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Colonialism and Cultural Imperialism
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Act 1 Quotes
Maire: That's the height of my Latin. Fit me better if I had even that much English.
Jimmy: English? I thought you had some English?
Maire: Three words. Wait — there was a spake I used to have off by heart. What's this it was?
Her accent is strange because she is speaking a foreign language and because she does not understand what she is saying.
“In Norfolk we besport ourselves around the maypoll.” What about that!
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Explanation and Analysis:
This conversation occurs at the hedge school shortly after Maire’s arrival. After a brief conversation with Jimmy in Latin, Maire reveals that she knows even fewer words in English. This is the play’s first indication that the characters on stage are meant to be speaking Irish, even as the actors speak English. This theatrical conceit will continue throughout the play, creating moments of comedic irony as well as allowing the audience to hear the differences in meaning created by the process of translation. The fact that the play is written in English is also a nod to the success of Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Mole
Bridget: Did you know that you start at the age of six and you have to stick at it until you're twelve at least — no matter how smart you are or how much you know.
Doalty: Who told you that yarn?
Bridget: And every child from every house has to go all day, every day, summer or winter. That's the law.
Doalty: I'll tell you something — nobody's going to go near them — they're not going to take on — law or no law.
Bridget: And everything's free in them. You pay for nothing except the books you use […] And from the very first day you go, you'll not hear one word of Irish spoken. You'll be taught to speak English and every subject will be taught through English and everyone'll end up as cute as the Buncrana people.
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While waiting for Hugh to arrive to the hedge school, Bridget elaborates on what she knows about the new national school soon opening nearby. The British began to implement such schools throughout Ireland in the 1830s, inevitably spelling death for rural, Irish-language hedge schools like Hugh’s. Doalty’s refusal to believe that the new schools will thrive will be proven wrong by history, and the national school system reveals one way in which colonialism suppresses native culture. The play will continue to develop the connection between language and cultural history, asserting that, by forcing the Irish population at large to be Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperi
Maire: I'm talking about the Liberator, Master, as you well know. And what he said was this: “The old language is a barrier to modern progress.” He said that last month. And he's right. I don’t want Greek. I don't want Latin. I want English.
Manus reappears on the platform above.
I want to be able to speak English because I'm going to America as soon as the harvest's all saved.
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Upon his arrival at the hedge school, Hugh tells the class about his meeting with the British Captain Lancey, who is in charge of the Ordnance Survey. Hugh told Lancey that the Irish culture better pairs with the “classical tongues” of Latin and ancient Greek than it does with English. Maire rebukes Hugh’s claim, quoting Irish political leader Daniel O’Connell and asserting that English would be far more useful to the class than either of those dead languages. The forward-thinking Maire is aware that going to America will afford her far more opportunities than she could find as a milkmaid Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque o
Maire: You talk to me about getting married — with neither a roof over your head nor a sod of ground under your foot. I suggest you go for the new school; but no - 'My father’s in for that.' Well now he's got it and now this is finished and now you've nothing.
Manus: I can always ...
Maire: What? Teach classics to the cows? Agh —
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Maire says this to Manus after he confronts her for not telling him that she was definitely leaving for America. This moment helps clarify the relationship between the two—revealing that they had been in a romantic relationship and were even discussing marriage—and also further establishes Maire’s forward-thinking nature. Maire realizes that the implementation of the British national schools across the country will be end of hedge schools like Hugh’s. Manus, meanwhile, seems incapable of taking steps to move his life forward, instead allowing his ambitions to be constantly hampered by his father. Not embracing the future, Maire points out, has Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Expl
Lancey: His Majesty's government has ordered the first ever comprehensive survey of this entire country — a general triangulation which will embrace detailed hydrographic and topographic information and which will be executed to a scale of six inches to the English mile.
Hugh: (pouring a drink) Excellent - excellent.
Lancey looks at Owen.
Owen: A new map is being made of the whole country.
Lancey looks to Owen: Is that all? Owen smiles reassuringly and indicates to proceed.
