RebecaEstrada English 150
Wednesday 23 October 2013, 6 p.m. section
Background
November 1915, Dublin & looking forward to the liberation of Ireland
pre-Easter Rising
Scene
bar/brothel in Ireland "public house"
political rally outside
Young Covey is at the rally, and comes in for a drink between speeches
Clitheroe, Lt. Langon & Capt. Brennan are very moved, but Rosie (a prostitute) feels the rally is bad for business
a conversation between her and Covey ensues
Characters
Young Covey: an ardent communist
Rosie: a prostitute
Discussion Set Up
This conversation is taking place while the rest of the country is clad in hope and an arguably delusional notion of freedom, but these two characters are holding a critical eye to the fervor. Young Covey and Rosie are not your average Irish society member though, and I believe O"Casey uses them to not only foreshadow the failure of the Easter Rising but to incorporate the themes of Yeats. What do you think Rosie"s role as a prostitute brings to the table?
Rosie as love
Covey as critical of "excess" love (supports rational economic freedom)
Consider Rosie's dialogue as though she weren't a prostitute
Reaction:
Rioted by viewers
Yeats said to these rioters, "You have disgraces yourselves again; is this to be the recurring celebration of the arrival of Irish genius?"
Jenersky"s Thesis on the Origin, Development, an" Consolidation of the Evolutionary Idea of the Proletariat