"A Crippled Trust": The Wounded Body in Irish Drama

Abstract

The recurring use of the wounded body by Irish dramatists throughout the twentieth century begs the student of Irish literature to question how these authors are using this image to debate national character. Because of its limited scope, however, this project cannot begin to address all the Irish plays that stage the wounded body, those previously mentioned and left nameless. Two plays are fodder enough. Thus, this work focuses upon wounded bodies in Translations and The Cure at Troy . . . [From Introduction] because they are two of the most recent plays but also because Field Day, in its attention to questions of national identity, lends a useful frame for looking at Irish drama.