29 pages • 58 minutes read
Juno and the Paycock
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Summary and Study Guide
Overview
Irish-born playwright Sean O’Casey’s Juno and the Paycock was first produced in 1924 at the Abbey Theatre, Ireland’s national theatre, in Dublin. This Realistic play is one of three plays (known as the “Dublin Trilogy”) that O’Casey wrote for the Abbey Theatre. Juno and the Paycock is anthologized in various collections, including Masters of Modern Drama by Haskell Block and Robert Shedd in 1962 (which this guide references).
The play is set entirely in a two-room tenement in Dublin, Ireland, in 1922 during the Irish Civil War. It focuses on the working-class struggles and patriotic efforts of the Boyle family. The characters’ dialogue showcases a Dublin dialect.
Plot Summary
Act I introduces the Boyle children, Johnny and Mary, both in their early 20s. Mary is on strike from her job, and Johnny has suffered the loss of his arm and a bullet in his hip fighting during the 1916 Easter Uprising and the recent Civil War. Juno, the mother, keeps everyone together by working and taking care of the house, while her unemployed husband, the former sea captain Jack, carouses with his neighbor/friend Joxer Daly at pubs and complains of pains in his legs.
In this first act, various couples argue, Unlock all 29 pages of this Study Guide Plus, gain access to 8,900+ more expert-written Study Guides. Including features:
