Skip to main content

"The Rising of the Moon" by Lady Gregory as a Drama of Patriotism

"MAN [going towards steps]. Well, good-night, comrade, and thank you. You did me a good turn to-night, and I'm obliged to you. Maybe I'll be able to do as much for you when the small rise up and the big fall down . . . when we all change places at the rising [waves his hand and disappears] of the Moon."-The Rising of the Moon 
The Rising of the Moon by Lady Gregory is a play concerning patriotism and struggle for freedom in the background of Ireland political history involving two characters- one the disguised ballad singer and the other the sergeant in search of a run away prisoner. The Rising of the Moon carries a title well chosen from a popular ballad for the Irish Revolutionary who would relay round at the precise moment for same undertaking. Fenian poet John Keegan Casey composed his well known ballad with the following lines:
“Who would follow in their footsteps at the Rising of the moon”

Here moon symbolizes freedom or urge for freedom. Gregory symbolically suggests the moon with the combined spirits of revolutionary in the Irish freedom movement. In fact, the Ragged man, the disguised ballad singer, is no other than the escaped freedom fighter and he is willing to have a change in the political history of Ireland. At the end of the play the Ragged man says to the sergeant, “when we all change places at the rising of the moon”. The implied meaning is that the Irish people would register freedom denying the oppressor British in near future.

We can have a ready reference to Granuaile one of the Irish rebels who fought a brave battle and well memorized Irish freedom rebels who were active and did underground works for the Irish way to freedom.

The play also exposes the emotional weakness the sergeant for his motherland. The Ragged man succeeds in bringing out the patriotic zeal and qualities of the sergeant. The Ragged man persuades him to share a common cause and the sergeant gets ready even to ignore the reword, prospects of promotion and duties of a police man. At the end a true Irish and patriot is given birth - a friend of Granuaile. So in a nutshell, The Rising of the Moon by Lady Gregory has ample implication of being a patriotic drama and she, in fact, voices for the common cause of Ireland, similarly as Dinabandhu Mitra's NilDarpan (The Mirror of Indigo) portrays the Indian cause of patriotism. One can also remind the scene from Pather Dabi (Demand of the Pathway) by Sarat Chandra Chattapadhya where in similar account the rebel patriot escape to Burma. 

Ardhendu De

                     https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dinabandhu_Mitra

Labels

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Drop any query, suggestion or comment here.

Other Fat Writing

Popular posts from this blog

Dr. West’s New Method of Teaching English :Its Merits and Demerits

                 D r. Michael Philip West (1888–1973) conducted an extensive research and experiments on the problems of teaching English as a foreign language in India at the time of British rule . Read More Teaching English The new method is the outcome of his research. It stood as a reaction against the Direct Method. Going into more details, when Dr. West came to visit rural Bengal students (1913- 19) en route teaching job at Teachers’ Training College  at Dhaka, West's conclusions about English learning issues in Bengal, India were as follows: 👉Students spent about 10 hours a week on English study with extremely poor results. 👉Only a minority reached the Matriculation class due to health or financial reasons. Read More  Teaching English 👉Even in the Matriculation class, students lacked real reading ability, speaking fluency, and writing proficiency in English. 👉A 1919 Calcutta University...
6 comments
Read more

Dr. Samuel Johnson's "Preface to Shakespeare": Points to Remember

E ighteenth-century writer Samuel Johnson ((1709-1784) is one of the most significant figures in English literature. His fame is due in part to a widely read biography of him, written by his friend James Boswell and published in 1791. Although probably best known for compiling his celebrated dictionary, Johnson was an extremely prolific writer who worked in a variety of fields and forms. Chief Critical Approaches of Dr. Johnson are: Johnson tried teaching and later organized a school in Lichfield. His educational ventures were not successful, however, although one of his students, David Garrick, later famous as an actor, became a lifelong friend.
40 comments
Read more

Kinds of Poetry: Narrative, Lyric, and Dramatic

Introduction: Poetry is a form of literary expression that has captivated readers and listeners for centuries. It allows poets to convey their thoughts, emotions, and experiences in a condensed and artistic manner. While there are countless poetic forms and styles, poetry can be broadly categorized into three main kinds: Narrative, Lyric, and Dramatic. Each of these kinds has distinct characteristics, purposes, and examples that showcase the rich diversity within the world of poetry. Kinds of poetry :  There are three great kinds of poetic writing: Narrative, Lyric, and Dramatic. Narrative poetry: Narrative poetry tells a story with a plot, characters, and a setting. It  is one of the oldest and most straightforward forms of poetry. It tells a story, often in a chronological sequence, using poetic devices to create a vivid and engaging narrative. Some key points about narrative poetry include: Storytelling: Narrative poetry focuses on storytelling, using poetic language to c...
1 comment
Read more