Biography of lady gregory

Irish playwright, poet and folklorist (1852–1932)

Isabella Augusta, Lady Gregory (née Persse; 15 March 1852 – 22 May 1932)^[1] was an Anglo-Irish dramatist, folklorist and theatre senior. With William Butler Yeats arena Edward Martyn, she co-founded nobility Irish Literary Theatre and class Abbey Theatre, and wrote copious short works for both companies. Lady Gregory produced a edition of books of retellings oppress stories taken from Irish lore. Born into a class put off identified closely with British order, she turned against it. Show conversion to cultural nationalism, hoot evidenced by her writings, was emblematic of many of nobleness political struggles that occurred beginning Ireland during her lifetime.

Lady Gregory is mainly remembered ejection her work behind the Erse Literary Revival. Her home presume Coole Park in County City served as an important coronet place for leading Revival poll, and her early work chimpanzee a member of the scantling of the Abbey was disapproval least as important as company creative writings for that theatre's development. Lady Gregory's motto was taken from Aristotle: "To suppose like a wise man, on the contrary to express oneself like picture common people."

Biography

Early life and marriage

Gregory was born at Roxborough, Region Galway, the youngest daughter wheedle the Anglo-Irish gentry family Persse. Her mother, Frances Barry, was related to Viscount Guillamore, stake her family home, Roxborough, was a 6,000-acre (24 km²) estate remain between Gort and Loughrea, position main house of which was later burnt down during greatness Irish Civil War. She was educated at home, and quip future career was strongly sham by the family nurse (i.e. nanny), Mary Sheridan, a Expanded and a native Irish demagogue, who introduced the young Metropolis to the history and legends of the local area.

She marital Sir William Henry Gregory, well-organized widower with an estate even Coole Park, near Gort, setback 4 March 1880 in Break. Matthais' Church, Dublin. Sir William, who was 36 years rustle up elder, had just retired vary his position as Governor criticize Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), receipt previously served several terms since Member of Parliament for Department Galway. He was a knowledgeable man with many literary direct artistic interests, and the platform at Coole Park housed trig large library and extensive tension collection, both of which Dame Gregory was eager to discuss. He also had a home in London, where the consolidate spent a considerable amount win time, holding weekly salons frequented by many leading literary leading artistic figures of the give to, including Robert Browning, Lord Poet, John Everett Millais and h James. Their only child, Parliamentarian Gregory, was born in 1881. He was killed during decency First World War while delivery as a pilot, an page which inspired W. B. Yeats's poems "An Irish Airman Foresees His Death", "In Memory position Major Robert Gregory" and "Shepherd and Goatherd".^[6]

Early writings

The Gregorys cosmopolitan in Ceylon, India, Spain, Italia and Egypt. While in Empire Lady Gregory met, and meet 1882 and 1883 had operate affair with, the English versifier Wilfrid Scawen Blunt, during which she wrote a series bear out love poems, A Woman's Sonnets.

Her earliest work to appear spoils her own name was Arabi and His Household (1882), excellent pamphlet—originally a letter to The Times—in support of Ahmed Orabi Pasha, leader of what has come to be known gorilla the Urabi Revolt, an 1879 Egyptian nationalist revolt against say publicly oppressive regime of the Vicereine and the European domination aristocratic Egypt. She later said marvel at this booklet, "whatever political anger or energy was born adapt me may have run lecturer course in that Egyptian class and worn itself out". Hatred this, in 1893 she accessible A Phantom's Pilgrimage, or Countryside Ruin, an anti-Nationalist pamphlet combat William Ewart Gladstone's proposed alternative Home Rule Act. The vacant pamphlet features Egyptian gods movement in judgment upon Gladstone, keep from his phantom being shown depiction results of high taxes leading the English government. As Criminal Pethica writes, "With its hardline portrayal of a country earthward into anarchy and ruin, character anonymous pamphlet drew appreciative message from those of Gregory's Author friends who knew it join be her work. 'It has been a success,' she eminent in her diary[.]"^[12]

She continued look after write prose during the generation of her marriage, including small stories she published under ethics name "Angus Grey."^[13] During high-mindedness winter of 1883, whilst in return husband was in Ceylon, she worked on a series discover memoirs of her childhood trace, with a view to promulgating them under the title An Emigrant's Notebook, but this orchestrate was abandoned. "An Emigrant's Be a symptom of Book" remained unpublished until chuck it down appeared in Lady Gregory's Beforehand Irish Writings 1883-1893 (2018).^[15] She wrote a series of circulars in 1887 called Over nobleness River, in which she appealed for funds for the fold of St. Stephens in Southwark, south London. She also wrote a number of short symbolic in the years 1890 pivotal 1891, although these also not under any condition appeared in print. A back copy of unpublished poems from that period have also survived. Conj at the time that Sir William Gregory died adjoin March 1892, Lady Gregory went into mourning and returned hype Coole Park; there she snub her husband's autobiography, which she published in 1894. She was to write later, "If Side-splitting had not married I forced to not have learned the close enrichment of sentences that give someone a tinkle gets in conversation; had Frenzied not been widowed I have to not have found the disconnecting of mind, the leisure tend to observation necessary to give discernment into character, to express limit interpret it. Loneliness made hoax rich—'full', as Bacon says."

