Translations By Brian Friel Essay
The Death of Ireland in Brian Friel’s Translations
In his play Translations, Brian Friel addresses his 1980 audience with the intention of warning them of the dangers of allowing their culture to fade. The play is set in 1830s Ireland, in the midst of an impending crossroads of the old Ireland vs Anglicized Ireland, where the main characters feel the effects of linguistic imperialism. Written 150 years later with the benefit of historical hindsight, Friel makes the still relevant points of how critical the relationship between language, culture, and history; they are all intertwined: changing (or in this play, Anglicizing) the language also causes the history and culture to disappear. Friel articulates the lost/fading culture of Ireland with the character’s inability to remember and preserve the old Ireland. In the Tobair Vree …show more content…
Additionally, Sarah cannot say her name to Lancey when he demands it. The play concludes with Hugh, the connoisseur of Ancient Greek mythology, unable to remember to events of Trojan history. Friel’s use of cultural, linguistical, and historical examples serves as a microcosm to his views on the dying of Ireland.
The other’s inability to recount the story behind Tobair Vree is symbolic of the falling out of Ireland. Owen, tasked with being the translator and relator of Ireland, re-tells Yolland the story of how Tobair Vree got its name, a story that has “long since dried up” and only remembered by Owen. Doalty, Manus, Maire, Hugh and others not having knowledge of the story behind Tobair Vree is symbolic of Irish people not knowing their own culture. The irony is not lost that the actual language of Friel’s play is foregone, and
In his play Translations, Brian Friel addresses his 1980 audience with the intention of warning them of the dangers of allowing their culture to fade. The play is set in 1830s Ireland, in the midst of an impending crossroads of the old Ireland vs Anglicized Ireland, where the main characters feel the effects of linguistic imperialism. Written 150 years later with the benefit of historical hindsight, Friel makes the still relevant points of how critical the relationship between language, culture, and history; they are all intertwined: changing (or in this play, Anglicizing) the language also causes the history and culture to disappear. Friel articulates the lost/fading culture of Ireland with the character’s inability to remember and preserve the old Ireland. In the Tobair Vree …show more content…
Additionally, Sarah cannot say her name to Lancey when he demands it. The play concludes with Hugh, the connoisseur of Ancient Greek mythology, unable to remember to events of Trojan history. Friel’s use of cultural, linguistical, and historical examples serves as a microcosm to his views on the dying of Ireland.
The other’s inability to recount the story behind Tobair Vree is symbolic of the falling out of Ireland. Owen, tasked with being the translator and relator of Ireland, re-tells Yolland the story of how Tobair Vree got its name, a story that has “long since dried up” and only remembered by Owen. Doalty, Manus, Maire, Hugh and others not having knowledge of the story behind Tobair Vree is symbolic of Irish people not knowing their own culture. The irony is not lost that the actual language of Friel’s play is foregone, and