The Historical and Colonial Context of Brian Friel’s Translations Essay

The Historical and Colonial Context of Brian Friels TranslationsRegarded by many a(prenominal) as Brian Friels theatrical masterpiece, Seamus Deane described Translations as a rate of events in history which are transformed by his writing into a parable of events in the present day (Introduction 22). The piece of cake was first produced in Derry in 1980. It was the first production by Field Day, a pagan arts group founded by Friel and the actor Stephen Rea, and associated with Deane, Seamus Heaney and Tom Paulin.As Deane asserts, the frolic is in many respects an intelligent and enlightening metaphor for the patch in Northern Ire polish. The aims of raising cultural awareness and dispelling socio-political apathy in the North were centimeral to the objectives of the Field Day group. However, despite Friels concerns with modern Ireland, the play is also an enchanting fictive account of the Irish project of British compoundism. My aim in this page is to firmly place Translatio ns inwardly its historical context, in order to under affiliation the representation of colonialism in the play and to facilitate further post-colonial glance overings.Translations may be located both temporally and spatially to a fixed point in Irish history. The characters cost from Baile Beag, renamed with the anglicised title of Ballybeg. The action of the play occurs over a number of days towards the end of August 1833. Before delving into the play it is clear, from these most general of points, that the mise-en-scene of Translations is a period of great significance in the colonial relationship in the midst of Ireland and England.The lifetime of Hugh and Jimmy Jack, the sixty years or so course up to 1833, bore witness to many important events in the metabolism of Ireland from a rural Gaelic society to a modern colonial nation. To go back another seven decades, in 1704 penal laws were enacted which decree that a Catholic could not hold any office of state, nor stand fo r Parliament, vote, join the army or navy, practise at the bar nor....buy land (Kee Ireland A History 54). Thus, by 1778 a mere five per cent of the land of Ireland was owned by Catholics. The Irish people (most notably Catholics, though Protestants also) such as those portrayed in Translations suffered severe discrimination, poverty and hardship.The cut Revolution of 1789 jolted Irish political thinking into a overbold fr... ... to speak English and every subject will be taught through English (396).Maires desire, at the opening of the play, to speak English shall presently be enforced by law throughout the National Schools in Ireland. Where Dan OConnell and Maire both assumed the give of English would allow upgrade towards their respective national and personal dreams, Hugh believes that English was simply for commerce notwithstanding that it couldnt really express us (the Irish) (418). He realised that the use of Gaelic, of remaining true to their own traditions was a re gularity of resisting colonialism, our only method of replying to .... inevitabilities (418).Perhaps the most ironic passage in the play appears during a conversation between Yolland and Hugh. Hugh indulges himself the smiling position of condescending to the young soldier, dismissing William Wordsworth (and by implication English Literature)Wordsworth?.... No Im afraid were not familiar with your literature, Lieutenant. .... We tend to overlook your island (417).Poignantly, within a comparatively short period of time the poetry of Wordsworth, and of the English canon, would be read and recited by the majority of children in Ireland.