Deirdre, a Tragic Heroine in William Butler Yeats' Deirdre and in J. M. Synge's Deirdre of the Sorrows

Abstract

The main purpose of this paper is to provide an analysis of the plays Deirdre of the Sorrows by John Millington Synge and Deirdre by William Butler Yeats which date back to the period of Irish Literary Revival and portray a tragic heroine of Irish mythology, Deirdre. In the initial part of the paper the Irish Literary Revival is contextualized and its main goals are introduced. The original myth and the specificities of the plays are further described. The second part considers analysis of the plays with special attention being paid to the main character of Deirdre. Certain aspects of both plays are then compared.