Edward Joseph Martyn (b. 1859) published in 1890, under the pseudonym of aSirius,a a long satirical novel, 'Morgante the Lesser,' in which he displayed a strong imagination and great powers of caustic criticism of modern materialism and of various social tendencies. His psychological dramas, 'The Heather Field' and which no London theatrical man ager would touch, were published in 1899. When produced by the Irish Literary Theatre in 1899 and 1900, respectively, each of them made an excellent impression. His satiric play, 'The Tale of a Town,' deemed not to be suit able for the Irish Literarry Theatre, was made over by Moore into Bending of the Bough,' which was staged in 1900. Tale of a Town,' in its original form, was published with 'The Enchanted Sea,' a tragedy, in 1902. 'The Place Hunters,' a one-act satiric and farcical comedy, was published in 1902, and was followed, at a long interval, in 1907, by 'Romulus and Remus,' an extravaganza ridi culing the folk-play, by 'Grangecolman,' a tragedy, in 1912, by 'The Dream Physician,' another satirical comedy, in 1914, and by the 'Privilege of Place) in 1915. Martyn is to a certain extent a follower of Ibsen. He is not in favor of the peasant drama nor of the use of the Hiberno-English dialect as the medium of dramatic expression. Hence nearly all his characters are taken from the upper and the middle classes, and the language he employs is standard English. After three years of experi ment he separated from Yeats because of a fundamental division of opinion as to the nature of the plays to be produced, but he never quite abandoned the underlying idea which ani mated him when he started on his theatrical career in Ireland. With the help of amateur organizations, such as The Players' Club, The National Players, and The Independent Theatre Company, he continued to produce in Dublin modern drama, including Scandinavian and Russian as well as Irish-made plays, until finally he saw his original conception once more carried out by the establishment of aThe Irish Theatrea in 1915. What may ultimately de velop into a formidable rival to the Abbey Theatre, with its tradition of peasant plays, was thus set up.
Lady Gregory was attracted to the theatre from the inception of the movement, and proved herself easily the most prolific of modern Irish playwrights. She also took an active part in the management of the Abbey Theatre. It is by her comedies, some of them bordering on farce, like 'Spreading the News' White Cockade,' 'The 'Tie Workhouse Ward,' and 'The Image,' that she is best known. (Kincora) is a melodrama; Gaol Gate) and 'Grania> are tragedies. Kil tartan Moliere' consists of versions, in peasant dialect, of 'Le Medecin malgre 'Les Fourberies de Scapin,' and She was active in other directions as well. In lain of Muirthemne' (1902), 'Poets and Dreamers' (1903), 'Gods and Fighting men' (1904), and Book of Saints and Wonders' (1906), she reproduced, in a vivified Hiberno English form, some of the old legends and traditions of Ireland. She was not the first to employ that idiom - the credit for that be longs to Hyde-but she cultivated it assidu ously, and in the use of the Kiltartan dialect, so called from the place of that name where she heard it spoken, she was highly successful.
Of all the dramatists of the Revival the name that stands out most prominently is that of John Middleton Synge (1871-1909). He owes his eminence, in the first place, to the un doubted merit of his dramas, and, in the sec ond place, to the angry protests and discussions, and even the riots, which some of his works, notably 'The Playboy of the Western World,' provoked when produced in Ireland and in the United States of America. His first play was
Padraic McCormac Colum (b. 1::1) is in the main a realist and an exponent of the peasant drama. He was a member of the orig inal company of the Fays, for whom he wrote a playlet, (The Children of Lir.' His plays are The Saxon (1902, performed 1903), 'The Kingdom of the Young' (1902), (The Foleys,' (Eoghan's 'Broken Soil' (1903, afterward rewritten as (The Fiddler's House,' 1907), Miracle of the Corn' (1904), Land,' an agrarian comedy (1905), 'Thomas Muskerry' (1910), 'The De struction of the Hostel) (1910), Desert' (1912, otherwise known as rMogu, the Wanderer)), and Betrayal) (1913). In
