Joanna Zadarko | Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań (original) (raw)
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Papers by Joanna Zadarko
From the eighteenth century onwards, the Irish mythology entered the Anglo-Irish tradition yet i... more From the eighteenth century onwards, the Irish mythology entered the Anglo-Irish tradition yet it is still preserved in Irish literary output. In The Green Helmet, W.B. Yeats, one of the leading figures of the Celtic Literary Revival, that aimed at restoring Irish
culture and language, made an attempt to demythologize two, heroism and Irishness, which seem to be crucial in the Irish mythology. The play shows how Yeats, incorporating the Cuchulain character, satirizes the stereotypical perception of the Irish being a deluded and drunken nation.
Using Sabina J. Müller’s theory of myth, this paper will analyze the deconstruction and revision of myths in The Green Helmet. Irish mythology, as described by Müller, has in its inheritance a myth of Ireland being personified in an image of a woman, a goddess of the land. This Ireland-as-woman image, as well as Irish heroism and their fighting spirit will be investigated in Yeats’ drama to show its simplification and to mock its nature. The analysis will also give an insight into the diversified and complex image of the Irish nation.
From the eighteenth century onwards, the Irish mythology entered the Anglo-Irish tradition yet i... more From the eighteenth century onwards, the Irish mythology entered the Anglo-Irish tradition yet it is still preserved in Irish literary output. In The Green Helmet, W.B. Yeats, one of the leading figures of the Celtic Literary Revival, that aimed at restoring Irish
culture and language, made an attempt to demythologize two, heroism and Irishness, which seem to be crucial in the Irish mythology. The play shows how Yeats, incorporating the Cuchulain character, satirizes the stereotypical perception of the Irish being a deluded and drunken nation.
Using Sabina J. Müller’s theory of myth, this paper will analyze the deconstruction and revision of myths in The Green Helmet. Irish mythology, as described by Müller, has in its inheritance a myth of Ireland being personified in an image of a woman, a goddess of the land. This Ireland-as-woman image, as well as Irish heroism and their fighting spirit will be investigated in Yeats’ drama to show its simplification and to mock its nature. The analysis will also give an insight into the diversified and complex image of the Irish nation.