"J.M. Synge: Short but Sweet", is a very informative essay about the late nineteenth Irish author John Millington Synge. The thesis of the paper implies that Synge's work, written at the end of his life, was influenced most by his early childhood and by his travels across Europe. Therefore, the majority of the rest of the paper acquaints the reader with a more personalized view of J.M. Synge that goes beyond the material of his works.
The essay does a substantial job of providing an in depth view of Synge as a young boy. His father's death, his mother's strong Protestant faith, as well as a harsh and solitary upbringing made a profound impact on the playwright's mindset. His reserved nature and voluntary isolation from those around him distinguish him as an original personality. Fortunately, his work with music sent him to travel throughout the European continent where he would eventually find a comfortable medium in which to express himself.
The essay includes Synge's most influential mentor who provided the turning point of his writing career. And, it is fitting that his influence would himself be a great Irish writer and poet. Only with the advice of W.B. Yeats, did Synge return to Ireland and write about his own country.
After this introduction to Synge's short life- for he died at the age of thirty-eight- the essay digresses to factual dates and events surrounding the author's six plays. It does not complete the goal of the thesis which was to link Synge's life to the content of his work. This was disappointing, especially in the light of the thorough personal introduction. Once the author was well understood, he was not linked to the subject of views of the play. Instead, a description of the structure in the works was detailed, as well as where the plays were debuted.
Perhaps, the author of the essay could have linked Synge to his works with help from John Harrington's text entitled, Modern Irish Drama. This book not only contains a number of Synge's plays, but it also has detailed backgrounds and criticisms to each piece. For example, "J.M. Synge: Short but Sweet" included the playwright's winning prizes from Trinity college in Irish and Hebrew languages as well as his classical education. It also mentioned his rebellion against the Christian religion. This information can be linked directly to the Synge's play "Riders to the Sea", as is explained in a critique from Harrington's text on page 447. There, it says,
This passage indicates pretty clearly what Synge was about when he filled "Riders to the Sea" with mythic intimations and reveals also that, even while he was concerned to present accurately the life and dignity of the Aran peasant, he was also interested in creating a more universal picture of a man surrounded by natural elements and supernatural forces- or beliefs about those supernatural forces- which he is unable to control.
According to the critique, Synge often merged elements of pre-Christian belief with the Christian god, and concepts of Mortality.
"J.M. Synge: Short but Sweet" could have used this as only one example. It is a direct correlation between the playwright's educational background in mythical structures and his non-Christian religious beliefs. This type of content would have directly supported the essay's thesis, unlike the factual account structure and dates that was given.
The essay has a significant amount of original information about J.M. Synge, and for the most part, is very interesting to read. It is only during the last quarter of the paper that the content begins to stray away from the thesis, a problem that could have been rectified by a larger pool of sources as well as a stronger focus on the main theme of the paper. Other than this, it is a very educational and informative piece of work that is worth the time to read it.