J. M. Synge: Nature, Politics, Modernism

This is a thorough re-assessment of one of Ireland’s major playwrights, J.M. Synge (1871-1909). Using much previously-undiscussed archival material, the book takes each of Synge’s plays and prose works, tracing his journey from an early Romanticism to a later, more combative modernism. Hewitt uncovers Synge’s processes of composition and revision, situating Synge’s work alongside his contemporary reading materials to show how each dialogues with Synge’s developing interests. Thus, Hewitt turns up surprising influences: Synge’s engagement with occultism, socialism, Darwinism, and even a late reaction against eugenic nationalisms. The arguments put forward, drawing on a wide range of materials, will be of consequence to readers interested in the Irish Revival, Irish modernism, and European modernism.