Research Journal of English Language and Literature (RJELAL) Vol.2.Issue.1.

;2014
A Peer Reviewed International Journal - http://www.rjelal.com

RESEARCH ARTICLE

SEAN O’ CASEY’S JUNO AND THE PAYCOCK AS A REALISTIC PLAY

S. SHEEBA
Ph.D. Research Scholar, Department of English, Scott Christian College, Nagercoil, Tamil Nadu

ABSTRACT
Modern drama begins with Ibsen. A hundred years after Ibsen, the drama
written and performed itself is a remarkable major achievement. There
has been innovation and experiment and this has been related throughout
to the growth, crisis of civilization which drama has given forth certain
trends like dramatic naturalism, realism, expressionism and related
movements. This article is concerned with Sean O’ Casey’s play the Juno
and the Paycock as a realistic play and how far the backgrounds and the
characters are realistically depicted in the play. O’ Casey reveals the real
conditions of the Irish people during the civil war and the real men and
women one can see many parts of the world. In fact, the Irish play-wright
set forth the highest labour ideals and principles, which makes the
S. SHEEBA characters fail to live up to them. The peculiar density of Irish tenement
world also emphasises the poverty and moral degradation.
Article Info:
Article Received:01/03/2014 Key words: Civil war 1922-1923, plight of working class - social - political
Revised on:15/3/2014 condition, the war torn Ireland
Accepted for Publication:16/03/2014

@ Copyright, KY Publications

INTRODUCTION “the world as it is, in psychological, sociological,

Modern period and its drama were shaped political, and like terms” (Lowry 94). It is a
by world-changing forces, such as industrial- movement with the pervasive and long-lived effect
technological, democratic, and intellectual on modern theatre was conceived as a laboratory in
revolution that have disrupted earlier conceptions of which the ills of society, familial problems, and the
time, space, the divine, human psychology, and nature of relationships could be objectively
social order. As a result, a theatre of challenge and presented for the judgement of impartial observers.
experimentation emerged. Its goal of likeness to life demanded that settings
resemble their prescribed locales precisely. The
Realism, has an Aristotelian overtone, playwright Henrik Ibsen initiated the realistic
involves a scientific and objective outlook of life: movement with plays focused on contemporary,
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day-to-day themes, capturing psychological detail. the terrible Dublin lock out of 1913, and served as
Anton Chekhov in Russia, has brought the form to its secretary of the Irish Citizen Army, a well-trained
stylistic apogee with plays whose even minor militant body. Though pledged to the cause of
characters seem to breathe the air we do and in labour, O’ Casey fought, gallantly in the rebellion of
which the plots and themes are developed primarily 1916 and published his first major piece of writing, a
between the lines. short history of the Irish Citizen Army.

Naturalism is an even more extreme Dublin Triology

attempt to dramatize human reality without the O’ Casey’s early Dublin plays are Realistic,
appearance of dramaturgic shaping. The naturalistic and the germs of his later experimental surrealist
vision draws its strength from empiricism in ones are symbolic. The first three plays of Sean O’
philosophy, which Ian Watt has related to “the rise Casey are ‘The Shadow of a Gunman’ (O’ Casey, The
of the modern novel and from this the development Shadow of a Gunman), ‘Juno and the Paycock’ (O’
of science in Europe since the early seventeenth Casey, Juno and the Paycock) and ‘The Plough and
century” (Gaskell 14). With the same reverence for the Star’s’ (O’ Casey, The Plough and the Star’s).
nature, the human being was conceived as a mere These plays are called the ‘Dublin Trilogy’. The
biological phenomenon whose behaviour was ‘Dublin Trilogy’ provides a lot to interpret and to
determined by heredity and environment. discuss from various viewpoints. The ‘Dublin Trilogy’
are realistic plays about life in the slums of Dublin
A counterforce to realism, initiated by and it’s tenements with its tragic comic ideas. The
symbolism, began in the late nineteenth century exigent realities of the Dublin of his youth dominate
that has expanded into what might be called in these early works. The plays show cases the
antirealist theatre. Symbolism would contest varied emotional, enthusiastic and visionary
realism's apparent spiritual bankruptcy with a form reactions of the tenement dwellers at times of crisis
that would explore, through images and metaphors, and mostly, they do not abide the test of action. In
the inner realities of human experience that cannot O’Casey the writing of a few dramas has been
be directly perceived. incidental to his living in a world of ordinary men
and women who have worked for their bread and
Life of Sean O’ Casey butter by the sweat of their brows.
Sean O’ Casey is an acclaimed Irish
dramatist auto biographer, poet, short story writer O’ Casey’s second play, ‘Juno and the
and a critic. He is considered to be one of the most Paycock’, with its cohesive plot and comic vitality
original and accomplished dramatist of the has been successful than the first. The comedy of
twentieth century. His plays are critical of war and Irish characters and tragedy of Irish political life in
celebrate the perseverance of the working class. An fairly equal parts, compromises the substance of the
individualist and controversial figure, he is seen as play. Both these elements convey the full quality of
an avowed Irish nationalist and an advocate of the public life in Dublin tenements during these
communism during the early part of his career. days. The events of the day is described by George
Moore as “even within the few days I have been in
Sean O’ Casey (1880-1964), the last of Ireland that Ireland is spoken of not as a
thirteen children, eight of whom had already died in geographical but a sort of human entity” (Atkinson
infancy, was born to Michael and Susan Casey on 30).
30th March 1880 in Dublin. O’ Casey was personally
acquainted with the miseries of the Irish working Juno and the Paycock, is based on
class, as he was raised and resided in the slums of historical, sociological, political and religious
Dublin for forty years. Around 1911, he met his first background of the time. In this play, O’Casey’s
hero, James Larkin, the labour leader and served as characters strive to know the reality of the
one of the lieutenants grouped around him through conditions.