all his plays he purposely stresses situation rather than character or atmosphere. His vol ume of verse, 'Wild Earth) (1907), though it contains but 25 pieces, secured at once a great reputation. His 'Studies) (1907) contains two short stories and a reprint of 'The Miracle of the Corn,' the one play in which he displays the cult of symbolism. He also wrote Irish Year' (1912), a volume of impressions, 'A Boy in Eirinn' (1913), another prose pres entation of Irish life and character, and 'The King of Ireland's Son' (1916). William Boyle (b. 1853) in his four plays, 'The Building Fund' (1905), 'The Eloquent Dempsey' (1906), 'The Mineral Workers' (1907), and 'Family Failing> (1912) deals with Irish country life. They are all in humorous vein. Both 'The Building Fund> and 'The Eloquent Dempsey> proved very popular. He also wrote 'A Kish of Brogues) (1899), a volume of racy Irish stories and poems. W. F. Casey is the author of two well-liked plays, 'The Man who Missed the Tide> and 'The Suburban Groove.> Thomas C. Murray (b. 1873), a schoolmaster in County Cork, places the scene of his two grim tragedies, (Birthright> (1910) and 'Maurice Hare) (1912), in that county. They are well constricted, and show an understanding of the class of people with whom he deals. He is also the author of 'The Wheel of Fortune' (1909) and of a quantity of magazine verse. • F. Norreys Connell' is the nom de guerre of Conal Holmes O'Connell O'Riordan (b. 1874), who succeeded Synge as a director of the Abbey Theatre in 1909. He is the author of Piper) (1908), a short and clever play, con taining a mordant and scarcely veiled satire on present-day Irish political life, which, like 'The Playboy,' provoked a riot when first produced. He also wrote a morality play, 'Time> (1909). His 'Shakespeare's End> (1912) is a play in verse, and 'Rope Enough' (1914) is a social comedy. O'Riordan is a well-known litterateur, and wrote not only verses but also several much discussed novels, such as 'In the Green Park' (1894), 'The House of the Strange Woman' (1895), And 'The Fool and his Heart' (1896). Seumas O'Kelly wrote two strong dramas of a tragic cast, 'The Shuiler's Child> (1909) and 'The Bribe> (1914), as well as 'The Match makers' (1907), (The Flame on the Hearth> (1908), 'The Stranger' (1912), and 'The Homecoming) (1912), and also a novel, 'The Lady of Deerpark' (1917). Seumas O'Brien produced a side-splitting farce in 'Duty.' R. J. Ray is the author of 'The White Feather) (1909), Casting out of Martin Whelan' (1910), and 'The Gombeen Man) (1913). George Fitzmaurice wrote a tragedy, 'The Moonlighter> (1914), and four comedies. 'The Country Dressmaker' (1907), 'The Piedish' (1908), 'The Magic Glasses,' and 'The Dandy Dolls,' all published as (Five Plays) in 1914. They deal with life in County Kerry. 'The Country Dressmaker,' in particular, won great praise. St. John Greer Ervine, manager of the Abbey Theatre, a native of Belfast, wrote (Mixed Marriage' (1911), a tragedy in which the religious intolerance among the artisans of the north is finely portrayed. 'The Orange man) (1914) is a slighter study of a somewhat similar theme. 'The Magnanimous Lover' (1912) is a highly effective one-act play, which, however, was the occasion of a °Playboy') riot when first produced, because it was supposedly a reflection on Irish morality. 'The Critics' (1913) is a skit in dialogue on the reviewers who found 'The Magnanimous Lover' im moral. In Clegg) (1914) the scene is laid in England. This is a well-constructed play, with a good plot, excellent characteriza tion, and natural and forceful situations. 'John Ferguson' (1915), a powerful tragedy, has its scene laid in County Down. Besides these six plays, Ervine is the author of three highly successful novels, 'Mrs. Martin's Man' (1915), 'Alice and a Family' (1915), and 'Changing Winds' (1917), and of a volume of miscellaneous sketches entitled 'Eight O'Clock and Other Studies> (1915). The plays of S. Lennox Robinson deal with the southwest. They are 'The Clancy Name> (1908), 'The Cross Roads' (1909), 'Harvest' (1910), 'Patriots' (1912), and 'The Dreamers' (1915). They are all naturalistic and of a gloomy and tragic cast, and some of them are highly critical of conditions in Ireland. He also wrote a novel, 'A Young Man from the South' (1917). Edward John Moreton Drax Plunkett, eigh teenth Baron Dunsany (b. 1878), displayed won derful powers of imagination and created a new theogony in 'The Gods of Pegana> (1905) and its sequel, 'Time and the Gods' (1906). Other stories followed: 'The Sword of Welleran' (1908), 'A Dreamer's Tales' (1910), 'The Book of Wonder) (1912), (Fifty-one Tales' (1915), and 'Tales of Wonder' (1916). In the meantime, he was also writing plays. His first volume, in this order, entitled (Five Plays,> containing 'The Gods of the Mountain,> 'King Argimenes and the Unknown Warrior.> 'The Glittering Gate,' 'The Golden Doom,' and 'The Lost Silk Hat,' appeared in 1914. His second, 'Plays of Gods and Men,' contained 'The Laughter of the Gods,) 'The Queen's Enemies,' Night at an Inn,' and (The Tents of the Arabs.' All these plays are in prose. 'The Glittering Gate' and (King Argimenes and the Unknown Warrior' were staged at the Abbey Theatre, the former in 1909 and the latter in 1911. 'A Night at an Inn' was presented for the first time at the Neighborhood Playhouse, New York, on 22 April 1916. His plays are all distinguished for their irony, and some of them are highly humorous. In fact, 'The Glittering Gate' and 'The Lost Silk Hat> are farces. Lord Dunsany's style has a beautiful cadence and swing.