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After introducing Lancey and Yolland to the students in the hedge school, Owen says that he will translate as the British men address the room. Lancey’s grandiose language establishes his pomposity, while Owen’s much shorter, simpler translation creates a sense of comedic irony. The fact that both actors are actually speaking English allows the audience to hear exactly how Owen translates the Captain’s lengthy address to be decidedly friendlier and more palatable to the locals. This underscores the inherent subjectivity of translation and establishes Owen’s desire to minimize Irish concerns about the presence of the British. Lancey’s speech, meanwhile, reveals Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explica
Manus: And they call you Roland! They both call you Roland!
Owen: Shhhhh. Isn't it ridiculous? They seem to get it wrong from the very beginning — or else they can't pronounce Owen. I was afraid some of you bastards would laugh.
Manus: Aren't you going to tell them?
Owen: Yes - yes - soon - soon.
Manus: But they...
Owen: Easy, man, easy. Owen - Roland - what the hell. It's only a name. It's the same me, isn't it? Well, isn't it?
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After Owen has introduced Lancey and Yolland to the Baile Beag locals, Manus confronts his brother about the fact that both British soldiers call Owen “Roland.” Owen is initially nonchalant about the mistake, making excuses for the British and asserting that it does not matter what he is called because he is the same man regardless. He does not yet understand the deep connection between names and identity; this lack of understanding or care, in fact, is what initially allows Owen to unhesitatingly aid the British in their anglicization of Irish place names. As the play progresses, however, and Owen Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Op
Act 2, Scene 1 Quotes
Owen: Bun is the Irish word for bottom. And Abha means river. So it's literally the mouth of the river.
Yolland: Let’s leave it alone. There's no English equivalent for a sound like that.
Owen: What is it called in the church registry?
Only now does Yolland open his eyes.
Yolland: Let's see ... Banowen.
Owen: That's wrong. (Consults text.) The list of freeholders calls it Owenmore — that's completely wrong: Owenmore’s the big river at the west end of the parish. […] (at map) Back to first principles. What are we trying to do?
Yolland: Good question.
Owen: We are trying to denominate and at the same time describe that tiny area of soggy, rocky, sandy ground where that little stream enters the sea, an area known locally as Bun na hAbhann… Burnfoot! What about Burnfoot?
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At the beginning of Act 2, Owen and Yolland discuss the process of “translating” a particular Irish place name for the Name-Book. While “Burnfoot” is an attempt to capture both the sound and sentiment of the original Gaelic, it is not an exact translation of “Bun na hAbhann.” This does not mean Owen’s choice for the Name-Book is wrong; on the contrary, this moment simply illustrates that there is rarely a one-to-one correlation between words in different languages, making translation an extremely difficult and ultimately subjective process. A translation is always a reflection of the translator, further underscoring that, as Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt
Owen: Can't you speak English before your man?
Manus: Why?
Owen: Out of courtesy.
Manus: Doesn't he want to learn Irish? (to Yolland) Don't you want to learn lrish?
Yolland: Sorry - sorry? I - I –
Manus: I understand the Lanceys perfectly but people like you puzzle me.
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Manus enters the hedge school while Owen and Yolland are working but speaks only in Irish in front of the men—meaning Yolland has no idea what Manus is saying. Manus’ refusal to speak English reveals his resentment of the British presence in Baile Beag and comprises a political act of asserting Irish identity in the face of colonialism. This underscores the growing tension between the Irish and British that simmers in the background even as Yolland falls more deeply in love with Irish culture. Manus has no difficulty grasping the prejudice of men like Lancey, who view the Irish as Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit u
Even if I did speak Irish I'd always be an outsider here, wouldn't I? I may learn the password but the language of the tribe will always elude me, won't it? The private core will always be ... hermetic, won't it?
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Yolland, increasingly drunk on poteen, says this to Owen as they continue to work on the map. Despite his love of Ireland and desire to speak Irish, Yolland realizes that there is so much more to Irish culture than its language. This moment reflects the play’s theme regarding the limits of language; even if Yolland were to become fluent in Gaelic, he would lack the shared context and experience that binds the people of Baile Beag into a community. Shared language, the play suggests, is not a guarantee that meaningful connection can or will occur. Hugh will echo this notion Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequu
Owen: Do you know where the priest lives?
Hugh: At Lis na Muc, over near...
