The document provides a biography of Irish playwright J.M. Synge. It details that he was born in Ireland in 1871 and studied at Trinity College Dublin and the Sorbonne. Synge made several trips to the remote Aran Islands off the west coast of Ireland starting in 1898, which inspired his most famous play The Playboy of the Western World. The Playboy premiered in 1902 and helped establish the Abbey Theatre in Dublin. Synge died in 1909 but helped shape Irish theatre through his plays focused on rural Irish life.
1. J. M. Synge & the Irish
Theatre
Emily Roberts
History of Theatre II
February 21, 2012
2. J. M. Synge
Born Edmund John Millington
Synge on April 16, 1871 in
Rathfarnham, Ireland
Father died of smallpox in
1872
First four years of education
at a classical and English
school; remainder at home
with private tutors
1888, begins studying at
Trinity College in Dublin
1889, begins studying at the
Royal Irish Academy of Music
3. 1892, graduates
from Trinity with
Second Class
Honours
1895, travels to
France to study at
the Sorbonne
1897, briefly
member of
L’AssociationIrland
aise (Irish League)
in Paris
1898, first of 5 trips
to Aran Islands
4. 1902, returns to Dublin 1907, first production
and joins Irish National of Playboy of the
Theatre Society Western World
1903, The Shadow of Synge dies on March
the Glen performed in 24, 1909 in Dublin
Dublin
The Tinker’s Wedding
1904 first produced at His
First performance of Majesty’s Theatre in
Riders to the Sea London in 1909
The Shadow of the
Glen published 1910, Deirdre of the
Sorrows first produced
Abbey Theatre
founded
at Abbey Theatre
5. The Aran
Islands
--- Set of three remote islands
in the Atlantic Ocean off the
west coast of Ireland
--- Harsh lifestyle based on
creating a living from the
Ocean
6. Images of Aran
L: Dun Aonghasa fort on Inis Mór
R: Cliffs of Inis Mór
7. Works Cited
“Aran Islands History: The Man of Aran Film.”
The Aran Islands Complete Travel Guide. 17
Feb. 2012. <http://www.aranislands.ie/Inis-
Oiir/aran-islands-history/the-man-of-aran-
film_48.html>.
Gerstenberger, Donna. John Millington
Synge, Rev. Ed. Kinley E. Roby, Ed. Boston:
Twayne Publishers, 1990.
Jacobus, Lee A. “John Millington Synge.” The
Bedford Introduction to Drama, Sixth Ed.
Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2009. Pp. 884-885.
Prior to enrolling at Trinity (1885-1888) discovered Darwin and renounced Christianity. Also studied violin.Member of student orchestra at the Academy; originally planned to be a professional musician.
Second Class Honours – lowest degree student can receive and still go on to postgraduate studyWon college prizes for Hebrew and Irish.1893, travels to Germany to study music, but gives up idea of a career in 1894Studies foreign languages in France, as well as modern French literature, medieval literature, and comparative phonetics.1897, also becomes interested in Brittany and Breton folklore and has 1st operation for Hodgkin’s disease.
1905, becomes member of Abbey Theatre Board of Directors.Riders to the Sea and The Well of the Saints first published.Playboy caused riots in Dublin because of its “indecent” language and its honest portrayal of country people. Published later that year, along with The Aran Islands (can be found on Project Gutenberg).Mother dies in 19081909, Poems and Translations published.1st edition of collected works printed in 1910
“In 1934 Robert Flaherty launched the ‘ Man of Aran’ film. Filmed on location in Inis Mór it describes the life of the islands and in particular shows the struggle inherent in earning a living from the Atlantic Ocean. When the film was released it was hailed as one of the greatest films ever made and triggered a new wave of interest in the islands among the Irish, European and American public. Islanders generally hold that it marked the start of the modern tourism era.”