A comparison of "Deirdre" and "On Baile's Strand" by William Butler Yeats.
TWO SIMILAR TRAGEDIES: DEIRDRE AND ON BAILE'S STRAND
Deirdre and On Baile's Strand are two plays by William Butler Yeats that incorporate a tragic vision. Both plays deal with a single tragic moment in the life of an important figure. The plays are similar in structure and style. Yeats interweaves supernatural elements in both plays -- the Shape Changers in On Baile's Strand and the circumstances of Deirdre's birth and the question of her parentage in Deirdre. The endings of the plays are similar, however, the process of coming to a conclusion in the plays is different.
In both of these plays, Yeats gives readers the back ground, information about the characters, and sets the scene at the beginning. In On Baile's Strand Yeats uses two characters, the Fool and the Blind Man, whose purpose in the play was to describe the situation and the characters involved. In Deirdre Yeats uses a
group of three female musicians to set the scenes and give information about the characters. Even with this similarity, however, there is a difference. In On Baile's Strand the Fool and the Blind man are not directly involved in the action of the play. The exception is at the end of the play when through them, Cuchulain learns that he has killed his only son. The Fool and the Blind Man speak prose while the musicians in Deirdre sing. The three female musicians in Deirdre, however, are spoken to and answer the main characters in the play. In both instances, the Fool and the Blind Man, and the three female musicians have knowledge that the other characters do not.
The settings of the plays reflect the main characters. In Deirdre, a tragedy with a female main character, the setting is feminine and action takes place in a guest-house in sereneness of the woods. On Baile's Strand, a tragedy with a male main character, the setting is masculine and the action takes place in an assembly-
house near a harsh sea.
No only is On Baile's Strand masculine in the sense that it takes place near a
Deirdre and On Baile's Strand are two plays by William Butler Yeats that incorporate a tragic vision. Both plays deal with a single tragic moment in the life of an important figure. The plays are similar in structure and style. Yeats interweaves supernatural elements in both plays -- the Shape Changers in On Baile's Strand and the circumstances of Deirdre's birth and the question of her parentage in Deirdre. The endings of the plays are similar, however, the process of coming to a conclusion in the plays is different.
In both of these plays, Yeats gives readers the back ground, information about the characters, and sets the scene at the beginning. In On Baile's Strand Yeats uses two characters, the Fool and the Blind Man, whose purpose in the play was to describe the situation and the characters involved. In Deirdre Yeats uses a
group of three female musicians to set the scenes and give information about the characters. Even with this similarity, however, there is a difference. In On Baile's Strand the Fool and the Blind man are not directly involved in the action of the play. The exception is at the end of the play when through them, Cuchulain learns that he has killed his only son. The Fool and the Blind Man speak prose while the musicians in Deirdre sing. The three female musicians in Deirdre, however, are spoken to and answer the main characters in the play. In both instances, the Fool and the Blind Man, and the three female musicians have knowledge that the other characters do not.
The settings of the plays reflect the main characters. In Deirdre, a tragedy with a female main character, the setting is feminine and action takes place in a guest-house in sereneness of the woods. On Baile's Strand, a tragedy with a male main character, the setting is masculine and the action takes place in an assembly-
house near a harsh sea.
No only is On Baile's Strand masculine in the sense that it takes place near a