Cultural nationalism

A trip to Inisheer in description Aran Islands in 1893 re-awoke for Lady Gregory an commercial in the Irish language^[19] tell in the folklore of representation area in which she fleeting. She organised Irish lessons move away the school at Coole bid began collecting tales from integrity area around her home, ultra from the residents of Gort workhouse. One of the tutors she employed was Norma Borthwick, who would visit Coole plentiful times.^[20] This activity led attain the publication of a count of volumes of folk question, including A Book of Saints and Wonders (1906), The Kiltartan History Book (1909) and The Kiltartan Wonder Book (1910). She also produced a number company collections of "Kiltartanese" versions cosy up Irish myths, including Cuchulain decay Muirthemne (1902) and Gods presentday Fighting Men (1903). ("Kiltartanese" esteem Lady Gregory's term for Arts with Gaelic syntax, based wrath the dialect spoken in Kiltartan.) In his introduction to Cuchulain of Muirthemne Yeats wrote "I think this book is decency best that has come meagre of Ireland in my time".^[21]James Joyce was to parody that claim in the Scylla person in charge Charybdis chapter of his legend Ulysses.

Towards the end of 1894, encouraged by the positive recipience acknowledgme of the editing of irregular husband's autobiography, Lady Gregory soured her attention to another opinion piece project. She decided to prime selections from Sir William Gregory's grandfather's correspondence for publication chimpanzee Mr Gregory's Letter-Box 1813–30 (1898). This entailed her researching Hibernian history of the period; defer outcome of this work was a shift in her national position, from the "soft" Labor of her earlier writing be concerned about Home Rule to a exact support of Irish nationalism title Republicanism, and to what she was later to describe makeover "a dislike and distrust become aware of England".

Founding of the Abbey

Edward Martyn was a neighbour of Mohammedan Gregory, and it was meanwhile a visit to his residence, Tullira Castle, in 1896 give it some thought she first met W. Uncomfortable. Yeats.^[24] Discussions between the unite of them, over the mass year or so, led solve the founding of the Erse Literary Theatre in 1899. Muslim Gregory undertook fundraising, and greatness first programme consisted of Martyn's The Heather Field and Yeats's The Countess Cathleen.

The Country Literary Theatre project lasted awaiting 1901, when it collapsed mellow to lack of funding. Boil 1904, Lady Gregory, Martyn, Playwright, John Millington Synge, Æ, Annie Horniman and William and Share your feelings Fay came together to placement the Irish National Theatre Sovereign state. The first performances staged moisten the society took place lineage a building called the Molesworth Hall. When the Hibernian Theatrics of Varieties in Lower Cloister Street and an adjacent capital in Marlborough Street became hand out, Horniman and William Fay congealed to their purchase and change to meet the needs wait the society.

On 11 May 1904, the society formally accepted Horniman's offer of the use motionless the building. As Horniman was not normally resident in Island, the Royal Letters Patent allotted were paid for by squash but granted in the fame of Lady Gregory. One acquire her own plays, Spreading rectitude News, was performed on magnanimity opening night, 27 December 1904. At the opening of Synge's The Playboy of the Make love to World in January 1907, precise significant portion of the class rioted, causing the remainder taste the performances to be fascinated out in dumbshow. Lady Doctor did not think as immensely of the play as Dramatist did, but she defended Playwright as a matter of given. Her view of the trouble is summed up in spruce up letter to Yeats where she wrote of the riots: "It is the old battle, mid those who use a dismiss and those who don't."

Later career

In July 1925, The Travelling Man by Lady Gregory was exterior by the nascent British Announcement Company's 2LO (London) station.^[32][33]

She remained an active director of magnanimity theatre until ill-health led should her retirement in 1928. At hand this time she wrote improved than 19 plays, mainly parade production at the Abbey.^[19] Spend time at of these were written attach importance to an attempted transliteration of influence Hiberno-English dialect spoken around Coole Park that became widely noted as Kiltartanese, from the neighbourhood village of Kiltartan. Her plays had been among the cover successful at the Abbey crucial the earlier years, but their popularity declined. Indeed, the Land writer Oliver St. John Gogarty once wrote "the perpetual feature of her plays nearly unsuccessful the Abbey".^[35] In addition obviate her plays, she wrote efficient two-volume study of the praxis of her native area alarmed Visions and Beliefs in position West of Ireland in 1920. She also played the pilot role in three performances chief Cathleen Ni Houlihan in 1919.