Owen: No, he doesn't. Lis na Muc, the Fort of the Pigs, has become Swinefort. (Now turning the pages of the Name-Book - a page per name.) And to get to Swinefort you pass through Greencastle and Fair Head and Strandhill and Gort and Vhiteplains. And the new school isn't at Poll na gCaorach - it's at Sheepsrock. Will you be able to find your way?
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Hugh enters the hedge school while Owen and Yolland are working and declares his intention to speak with the local priest about his accommodations at the new national school (which he still assumes he will be put in charge of). Owen’s speech here highlights just how drastically Baile Beag has changed in only a handful of days, creating a sense of poignancy on stage as Hugh is reduced to a sort of tourist in his own land. The rewritten Irish map has created a sense of loss and confusion for locals, unable to find their way in a newly unfamiliar Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaec
I understand your sense of exclusion, of being cut off from a life here; and I trust you will find access to us with my son's help. But remember that words are signals, counters. They are not immortal. And it can happen — to use an image you'll understand — it can happen that a civilisation can be imprisoned in a linguistic contour which no longer matches the landscape of… fact.
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Here, Hugh responds to Yolland’s effusive praise of the Irish language and expression of his desire to become a part of the community. Hugh’s assertion that words signal towards meaning, rather than contain meaning within themselves, suggests that one-to-one translation is all but impossible. Plucked from its surrounding context, a word is robbed of what it once signaled towards, and, as such, no longer means anything at all. Despite his affinity for dead languages like Latin and ancient Greek, Hugh understands that cultures change and evolve, and a language must do so as well if it—or the culture it signals Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperi
Owen: What is happening?
Yolland: I'm not sure. But I'm concerned about my part in it. It's an eviction of sorts.
Owen: We're making a six-inch map of the country. Is there something sinister in that?
Yolland: Not in ...
Owen: And we're taking place-names that are riddled with confusion and ...
Yolland: Who's confused? Are the people confused?
Owen: … and we're standardising those names as accurately and as sensitively as we can.
Yolland: Something is being eroded.
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After Hugh exits, Yolland confesses to Owen his increasing unease with the role they are playing in renaming the Irish landscape. The process of translating Gaelic to English has revealed to Yolland the depth of history and culture embedded within the Irish language; as such, he begins to feel that in re-writing place names they are effectively erasing Irish culture. Friel emphasizes this connection between language, identity, and culture throughout the play, suggesting that the Ordnance Survey ultimately robbed the Irish people of their ability to recognize themselves in their landscape. Of course, Friel complicates this notion of translation as Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dol
And ever since that crossroads is known as Tobair Vree — even though that well has long since dried up. I know the story because my grandfather told it to me. But ask Doalty — or Maire — or Bridget — even my father — even Manus — why it's called Tobair Vree; and do you think they'll know? I know they don't know. So the question I put to you, Lieutenant, is this: what do we do with a name like that? Do we scrap Tobair Vree altogether and call it — what? — The Cross? Crossroads? Or do we keep piety with a man long dead, long forgotten, his name ‘eroded’ beyond recognition, whose trivial little story nobody in the parish remembers?
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Owen brings up the example of Tobair Vree in response to Yolland’s concerns about their participation in the erosion of Irish culture through the Ordnance Survey. Tobair Vree derives from “tobair,” meaning “well,” and a corruption of the Irish name “Bhriain”—an old man who died in the aforementioned well 150 years earlier. The trivial origin of the name is a story unknown to most locals; what’s more, the name itself is already an erosion of something that came before. This complicates Yolland’s romantic notion of an Irish past that the mapping project is allegedly eroding. It also echoes Hugh’s assertion Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provid
Owen: (explodes) George! For God's sake! My name is not Roland!
Yolland: What?
Owen: (softly) My name is Owen.
Pause.
Yolland: Not Roland?
Owen: Owen.
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Yolland insists that they preserve the name Tobair Vree in the Name-Book and says that is what “Roland” wants, too. Already frustrated by Yolland’s repeated romanticizing of the Irish language, Owen finally confronts Yolland about misnaming him. In Act 1, Owen was nonchalant about being called Roland, telling Manus that it did not matter because he was the same man regardless of what he was called. In this moment, however, Owen contradicts that earlier statement and affirms that names do, in fact, matter, and are a meaningful way to define and assert identity. The implications of this realization will eventually Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut
Act 2, Scene 2 Quotes
Maire: Don't stop - I know what you're saying.
