Book contents
- Sean O’Casey in Context
- Sean O’Casey in Context
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Contributors
- Acknowledgements
- Sean O’Casey’s Life and Times: A Chronology
- Abbreviations
- Introduction
- Part I Key Places and Events
- Part II Social Contexts
- Chapter 6 Nationalism
- Chapter 7 Class
- Chapter 8 Censorship
- Chapter 9 Women
- Chapter 10 Gender and Sexuality
- Chapter 11 Disability
- Chapter 12 Race
- Chapter 13 Migration
- Chapter 14 Religion
- Chapter 15 Loss
- Part III Collaborators and Critics
- Part IV Performance Legacies
- Part V Non-Theatrical Writings
- Part VI Critical Understandings
- Further Reading
- Index
Chapter 7 - Class
from Part II - Social Contexts
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 23 June 2025
Edited by
Book contents
- Sean O’Casey in Context
- Sean O’Casey in Context
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Contributors
- Acknowledgements
- Sean O’Casey’s Life and Times: A Chronology
- Abbreviations
- Introduction
- Part I Key Places and Events
- Part II Social Contexts
- Chapter 6 Nationalism
- Chapter 7 Class
- Chapter 8 Censorship
- Chapter 9 Women
- Chapter 10 Gender and Sexuality
- Chapter 11 Disability
- Chapter 12 Race
- Chapter 13 Migration
- Chapter 14 Religion
- Chapter 15 Loss
- Part III Collaborators and Critics
- Part IV Performance Legacies
- Part V Non-Theatrical Writings
- Part VI Critical Understandings
- Further Reading
- Index
Summary
This chapter analyses the place of class in O’Casey’s thinking and focuses in particular on a relatively unknown O’Casey script from 1919, The Harvest Festival, which revolves around a charismatic worker-hero who dies when a strike becomes violent. The chapter also examines the rewritten version of that play, Red Roses for Me (1943), in order to explore how O’Casey’s aestheticizing of class confrontation was developed and refined. The chapter shows how O’Casey wanted class analysis to replace ideologies like religion and nationalism, which he believed to be misdirections of humanity’s important longings.
Keywords
Information
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Sean O'Casey in Context , pp. 79 - 88Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2025
Accessibility standard: Inaccessible, or known limited accessibility
Why this information is here
This section outlines the accessibility features of this content - including support for screen readers, full keyboard navigation and high-contrast display options. This may not be relevant for you.Accessibility Information
The HTML of this chapter is known to have missing or limited accessibility features.
We may be reviewing its accessibility for future improvement, but final compliance is
not yet assured and may be subject to legal exceptions. If you have any questions,
please contact
accessibility@cambridge.org.
Content Navigation
Table of contents navigation
Allows you to navigate directly to chapters, sections, or non‐text items through a linked table of contents, reducing the need for extensive scrolling.
Allows you to navigate directly to chapters, sections, or non‐text items through a linked table of contents, reducing the need for extensive scrolling.
Index navigation
Provides an interactive index, letting you go straight to where a term or subject appears in the text without manual searching.
Provides an interactive index, letting you go straight to where a term or subject appears in the text without manual searching.
Reading Order & Textual Equivalents
Single logical reading order
You will encounter all content (including footnotes, captions, etc.) in a clear, sequential flow, making it easier to follow with assistive tools like screen readers.
You will encounter all content (including footnotes, captions, etc.) in a clear, sequential flow, making it easier to follow with assistive tools like screen readers.
Visual Accessibility
Use of colour is not sole means of conveying information
You will still understand key ideas or prompts without relying solely on colour, which is especially helpful if you have colour vision deficiencies.
You will still understand key ideas or prompts without relying solely on colour, which is especially helpful if you have colour vision deficiencies.