John Millington Synge, one the most the preeminent playwrights of the Irish Literary Revival, was born in Rathfarnham, Dublin on April 16th, 1871. His father, John Hatch Synge was a barrister and landlord and died a year after his last son's birth. JM's mother, Catherine Trail Synge, was a fiercely sectarian and evangelical Protestant.
Synge suffered from fragile health during his childhood, a pattern that continued throughout his short life. His education was mostly limited to home schooling and was suplemented by hellfire sermons from his fervent mother. Synge was not gripped with the same religious fundamentalism and developed an interest in both Irish mythology and Darwinism, often putting him at odds with his mother.
Have you listened to our podcast? Get the latest on our Episode Page.
Synge entered Trinity College in 1889. He did not distinguish himself academically beyond showing a propensity for the Irish language which was being taught at Trinity to those with church aspirations and a desire to preach in the rural West of Ireland. Synge's interest in the language differed to his fellow students driven by both historical and cultural curiosity. His absorption with the native language resulted in winning the Trinity's 1892 Irish prize.
Synge aspired to a career as a violinist and composer, but his shyness limited his chances of success as a performer. Following his graduation from Trinity in 1892, he travelled to Germany and France with the intention of enhancing his musical education. An 1896 meeting with William Butler Yeats in Paris, encouraged Synge to travel to the Aran Islands where he spent the next five Summers perfecting his Irish while absorbing the islanders' Hiberno-English which became a feature of his future work.
By 1901, Synge had compiled a series of journal entries detailing his understanding of both the geography and people of the Aran Islands which was ultimately published in book form in 1907. This research, supplemented by other visits to the rural West become the basis for many of his plays which shone a light on traditional Irish life.
Synge's playwriting career was tragically short, spanning just 7 years from 1902 to 1909, his impact on Irish literature was seismic peeking with the 1907 The Playboy of the Western World. The play outraged a conservative Irish audience who found the work to be morally offensive and an insult to native culture. The resulting Abbey Theatre riot cemented Synge's reputation as a giant of Irish literature.
Druid Theatre: Playboy of the Western World from Wildfire Films on Vimeo.
Sadly Synge succumbed to Hodgkin's Lymphoma at the age of 37 on March 24th, 1909. He is buried in Dublin's Mount Jerome Cemetery and while his body of work may have been limited, he proved to be lastingly influential to both his contempories and other Irish writers who followed in his wake.
