Dancing AT Lughnasa Dancing AT Lughnasa

The Location of rural Donegal, Ballybeg, its implications and importance as a setting in Friel’s playThe Location of rural Donegal, Ballybeg, its implications and importance as a setting in Friel’s play

Rural DonegalRural Donegal

Images of the ruralAppearance of Donegal

Key Facts on DonegalKey Facts on Donegal

County in Ireland.

Small population making it very open spaced and untouched land.

Dealt with quite a few troubles in the 20th century such as bombings and assassinations.

Named after the town of Donegal.

Great famine occurred in 1840s (just a few years after the time of the play)

County in Ireland.

Small population making it very open spaced and untouched land.

Dealt with quite a few troubles in the 20th century such as bombings and assassinations.

Named after the town of Donegal.

Great famine occurred in 1840s (just a few years after the time of the play)

Why have this setting? Why have this setting?

From reading Dancing at Lughnasa we see that Friel has placed the characters within the rural and cut off county of Donegal and therefore beginning to wonder why he has done so. From finding various images on the previous slide we can see that it gives us the impression that he did this to let the audience focus more on the characters of the play and not the setting. Usually setting is key within a play and therefore we see why Friel is so precise with getting the details of the house and garden right for that is all we really see of the setting. With having a small populated setting we also see that this enables the audience to focus on how everything is effecting the five sisters such as the problems with jobs, money and also their home place for it is so rural.

From reading Dancing at Lughnasa we see that Friel has placed the characters within the rural and cut off county of Donegal and therefore beginning to wonder why he has done so. From finding various images on the previous slide we can see that it gives us the impression that he did this to let the audience focus more on the characters of the play and not the setting. Usually setting is key within a play and therefore we see why Friel is so precise with getting the details of the house and garden right for that is all we really see of the setting. With having a small populated setting we also see that this enables the audience to focus on how everything is effecting the five sisters such as the problems with jobs, money and also their home place for it is so rural.

The Importance of the settingThe Importance of the setting

“Ballybeg” is an Irish term which means “little town”. This therefore supports what I have just said of Friel wanting the key focus to be on the sisters and their lives.

Get the notion that from knowing Ballybeg means little town, we can see that we are seeing only a fragment of what people in Ireland felt around 1936 and get a range of this through the different appearances and beliefs of the sisters.

Friel used this word to portray this sense of being alone and lonely although the sisters have each other and therefore the only time we see the sisters able to manage is the joy of dancing.

“Ballybeg” is an Irish term which means “little town”. This therefore supports what I have just said of Friel wanting the key focus to be on the sisters and their lives.

Get the notion that from knowing Ballybeg means little town, we can see that we are seeing only a fragment of what people in Ireland felt around 1936 and get a range of this through the different appearances and beliefs of the sisters.

Friel used this word to portray this sense of being alone and lonely although the sisters have each other and therefore the only time we see the sisters able to manage is the joy of dancing.

Quotations to support the settingQuotations to support the setting

“Slightly more than half the area of the stage is taken up by the kitchen…the remaining area… is the garden”

Shows how Act One focus’ mainly on the description of the house and how the people manoeuvre around it.

“Festival of Lughnasa”

Marked the beginning of the harvest season which would take place on the hills and mountains within Donegal. Shows us just how rural the grounds were to show this feast. Also shows the Pagan side of Ireland with sacrifices and feast and the ritual dances.

“Slightly more than half the area of the stage is taken up by the kitchen…the remaining area… is the garden”

Shows how Act One focus’ mainly on the description of the house and how the people manoeuvre around it.

“Festival of Lughnasa”

Marked the beginning of the harvest season which would take place on the hills and mountains within Donegal. Shows us just how rural the grounds were to show this feast. Also shows the Pagan side of Ireland with sacrifices and feast and the ritual dances.

Further quotationsFurther quotations

“The garden is neat but not cultivated”

“Cultivated” meaning being well educated or refined. Shows that the setting is placed as neat but is not taken care of fully. Goes onto the link towards the sisters once more for they appear fairly neat due to their class in Ireland but are not fully educated due to the jobs they have and the struggle for money they have.

Also portrays to us that Friel is showing how the grounds of Ireland are shown with the garden detail. The garden is neat and like the remains of land of Donegal, they both show how separate everything is from one another and how easy it is to become lost. This could link to the notion that the sisters, Kate being a good example, are becoming lost with what is the right religion. Kate is a strict Catholic school teacher but begins to doubt this religion whilst listening to Father Jacks tales and how they are able to be freed and released due to the dance.

“The garden is neat but not cultivated”

“Cultivated” meaning being well educated or refined. Shows that the setting is placed as neat but is not taken care of fully. Goes onto the link towards the sisters once more for they appear fairly neat due to their class in Ireland but are not fully educated due to the jobs they have and the struggle for money they have.

Also portrays to us that Friel is showing how the grounds of Ireland are shown with the garden detail. The garden is neat and like the remains of land of Donegal, they both show how separate everything is from one another and how easy it is to become lost. This could link to the notion that the sisters, Kate being a good example, are becoming lost with what is the right religion. Kate is a strict Catholic school teacher but begins to doubt this religion whilst listening to Father Jacks tales and how they are able to be freed and released due to the dance.

Concluding ThoughtsConcluding Thoughts

From looking within the setting from Act One the audience is able to depict out just how isolated the sisters are. They are crammed into a small house within the small county of Donegal and therefore are easily able to be spotted. When there is a small population like Donegal we see that the notion of freedom is placed as being limited. The sisters are not only able to be free from each other due to living together, or being free from their duties within their class, but also to the fact that what ever they do they will be watched due to how small the population is within Donegal. Having a remote setting allows us readers to see that this makes the sisters restricted and they are already placed as being shameful due to Michael being a child from wed-lock. The sisters therefore have a great link to the setting also with how Friel only has the house and the garden covering the stage and this is all the audience sees through all of Act One.

From looking within the setting from Act One the audience is able to depict out just how isolated the sisters are. They are crammed into a small house within the small county of Donegal and therefore are easily able to be spotted. When there is a small population like Donegal we see that the notion of freedom is placed as being limited. The sisters are not only able to be free from each other due to living together, or being free from their duties within their class, but also to the fact that what ever they do they will be watched due to how small the population is within Donegal. Having a remote setting allows us readers to see that this makes the sisters restricted and they are already placed as being shameful due to Michael being a child from wed-lock. The sisters therefore have a great link to the setting also with how Friel only has the house and the garden covering the stage and this is all the audience sees through all of Act One.