is lost in the degradation of the plantation, but it is Cathleen, who roams the countryside, who reminds her children of Ireland what they must do. "They that have red cheeks will have pale cheeks for my sake, and for all that, they will think they are well paid." (Yeats, 601) Cathleen represents the voice of Ireland finally being discovered, and the pride of country being restored.

However, pride of country was lost to Ireland for a brief period of time. During the last reign of Ireland, a vast majority of natives were immigrating to America, in seach of a better life. There was little hope left for Ireland, as many of the native sons and daughters fled the country which they found archaic and oppressed. In Mairtin O Cadhain's story, The Road to Brightcity, O Cadhain explores the notion of displeasure with country and the inability to speak. The conflicting emotions of the mother and her eldest daughter exemplify the inner struggles Ireland endured. The daughter has lost faith in the country she grew up in, and chooses to move to America to live out her dreams. She typifies the lack of belief and the loss of faith as a country in Ireland at the time.

The mother of the story epitomizes the growing loss of speech. Her inability to divulge her emotions, her fears, her love for her daughter is indicative of the sentiment in Ireland during this period. The loss of a daughter mirrors the loss of a country. The pain the country felt as the people watched their freedoms being denied is comparable to the pain a mother feels as her first born child is leaving, but it is a pain that most do not address. They are simply speechless, paralyzed with the shock that they are gone.

The loss of voice isn't limited to those who resided in Ireland, but those who had traveled abroad as well. In George Moore's Home Sickness, the main character Bryden discovers that not only did he not have a voice, but he didn't have a home either. Throughout the story, Bryden has difficulty finding the words to express his inner emotions, just as Ireland had difficulty express their place as a nation. Bryden embodies the fracturing of the Irish nation. On one hand, he is a native Irishman, who finds his love of the nation again in the eyes of Margaret. On the other, he is a stranger in a strange land, having immigrated to America and forgotten his native tongue; he finds that he is unable to communicate with the very people he sprung from. This lack of identity is prevalent in Irish history and literature, and allows the idea of a country literally losing the ability to speak for itself.

Yeats again demonstrates the Irish voice in his poem Easter, 1916. "No, no, not night but death; / Was it needless death after all? / For England may keep faith / For all that is done is said." (Yeats, 181-2) In these few lines, Yeats discusses how voices have been silenced as they spoke up against England. He points out how despite best efforts to stand against the Queen and the Empire, voices that have been loud can and will be silenced. His inspiration for this poem, the Easter Rising of 1916 where several people lost their lives due to execution, demonstrates how Ireland, even in a modern age, was still struggling to find a voice that was solidified and united.

It was Ireland's struggle to regain their independence from England that truly formed the breadth and depth of the Irish literature. The centuries long conflict emitted such passionate pieces that truly captured the emotions of the time. These emotions, the hardship endured, the centuries of humiliation and dire situations have filtered into the words of the Irish authors. From their pages, the people of Ireland were allowed to voice their anguish, their despair, their hopes and their dreams.

Translations, Brian Friel
Cathleen Ni Houlihan, W.B. Yeats
Home Sickness, George Moore
Easter, 1916, W.B. Yeats
The Road to Brightcity, Mairtin O Caidhain