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A Peer Reviewed International Journal - http://www.rjelal.com

between those Irish men who accepted the ‘Irish

Realism Free State’ treaty with England giving the land the
‘Realism’ is a slippery term in dramatic status of a dominion within the British
criticism. It is axiomatic that each generation feels commonwealth and those “Die - hard” or
that its theatre is in some way more “real” (Styan 1), entrenched Republicans who consider the treaty a
as for example Euripides, over Sophocles, Moliere betrayal of their ideal of a completely independent
over the comedian Dell arte, Goldsmith over Steele, Ireland. The Civil Wars, forming a general
Ibsen over Schiller and Brecht over Ibsen. The claims background of the play, give rise to one of its four
seem to echo one another and realism needs finally main plots, all of which are held together by the
be evaluated, not by the style of a play or a dominating figure of Juno Boyle. This plot concerns
performance, but by the image of truth its audience her son Johnny, who has been wounded in the two
perceive. By the end of nineteenth century, the new previous Republican conflicts of 1916 and 1920.
play and it’s mode of production were in conscious Juno and the Paycock has its superficial qualities, but
rebellion against the characteristically romantic it is uplifted and ennobled by the character of Juno
form of drama, popular at that time. The realistic (Malone 230).
rebellion seemed too many people unpleasant and
consciously shocking. The realist at that time was in The story of Johnny, his betrayal of his
rebellion against romantic situations and Republican comrade and neighbour Robbie Tancred
characterization and tried to put on the stage only is unfolded by allusion, reaction and accusation
by observing ordinary life. Much stronger demand through the play’s three Acts. Retribution for having
would force the realists to depart even further from ‘informed’ draws closer and closer from the first
verisimilitude, and be even more selective in the mysterious knocks to the visit of the two ‘irregulars’
material makeup of the play. or extreme Republicans who take him away to be
shot, at the end of the Act III. This plot allows
In Ibsen’s case, “realism and symbolism memorable moments like the funeral of Robbie
have thriven very well together and his nature Tancred and Johnny’s hysterical ‘vision’ of Tancred’s
incline him at once to fidelity to fact, and to dead body. Juno’s part in it include her maternal
mysticism” (William 53). Through his plays, Ibsen worry and grief for her son and her view of the civil
had paved the way for the coming of modern war as wasteful, destructive and irrelevant to the
realism. Like Ibsen, Anton Chekhov has also followed real problems of Irish life. According to Krause she is
the same trend. Synge’s ‘Riders to the Sea’ the little O’Casey’s “universal mother” (69).
tragic masterpiece of Irish life and character has
become ever more realism of the ironic variety, with Another Plot, which involves Juno on
locations far away from cosmopolitan Dublin. O’ several levels, is that of the ‘will’. The Boyle’s as
Casey has followed the trend of Chekhov, a realist demonstrated through the first Act are extremely
with a cause, a passionate Dubliner writing for his poor, living on credit and scarcely able to afford
real Dubliners and achieved the Chekhovian food. Only Juno is earning, her daughter Mary is on
objectivity. strike, Johnny has lost his arm and so cannot work
and her husband ‘Captain Boyle’ is an idler who
Juno and the Paycock cannot or will not find a job. At the beginning of Act
In Juno and the Paycock, the O’ Casey touch I, Juno despairing over money, despises her husband
is a new, tragic kind of realism. This paper proposes for strutting idly around like ‘Paycock’, with his
to examine O’ Casey’s Juno and the Paycock as a friend Joxer Daly. At the end of the Act, Capt. Boyle
realistic play and how far the backgrounds and the is told by Charlie Bentham, a school teacher turned
characters are realistically, depicted in the play. The lawyer that he has been left anything between
play Juno and the Paycock is set in a tenement $1500 and $2000 in his cousin’s will. The Boyle’s life
house in Dublin in the poor ‘two - room - tenancy’ of is changed to one of parties and plenty.
the Boyle family. It is during the civil war (1922),

