This text reassesses the aesthetic and political dimensions of the Anglo-Irish Revival's heroic ideal, focusing on the diversity of the cultural landscape carved out by these writers, and its implications for Irish modernity and politics. It is a re-evaluation of the cultural logic of Irish nationalism.

Few poets have captured the imagination of the world like Seamus Heaney. Recognized as one of the truly outstanding poets of our time, Heaney's work is both critically acclaimed and popular with the general reader. It is taught in classrooms across the globe and has been translated into more than twenty-seven languages. Presenting original research from an international field of scholars, Seamus Heaney in Context offers new pathways to explore the places, times and influences that made Heaney a poet. Drawing on newly available archival and print sources, these essays situate Heaney in a multitude of contexts that help readers navigate received ideas about his life and work. In mapping intersecting themes in the current terrain of Heaney criticism, this study also signposts new directions for understanding Heaney's poetry in future contexts.

This book reassesses the cultural and political dimensions of the Irish Revival's heroic ideal and explores its implications for the construction of Irish modernity. By foregrounding the heroic ideal, it shows how the cultural landscape carved out by these writers is far from homogenous.

Brian Friel is Ireland’s leading living playwright, a fact that is easily observable on the billboards of Derry, Dublin, London and New York. These locations are also essential in understanding the range and reach of Friel’s theatrical concerns and his projected audience. From his first major success on stage, Philadelphia Here I Come! in 1964 to the triumph of Dancing at Lughnasa in 1990, Friel has revived and revised the Irish tradition of verbal theatre. This book offers a critical examination of Friel’s dramatic writing both within the context of Irish storytelling and considering his crucial position as a writer from the north of Ireland negotiating between the responsibilities of art and the demands of violent conflict. Friel’s work forms the cornerstone of contemporary Irish drama and this comprehensive study shows why he is recognised as one of the most significant and influential playwrights writing today.