An Triail During the winter "term", we'll be focusing most of our attention on the play An Triail, by Máiréad Ní Ghráda. This separate section of the site will allow you to quickly see what you have missed on any given night.

The synopsis now covers the entire play. And there are notes on the last couple of Maude poems, Na Blátha and Impí, on her page.

Progress Report (May 23)

Act 2

Act 2 deals with Máire's life after the birth of her child. We got about halfway through the entire Act.

We have also looked at a couple of Caitlín Maude poems, in the last few sessions, published in 1963 -- about the time this play was being written, and a year before she took the lead in its first performance.

Looking Ahead

June 6 is our finale, we should finish the play that night. But we will probably deal with some tangential items over the summer.

Your Assignment

For June 6:

Reading:

• Finish the play! Many of the later scenes are quite short. If you can't quite get to it, check the synopsis.
• We'll also try to deal with that ardteist question I handed out, if we have time. We aren't going to translate it, just identify the key points and respond to them.

Think About . . .

• Is it too contrived to bring everyone back together? Does it work? Would you do it differently?
• Were you surprised by anything anyone said -- or didn't say?
• Would the play have a different impact if you just threw the final scene away?
• What was Pádaig thinking?

Interesting People and Other Tangents

As we move along, I will build additional summary pages dealing with themes, people, and tangents of interest. Note that we will fill these in gradually, as information comes up at class.

Two people we have met so far are:

• Máiréad Ní Ghráda, who wrote the play.
• Caitlín Maude, who had the role of Máire, our protagonist, in the very first production of the play..

Any questions or comments, drop me an e-mail.