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Alliteration
Act 2
Explanation and Analysis—Irish English:
The Playboy of the Western World is written in Irish English, the set of English dialects spoken in Ireland. An exchange between Old Mahon and Widow Quin in Act 2 encapsulates one good example of dialect:
MAHON. An ugly young streeler with a murderous gob on him, and a little switch in his hand. I met a tramper seen him coming this way at the fall of night.
WIDOW QUIN. There’s harvest hundreds do be passing these days for the Sligo boat. For what is it you’re wanting him, my poor man?
This passage contains some key features of Irish English, such as the use of "do be" instead of "am" or "I am." This is characteristic of Hiberno-English. The dialect adds authenticity to the play's portrayal of rural Irish life and the characters' speech patterns. Another notable moment of this dialect is when Pegeen says, "What would I want wedding so young?" Simply put, a phrase like this plants the audience in the world of the play—or, for Irish audiences that were contemporary to Synge's period, this use of dialect reflected the way people might have spoken around the audience members, even if some people at the time might have thought such forms of speech were unsuitable for the theater.
Related Themes:
