A Subject of Deepest Dread: Seán O’Casey, The Easter Rising, and Tuberculosis

Seán O’Casey’s play The Plough and the Stars presents audiences with a view of life in Dublin’s poverty-stricken tenements during the 1916 Easter Rising. Critical consensus holds that it is a play primarily concerned with the Easter Rising set against a backdrop of tenement life. This paper argues i...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inThe Journal of medical humanities Vol. 44; no. 1; pp. 61 - 71
Main Author Devine, Barry
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published New York Springer US 01.03.2023
Subjects
Cultural and Media Studies
Humans
Ireland
Literature
Politics
Regional and Cultural Studies
Theory of Medicine/Bioethics
Tuberculosis
Violence
Ireland
Easter Rising
Medical Humanities
Tuberculosis
Health Humanities
Dublin
Seán O’Casey
1916
Irish Theatre
Biopolitics
The Plough and the Stars
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Summary:Seán O’Casey’s play The Plough and the Stars presents audiences with a view of life in Dublin’s poverty-stricken tenements during the 1916 Easter Rising. Critical consensus holds that it is a play primarily concerned with the Easter Rising set against a backdrop of tenement life. This paper argues instead that this is a play about tuberculosis in Ireland set against the backdrop of the 1916 Easter Rising. The characters in the play place far more importance on tuberculosis and their impoverished state than on politics or even the violence erupting in the streets. The fears and concerns regarding this infectious disease and its impact on poor communities appear in contrast to the characters’ annoyance and dismissal of the political events leading up to and including the Rising.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-1
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-2
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ISSN:1041-3545
1573-3645
1573-3645
DOI:10.1007/s10912-022-09765-y