Irish Literature
BACKGROUND:
The history of Ireland is not unlike that of Britain in that it is marked by successive waves of invasion and colonization. Robert Welch writes in his book Changing States of a 12th century compilation called The Book of Invasions that details previous invasions of Ireland up to that point stretching back into antiquity (271); obviously "Ireland was a country which was being constantly invaded and resettled" (Welch, 272). When the Normans came to Ireland in the 12th century after having invaded southern Britain a century earlier, the cycle of invasion gave way to a cycle of British colonization and Ireland remains, at least in the North, in an imperial relationship with Great Britain to this day. This relationship has had political, economic, social, and cultural effects on Ireland and its people that have developed over hundreds of years and created situations, some unique to Ireland, others not, that Ireland is still struggling with today in its efforts to become a modern nation state with a distinct and productive culture. Its long history as a colony and the long-term effects of that history make the Irish struggle for and subsequent but problematic realization of nationhood, both imaginatively and politically, a major component of Irish identity. The nationalist struggle for independence, gathering force in the latter half of the 19th century and culminating in (some would argue partial) success in 1921, is an integral part of the island's recent history and was a core movement around which centered not only political activists but writers, poets, and artists who attempted to give voice to an Irish national spirit. I would like to look at three literary works that are framed around the years closely preceding and following the creation of the Irish Free State and that touch on some of the issues and problems associated with the Irish nationalist struggle and its aftermath. These will be the short story by James Joyce entitled Ivy Day in the
The history of Ireland is not unlike that of Britain in that it is marked by successive waves of invasion and colonization. Robert Welch writes in his book Changing States of a 12th century compilation called The Book of Invasions that details previous invasions of Ireland up to that point stretching back into antiquity (271); obviously "Ireland was a country which was being constantly invaded and resettled" (Welch, 272). When the Normans came to Ireland in the 12th century after having invaded southern Britain a century earlier, the cycle of invasion gave way to a cycle of British colonization and Ireland remains, at least in the North, in an imperial relationship with Great Britain to this day. This relationship has had political, economic, social, and cultural effects on Ireland and its people that have developed over hundreds of years and created situations, some unique to Ireland, others not, that Ireland is still struggling with today in its efforts to become a modern nation state with a distinct and productive culture. Its long history as a colony and the long-term effects of that history make the Irish struggle for and subsequent but problematic realization of nationhood, both imaginatively and politically, a major component of Irish identity. The nationalist struggle for independence, gathering force in the latter half of the 19th century and culminating in (some would argue partial) success in 1921, is an integral part of the island's recent history and was a core movement around which centered not only political activists but writers, poets, and artists who attempted to give voice to an Irish national spirit. I would like to look at three literary works that are framed around the years closely preceding and following the creation of the Irish Free State and that touch on some of the issues and problems associated with the Irish nationalist struggle and its aftermath. These will be the short story by James Joyce entitled Ivy Day in the