Replacing the Priest: Tradition, Politics, and Religion in Early Modern Irish Drama.

<p>By the beginning of the twentieth century, Ireland's identity was continually pulled between its loyalties to Catholicism and British imperialism. In response to this conflict of identity, W. B. Yeats and Lady Augusta Gregory argued the need for an Irish theatre that was demonstrative of the Irish people, returning to the literary traditions to the Celtic heritage. What resulted was a questioning of religion and politics in Ireland, specifically the Catholic Church and its priests. Yeat's own drama removed the priests from the stage and replaced them with characters demonstrative of those literary traditions, establishing what he called a "new priesthood". In response to this removal, Yeat's contemporaries such as J. M. Synge and Bernard Shaw evolved his vision, creating a criticism and, ultimately, a rejection of Irish priests. In doing so, these playwrights created depictions of absent, ineffectual, and pagan priests that have endured throughout the twentieth century.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

MA (Master of Arts)

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis - unrestricted

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

English

Year dc:date.issued

2009

Author dc:creator

• Valley, Leslie Ann

• Abbey Theatre
• drama
• tradition
• theatre
• priest
• Ireland
• Shaw
• Synge
• Yeats
• Arts and Humanities
• English Language and Literature
• Literature in English, British Isles

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright by the authors.

Repository record dc:identifier

https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/1856

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dc.etsu.edu:etd-3208