The Walking Dead and the Bridegroom to the Goddess

The Walking Dead and the Bridegroom to the Goddess The Irish literature is characterized by discussing a lot of social and psychological issues and depicting many mythical images. The Irish writers’ approach to presenting the common theme can be extremely different with references to using irony and satire or mild and pessimistic tone.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on â€Å"The Walking Dead† and the â€Å"Bridegroom to the Goddess† specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The play The Playboy of the Western World by John Millington Synge and the poem â€Å"The Tollund Man† by Seamus Heaney have few similar features, but the authors discuss the theme of death, accentuating the violent death, in their works. Although Synge and Heaney use rather opposite approaches to presenting the controversial theme of death in their works where Synge concentrates on satire to depict the social and psychological issues and Heaney pays attention to the spiritual con text of the question, the authors provide their vision of the violent death from the social perspective and with references to the persons’ inner world. In his play The Playboy of the Western World, Synge emphasizes the fact of murdering as the starting point to develop the play’s plot. Thus, the idea of murder is used to represent the problems and conflicts typical for the Irish society of the 1900s along with accentuating the personal attitude to the question as the reflection of the society’s sickness. Christy Mahon, the main character of the play, is inclined to attract the public’s attention in the tavern with stating that he has murdered his father. Thus, Mahon depicts his action saying, â€Å"I just riz the loy and let fall the edge of it on the ridge of his skull, and he went down at my feet like an empty sack, and never let a grunt or groan from him at all† (Synge 113). The unemotional language used by the author to present the characterâ €™s experience in order to emphasize the irony Mahon and the audience’s interpretation of his actions. Synge stresses the satiric inappropriateness of interpreting Mahon’s actions as heroic with the help of remarks. For instance, Michael reacts to Mahon’s words about murdering with great respect and states, â€Å"That was a hanging crime, mister honey. You should have had good reason for doing the like of that†, and Mahon answers in a reasonable tone, â€Å"He was a dirty man, God forgive him, and he getting old and crusty, the way I couldn’t put up with him at all† (Synge 106-107). From this point, the fact of murdering a person makes Mahon be a hero in this small community of a tavern. The reasons to explain the phenomenon can be found with references to analyzing the figures of the listeners. The community of County Mayo needs sensations to discuss, and the personality of Mahon and his action become the most interesting themes for tal king about.Advertising Looking for essay on literature languages? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Thus, the fact of the violent death is presented in Synge’s play as a chance to make the monotonous life more diverse and vivid. The author exaggerates the public’s indifference to the moral and ethical aspects of murdering a person and provides the satirical descriptions of people’s interpreting the problems of death and murder (Levitas; Regan). The villagers are inclined to discuss the person of Mahon as the hero and â€Å"the walking Playboy of the Western World† (Synge 190). The public changes its vision of Mahon only in some time, but the progress of their considerations on Mahon’s actions is significant. However, the general representation of the topic of death in the play is characterized by depicting some satirical stories. Thus, Mahon is afraid of â€Å"the walking dead†, and Pegeen tells the frightening story about the dead man putting â€Å"in a narrow grave† (Synge 85, 185). In spite of the people’s rather indifferent attitude to the fact of murder, they are inclined to feel fear associated with the theme of death. Although the theme of death is also vividly discussed in Heaney’s poem â€Å"The Tollund Man†, the author’s approach to presenting the topic differs much from Synge’s accentuating the satire of tragic moments in his play. Heaney represents the concept of death from many perspectives in his poem, emphasizing the religious, spiritual, and mythical aspects along with stressing the social problems associated with the theme of the violent death. In the first stanza, the author depicts his sacred devotion to the Tollund Man who could become the victim of the goddess, â€Å"Bridegroom to the goddess, / She tightened her torc on him / And opened her fen, / Those dark juices working / Him to a saintà ¢â‚¬â„¢s kept body† (Heaney 12-16). The death of the Tollund Man is violent, but it is sacred as well as the author’s interpretation of the man’s death as the act connected with the problem of spirituality. Thus, the character discusses the Tollund Man as a kind of idol. Moreover, the character states, â€Å"I could risk blasphemy, / Consecrate the cauldron bog / Our holy ground and pray / Him to make germinate† (Heaney 21-24). The fact of worshipping the deity should not be discussed with references to the character’s, but it can be analyzed with accentuating his attitude to the death as the sacred act. The author provides the analogies and parallels in relation to the violent death of the Tollund Man and the problematic social situations in Ireland and Denmark. The symbols of death are presented in the author’s pessimistic descriptions, â€Å"The scattered, ambushed / Flesh of labourers, / Stockinged corpses / Laid out in the farmyardsâ₠¬  (Heaney 25-28).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on â€Å"The Walking Dead† and the â€Å"Bridegroom to the Goddess† specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The death is presented not only as the sacred notion but also as the real situation which is familiar for many unfortunate people who are the victims of the social orders and conflicts. The large social context provided by the author makes the problem actual for many people. The death of the Tollund man as the part of a sacrifice accentuates the unjust character of many deaths of those people who became the victims of â€Å"sad freedom† (Heaney 33). The character stresses that having explored the Tollund man with providing the analogies he feels lost â€Å"unhappy and at home† (Heaney 44). Therefore, the theme of death is presented through the significant religious and social context. To conclude, it is important to pay attention to the fact that although John Millington Synge and Seamus Heaney discuss the topic of the violent death in their works, the authors’ approaches to presenting and explaining the aspects of the problem are different. Synge is inclined to accentuate the people’s attitude to the question with the help of irony and satirical interpretations, and Heaney’s tone is rather pessimistic. Synge refers to the understatement of the role of death in the person’s life, especially the violent death. Heaney is inclined to exaggerating the problem of the violent death and its victims with the help of stressing the religious symbolism. Heaney, Seamus. â€Å"The Tollund Man†. Opened Ground: Selected Poems, 1966-1996. Ed. Seamus Heaney. New York, NY: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1998. 124-125. Print. Levitas, Ben. â€Å"The Playboy of the Western World†. Modern and Contemporary Irish Drama. Ed. John Harrington. New York: W.W. Norton, 2009. 468-472. Print. Regan, Stephen. Ir ish Writing: An Anthology of Irish Literature in English 1789-1939. London: Oxford University Press, 2004. Print.Advertising Looking for essay on literature languages? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Synge, John Millington. â€Å"Playboy of the Western World†. Modern and Contemporary Irish Drama. Ed. John Harrington. New York, NY: W.W. Norton, 2009. 68-112. Print.