The Playboy of the Western World

“Well you’re a daring fellow, and if they find his corpse stretched above in the dews of dawn, what’ll you say then to the peelers, or to the Justice of the Peace?”

Synge uses authentic Hiberno-English language and speech to develop the play’s Irish characters. In this exchange, Pegeen Mike ridicules Shawn for being too afraid to see if the groaning man in the ditch was all right. This dialogue characterizes Shawn’s cowardice as well as Pegeen Mike’s fiery attitude and sarcastic wit. In addition, Pegeen Mike’s contempt for the craven Shawn reflects the community’s social values.

“I’m afeared of Father Reilly, I’m saying. Let you not be tempting me, and we nearly married itself.”

This is the first time Shawn fully admits to being afraid of his priest, Father Reilly. This is a critical character development for Shawn, who is depicted as a devout Catholic and rule-follower to a fault. It also establishes Father Reilly as a father figure to Shawn, which supports the theme of Fathers and Obedience.

“Bravery’s a treasure in a lonesome place, and a lad would kill his father, I’m thinking, would face a foxy divil with a pitchpike on the flags of hell.”

Jimmy, Michael James’s friend, encourages him to hire Christy as a server for the bar. He sees that Pegeen Mike wants for company, and a man who showed such bravery in killing his father is likely to provide ample protection to the bar while they are away. This is also the beginning of the villagers treating Christy as a hero for his violence, as opposed to a criminal. Jimmy’s reverence supports the theme of