Yolland: I would tell you how I want to be here - to live here - always - with you - always, always.
Maire: 'Always'? What is that word - 'always'?
[…]
Maire: Shhh - listen to me. I want you, too, soldier.
Yolland: Don't stop - I know what you're saying.
Maire: I want to live with you - anywhere - anywhere at all-always-always.
Yolland: 'Always'? What is that word -'always'?
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After leaving a local dance together, Maire and Yolland have a deeply romantic scene in which neither understands the words the other is saying yet grasps the other’s meaning entirely. Indeed, both Maire and Yolland assert that they “know” what the other is saying. This reveals the difference between words and meaning as well as the communication’s ability to transcend traditional language. The fact that Maire and Yolland repeat the exact same phrases in their respective tongues throughout the scene further highlights their deep connection and increases the poignancy of the fact that they do not actually know the other’s Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecat
Act 3 Quotes
Manus: (again close to tears) But when I saw him standing there at the side of the road - smiling - and her face buried in his shoulder - I couldn't even go close to them. I just shouted something stupid - something like, 'You're a bastard, Yolland.' If I'd even said it in English... 'cos he kept saying 'Sorry-sorry?' The wrong gesture in the wrong language.
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While preparing to flee from Baile Beag, Manus tells Owen and Sarah about the confrontation he nearly had with Yolland and Maire the previous night after Sarah told him about their kiss. Angry and hurt, Manus initially meant to attack Yolland but found himself unable to follow through. Instead, he shouted at Yolland in Irish. His insult proved useless, however, just as all the other times he tried to snub Yolland flew right over the Lieutenant’s head. Manus has spoken in Irish in front of the British soldiers throughout the play as a means to assert his identity and resist Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciun
Owen: How are you? Are you all right?
Sarah nods: Yes.
Don't worry. It will come back to you again.
Sarah shakes her head.
It will. You're upset now. He frightened you. That's all's wrong.
Again Sarah shakes her head, slowly, emphatically, and smiles at Owen. Then she leaves.
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Moments before this interaction, Lancey had shouted as Sarah to tell him her name—the first thing Manus taught her to say. Sarah found herself unable to answer Lancey’s question, and Owen now attempts to comfort her. Sarah has represented Ireland throughout the play, as she is just learning to find her voice in a language soon to be rendered obsolete. Lancey, meanwhile, has been a symbol of colonial oppression. Unable to say her name, Sarah can no longer assert her identity. Her ultimate assertion that she will not speak again thus suggests that the Irish, too, have forever been silenced Dolorem et quae.
Hugh: (indicating Name-Book) We must learn those new names.
Owen: (searching around) Did you see a sack lying about?
Hugh: We must learn where we live. We must learn to make them our own. We must make them our new home.
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This scene occurs towards the end of Act 3, as Owen prepares to find Doalty and gain more information about Yolland’s disappearance. Owen has rejected the Name-Book at this point, calling his involvement in the whole Ordnance Survey a mistake. Hugh, on the other hand—having now lost the position at the national school, many of his students, and one of his sons—has come to accept the English language’s seemingly inevitable dominion in Ireland. His assertion here that they all must learn the new names is in keeping with his prior speech to Yolland that civilizations grow stagnant when they become Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaec
Hugh: Urbs antiqua fuit - there was an ancient city which, 'tis said, Juno loved above all the lands.
Begin to bring down the lights.
And it was the goddess's aim and cherished hope that here should be the capital of all nations - should the fates perchance allow that. Yet in truth she discovered that a race was springing from Trojan blood to overthrow some day these Tyrian towers - a people kings of broad realms and proud in war who would come forth for Lybia's downfall ...
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In the final moments of the play, Hugh translates a passage from Virgil’s epic Latin poem The Aeneid. This tells the story of how refugees from the destroyed city of Troy founded Rome, and Hugh’s quote here mirrors what is happening to the Irish. The “race” that springs “from Trojan blood” refers to the Romans, who would one day “come forth for Lybia’s downfall.” Whether Hugh means for Rome to represent the Irish or the British remains unclear. However, if the latter, this quote implies Hugh’s acceptance of Ireland’s colonial destruction at the hands of the British Empire. If he Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque om
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