Several lines refer to a chill in the air. The action takes place at late night, after moonrise. The time of night is and condition of moonlight has a profound effect upon the mood, creating a sense of mystery and danger. Economic environment has some importance in that the reward of one hundred pounds for the fugitive's capture represents a very significant sum of money to the Sergeant and his fellow policemen. It is enough money to motivate the Sergeant to put himself in harm's way to earn it, and even to call his ultimate decision into question at the end of the play.
Political environment is key to the action.
Ireland, in the time of the play, is under English subjugation. Irish Republican partisans conduct a resistance war of independence against the British and are regularly arrested, thrown into prisons, and hanged. The Police Sergeant, although Irish, is a representative of English law and order. The revival of the Sergeant's earlier social identity is a key accomplishment of the Ragged Man in his quest for escape. A leader of an Irish anti-government revolutionary group has broken out of jail.