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Act II is full of the cheap luxuries, which Capt. Boyle is out getting drunk with Joxer, providing
they buy for themselves on credit raised in no support of any kind to his family. The finest thing
expectation of their wealth. Juno’s attitude to Capt. in the play is the drunken frolicking of Boyle and
Boyle become more tolerant and she too spends Joxer, which immediately follows its most tragic
without her previous grinding worry about where moment: Johnny’s death and Juno’s great prayer.
the money is to come from. In Act III, it is disclosed Robert Hogan has called it, “one of the most
that the will was incompetently drawn up by devastating moments of modern drama” (41). Juno
Bentham and the Boyles are to get no money. The and Mary live and in the plays tragically funny
creditors close in, their new possessions are taken endings, Capt. Boyle and Joxer stagger back to the
away and Juno’s feeling for her husband reverts to tenement, full of bombast and drunk and without
scorn as he has known for some time that the will is noticing that the flat is completely empty, decide
invalid and yet continue to live on credit. that the world is in what to them is its usual “terrible
state O’ Chassis” or chaos (O’ Casey, Juno and the
A third plot concerns Juno’s daughter Mary, Paycock 101).
seen first as an independent girl of intellectual ideas
and labour sympathies, reading Ibsen, going on Realistic background
strike and quoting trade union ‘principles’. She is The historical and sociological elements in the
being courted by another trade unionist, Jerry play are skilfully woven in with its action. The
Devine, with whom she was once in love. In Act II, political situation in 1922 was that after more than a
she has thrown Jerry over for Charlie Bentham and century of British rule, and many years of fighting
by Act III Bentham has gone away leaving her and negotiating for an independent Irish Republic, a
pregnant. Jerry then reappears to reaffirm his love treaty between British and Ireland was signed giving
for her until she tells him that she is going to have a Ireland limited independence as a free state. The
baby, when he rejects her cruelly asking, “Have you “Die hard” Republicans refused to accept this treaty
fallen as low as that?” (O’ Casey, Juno and the and were engaged in a civil war with those who did
Paycock 96). Juno rallies to her daughter’s defense. accept as depicted in, ‘The Shadow of a Gunman’
When Capt. Boyle turns against her, she decides to and ‘The Plough and the Stars’. Also political
leave him to make a new house for Mary’s baby - a situation is evident not only in large matters like
positive, optimistic dedication of herself to the new Johnny’s story, but in small points like Joxer being
generation. Her resolution that she and Mart will afraid to look out of the window for fear of ‘a bullet
“work together for the sake of the baby” (JP, 99) and in the kisser’, and ‘the troubles’ as they were called,
her decision to leave captain. Boyle to “furrage for have seeped into the vocabulary and imagery of the
himself” (Hayley 53) are not feminist but for self- characters speech in ‘Juno and the Paycock’
realising. Mrs Boyle takes a realistic position for
sustaining life. The nationalist background plays a large part
both in O’Casey’s life and in the settings of his early
A fourth plot, the backbone of the play, plays. Ireland had been part of Great Britain with no
links these stories of Johnny, the Will and Mary to independent parliament of her own but with
that of Mrs Boyle and her husband, or Juno and the members elected to the British Parliament. This
Paycock. Their relationship move from antagonism parliamentary party had been agitating for Home
borne of poverty in the first Act, towards temporary Rule for Ireland. Not all Irish people agreed with this
truce when they think they have money but by the aim. Some ‘Nationalist’s’ wanted total
end of the play, Capt. Boyle has failed his family and independence and an Irish Republic and others
Juno renounces him. “I have done all I could an’ it called ‘Unionists’, wished to continue the union with
was of no use; he’ll be hopeless till the end of his great Britain. O’Casey’s Juno and the Paycock shares
days” (O’ Casey, Juno and the Paycock 99). The similar view towards violence as reflected in the
Boyle’s home is dead and empty; Johnny has been struggle between Irish factions during the civil war
executed, the furniture has been taken away, and of the early 1920s. The general perception was that