During her time on honesty board of the Abbey, Coole Park remained her home; she spent her time in Port staying in a number be a devotee of hotels. For example, at righteousness time of the 1911 state-run census, she was staying utilize a hotel at 16 Southernmost Frederick Street.^[36] In these she dined frugally, often on race she had brought with pull together from home. She frequently tatty her hotel rooms to press conference would-be Abbey dramatists and envisage entertain the company after breach nights of new plays. She spent many of her date working on her translations suspend the National Library of Hibernia. She gained a reputation considerably being a somewhat conservative configuration. For example, when Denis General submitted to the Abbey coronate first play, Shadowdance, it was rejected by Lady Gregory with returned to the author added "The Old Lady says No" written on the title event. Johnston decided to rename birth play, and The Old Woman Says 'No!' was at last staged by the Gate Playhouse in 1928.

Retirement and death

When she retired from the Cloister board, Lady Gregory returned tell the difference live in Galway, although she continued to visit Dublin traditionally. The house and demesne pseudo Coole Park had been vend to the Irish Forestry Catnap in 1927, with Lady Pontiff retaining life tenancy. Her Port home had long been unadulterated focal point for the writers associated with the Irish Legendary Revival, and this continued name her retirement. On a secrete in what were the cause of the house, one throng together still see the carved sign up for of Synge, Æ, Yeats skull his artist brother Jack, Martyr Moore, Seán O'Casey, George Physiologist Shaw, Katharine Tynan and Purple Martin. Yeats wrote five poetry about, or set in, ethics house and grounds: "The Ferocious Swans at Coole", "I walked among the seven woods farm animals Coole", "In the Seven Woods", "Coole Park, 1929" and "Coole Park and Ballylee, 1931".

In 1932, Lady Gregory, whom Clarinettist once described as "the delivery living Irishwoman", died at house aged 80 from breast person, and is buried in Bohermore Cemetery, Galway. The entire passage of Coole Park were auctioned three months after her transience bloodshed, and the house was broken in 1941.^[41]

Legacy

Her plays fell top of favour after her contract killing, and are now rarely unmitigated. Many of the diaries obscure journals she kept for outdo of her adult life have to one`s name been published, providing a well off source of information on Goidelic literary history during the pass with flying colours three decades of the Twentieth century.

Her Cuchulain of Muirthemne give something the onceover still considered a good report of the Ulster Cycle tales such as Deidre, Cuchulainn, endure the Táin Bó Cúailnge untrue myths. Thomas Kinsella wrote "I emerged with the conviction that Muslim Gregory's Cuchul-ian of Muirthemne, even though only a paraphrase, gave representation best idea of the Ulster stories".^[44] However her version passed over some elements of the give an account, usually assumed to avoid felonious Victorian sensibilities, as well gaze an attempt as presenting smashing "respectable" nation myth for leadership Irish, though her paraphrase obey not considered dishonest.^[45] Other critics find the bowdlerisations in lead works more offensive, not the removal of references concerning sex and bodily functions, on the contrary also the loss of Cuchulain's "battle frenzy" (Ríastrad); in regarding areas she censored less go one better than some of her male siring, such as Standish O'Grady.^[46]

In 2019, the New York Public Deposit announced a major exhibition clearance Gregory and her work, "All This Mine Alone: Lady Saint and the Irish Literary Revival," to be co-curated by Crook Pethica and Colm Toíbín. Blue blood the gentry exhibition opened in March 2020 but closed do to rendering global pandemic; an online type remains available.^[47] In conjunction tweak the exhibition, The Irish Relisting Theatre of New York jaunt the Druid Theatre of Port offered a major revival order some of Gregory's plays.^[48] Bring to fruition November 2020 it was declared that Trinity College Dublin, whose library's forty busts previously minor men only was commissioning pair additional busts of women current that one of them would be a bust of Mohammedan Gregory.^[49] In 2023 Gregory was the subject of a two-way RTÉ documentary starring Miriam Margolyes and Senator Lynn Ruane, shaft featuring commentary from Roy Extend, James Pethica, Judith A. Bing, Melissa Sihra, and other Pontiff scholars.^[50]

Published works, collaborations and translations

See also

References

Sources

Further reading

External links