In the shadow of the glen
By: John Millington Synge
Contributors: Synge, J. M. (John Millington), 1871-1909
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Published: 2013
Place of publication: London]
Language: eng
Description: Dan Burke, it seems, is dead, his body lying on his bed beneath a sheet. His young wife Nora has taken a tramp into the house, a man seeking refuge from the cruel weather of the valley in which she lives. They pass pleasantries until Nora's intended arrives, a neighbouring shepherd named Michael Dara, with whom Nora schemes a fresh union even while her husband's body is not yet cold. The comic surprise that follows is a magnificent 'coup de theâtre': that it is followed by a dénouement as unexpected as any the Irish theatre had seen speaks volumes to Synge's sophistication as a playwright and master of his craft. The play was first performed in Dublin in 1903.
Notes: Previously published in print: in Complete plays. London, Methuen Drama, 2001.