This volume contains the three plays commonly recognized as the height of O'Casey's achievement as a playwright. His tragi-comedy has relevance to the violent politics in the North and the post-nationalist bewilderments in the Republic.

This educational edition, with the full play text and an introduction to the playwright, features a detailed analysis of the language, structure and characters of the play, and textual notes explaining difficult words and references. It contains: - The full playtext - An introduction to the playwright, his background and his work - A detailed analysis of language, structure and characters in the play - Features of performance - Textual notes explaining difficult words and references

Juno Boyle, a hard-working Dublin (Ireland) tenement dweller whose husband, 'Captain' Jack Boyle, is unwilling to get a job and spends most of his day swilling booze and reminiscing about the past with his parasitic pal, Joxer. Juno is a good woman who does the best she can for her family, but in many ways, she is the enabler who allows Jack to indulge in his irresponsible lifestyle. Their daughter, Mary, who wants to better herself, makes every effort to move out of the poverty in which the family is mirred. Mary, however is now out on strike and her brother, Johnny, injured in Republican fighting, has become another drain on the family's resources. Juno's hopes for her daughter are raised when she brings home a young man who delivers unexpected and promising news, thereby setting of a series of developments that, in turn, become both funny and dispiriting.

The comedy 'The End of the Beginning' and the sketch 'A Pound on Demand' were both published in 1934 as part of the collection of essays, verse and fiction, entitled 'Windfalls'. 'Hall of Healing, A Sincerious Farce', 'Bedtime Story' and 'Time to Go, A Morality Comedy', were written in 1951.

Exploring the influence of Shakespeare on drama in Ireland, the author examines works by two representative playwrights: Sean O'Casey (1880-1964) and Brian Friel (1929-). Shakespeare's plays, grounded in history, nationalism, and imperialism, are resurrected, rewritten, and reinscribed in twentieth-century Irish drama, while Irish plays, in turn, historicize the Subject/Object relationship of England and Ireland. In particular, the author argues, Irish dramatists' appropriations of Shakespeare were both a reaction to the language of domination and a means to support their revision of the Irish as Subject. This study reveals that Shakespeare's plays embody an empathy for the Irish Other. As she investigates Shakespeare's commiseration with marginalized peoples and the anticolonial underpinnings in his texts, the author situates Shakespeare between the English discourse that claims him and the Irish discourse that assimilates him.

This edition of Sean O'Casey's major plays is designed specifically for students and teachers. The plays are supported by a full introduction, covering O'Casey's career and critical responses to the plays, full notes and a bibliography.