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when war comes to Ireland she must welcome it as is an ever deepening crisis, a solution too eludes
she would welcome the ‘Angel of God’ (Atkinson their grasp. Edmund Fuller says that “in our age man
36). Another realistic issue that forms the suffers not only from war, persecution, famine and
background of the play is the Labour movement. ruin, but also from inner problem, a conviction and
O’Casey’s work for the 1913 lockout and his meaninglessness in his way of existence’ (Fuller 3).
admiration for Jim Larkin gave him very high ideals In this play, most of the characters are real life
for it. Here he shows the forces against which it had characters, one could see in day-to-day life in a city
to contend in Ireland. Jerry, the representative of slum. “To be able to evoke sentiment, breathing
the Labour movement in the play fails in his private creature men and women with the impress of life
life to live up to O’Casey’s humanitarian principles. upon them - out of blank space in half the creative
In his last scene with Mary, he says “with labour, writer’s equipment. It is the touchstone of all the
Mary, humanity is above everything. We are the great literary artists from Shakespeare to Chekov
leaders in the fight for a new life” (O’ Casey, Juno and Mr O’ Casey is a juvenist of their order” (Giroux
and the Paycock 95). This seems to be O’ Casey’s 236).
own ideal of the world labour movement. CONCLUSION
In the history of Ireland, there had been
Another serious factor forming the countless risings, and nationalists sought to achieve
background of the play is religion. The role of the their independence through armed struggle.
Catholic Church in Irish Politics is seen by Capt. Boyle However, the years between 1916 and 1923 were so
according to his finances. When poor, he accuses dramatic in terms of bloodshed, terror and violence.
the priests of preventing the starving people form This article is concerned with Sean O’ Casey’s
corn during the famine or letting down the Fenian experience of rebellion and war and his rendering of
rebels, and of destroying Parnell. When he feels them in his work. Although the play considered in
affluent, they are patriots who have led the fight for this article Juno and the Paycock is not necessarily
Ireland’s freedom. He acknowledges their influence mirror of the historical times in which it was written,
and like Juno, feels that the church should be waking they contain enough elements that reflect a great
when her son was killed. Like Mrs Tancred’s, the deal of the life in Ireland in the periods considered.
reiteration of prayers and hymns counter points the Indeed, politics occupies a prominent position in his
‘Hail Mary’ sung at Tancred’s funeral. When the work. O’ Casey decided to reveal the real conditions
mobilizer comes for Johnny, he repeats the prayer of the Irish people during the Easter Week Uprising,
to himself as he is taken to be punished for the War of Independence and then the Civil War by
Tancred’s death. Even the rosary bead he takes with rendering on stage their daily social, economic and
him is at the same time an emblem of prayer and an political problems. In fact, the Irish playwright went
emblem of death. It is customary to entwine a dead so far as to consider his plays a realistic picture of
person’s beads in his fingers in the coffin. Ireland, reflecting a consistent social and political
point of view. His plays are informed by rootedness
O’ Casey’s characters are real men and in his country and abhorrence of social injustice and
women. In the treatment of the subject, there is moral degradation.
objectivity like the naturalistic depiction. O’ Casey
has selected the environment of ordinary human O’ Casey’s original motive in writing this
beings like the slum dwellers and shopkeepers’ and play was to give a voice to a class never heard
present facts of life with mixture of tragedy and seriously on the stage before, the Dublin poor. This
comedy. There is a humanitarian desire to change voice was as individual as that given by John
the existing social condition. Boyle and his wife Juno Millington Synge to Irish peasants. The overall
reflect the tough realities of Dublin life and when impression one gets from the play is its unequivocal
Jerry discovers that Mary is pregnant; his charity realism.
does not extend to fathering another man’s child.
This is a reality of life we see around the play. As this ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

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I want to express my deepest gratitude and

respect for Dr. Joseph Dunston, Principal in DIMI
Arts and Science College, Chennai who guided and
oversaw this study with extraordinary patience. I am
especially indebted to Dr. R. Wilson, Reader in St.
Jude’s College, Thoothoor, my professor in
Graduation and my MPhil guide, for his professional
aid and his personal encouragement.

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