Strange country
Book Description
Irish literature carries within it a profound tension between tradition and transformation, between the pull of ancient roots and the demands of an evolving world. Seamus Deane explores this compelling dynamic in a scholarly examination that reveals how Ireland's writers navigated the complex terrain of national identity during a pivotal period in history.
Beginning with the revolutionary ferment of the late eighteenth century and Edmund Burke's influential counter-revolutionary perspectives, this study traces the development of a distinctly Irish literary consciousness. Deane examines how writers from Gerald Griffin to Bram Stoker, from traditional ballad collectors to modernist pioneers like Synge, Yeats, and Joyce, grappled with fundamental questions that continue to resonate today.
The book illuminates the recurring themes that shaped Irish writing: the search for authentic national character, the struggle between restraint and passionate expression, and the challenging dialogue between material progress and emotional truth. These writers faced the unique challenge of creating literature that was simultaneously national and colonial, rooted in Irish soil yet shaped by broader historical forces.
Through careful analysis of novels, poetry, songs, and cultural commentary, Deane reveals how Irish print culture developed within inherited constraints while ultimately transcending them. This exploration offers insights into how creative expression emerges from the tension between limitation and possibility, making it relevant for anyone interested in understanding how identity and authenticity develop through artistic endeavor.
Who Is This For?
📖 Reading Level: Medium (200-400 pages) (~8 hours)
📄 Length: 280 pages
What You'll Discover
- ✓ Explore History and criticism
- ✓ Explore National characteristics, irish
- ✓ Explore Literature and history
- ✓ Explore Nationalism
- ✓ Explore History
- ✓ Explore Nationalism in literature
- ✓ Explore Irish literature, history and criticism
- ✓ Explore Nationalism, ireland
