Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
JOURNAL OF CRITICAL REVIEWS, cilt.8, sa.1, ss.1166-1173, 2021 (Hakemli Dergi)
The purpose of the present study is to examine the expressionistic technique of Denis Johnston'sThe Old Lady Says : "No!"(1929), to probe his political views on post-independence Ireland as a political, moral and social dystopia that clashes violently with the romanticized image of pre-independence Ireland.The play with its expressionist form came in consonance with the spirit spread among the members of the Gate, who shared the belief that the traditional way of playwriting, acting and directing had served its purpose in the past and could no longer fit in with the spirit of modem age.Revolving around the figure of Robert Emmet, a 19th centurypatriot who was persecuted for organizing a rising against British rule in 1801, and who became a national hero for the Irish people, the play has a historical background. Johnston takes a completely different attitude in interpreting the character of Emmet who was sentimentally presented in romantic Irish literature. Through him, Johnston satirizes the Irish death-wish that leads young men irrationally to their fate under the motto of patriotism. The play assumes a politically radical attitude like most German expressionist drama and most of Johnston's own plays.By casting Emmet in twentieth century Dublin, Johnston makes a sharp juxtaposition between the idealized past with its passionate rage of sentiment and the Free State Ireland with its violence, rioting, revolt and assassinations. He aims at criticizing both ideals indicating that the distressing present is the fruit of the blindly idealized past.