Biografy into drama in Brendan Behan s work

In this paper, I will present a short view over one of the most important Irish dramatists of the 1950s, Brendan Behan.

It is well known that there is an Irish tradition in literature, Irish drama.

Irish dramatists have been writing plays for hundreds of years. Irish drama is a phenomenon of the century rooted in the social, historical and political background. The real locus of Irish drama, seen as a strong literary tradition, is Dublin and Belfast, but the rural West of Ireland too. Finally, it is a fact that Irish dramatists write their plays to an Irish audience who understand the best all the realities of the plays.

In this context, Irish dramatists express their ideas very often in Gaelic, Irish language, considered to be for most of them, and especially for Brendan Behan, the most expressive language from all the European languages This paper will present Irish drama, and one of his major representatives, Brendan Behan, noted for his powerful political views and earthy satire.

The first part of my paper is the INTRODUCTION, a short presentation of my work, BRENDAN BEHAN: BIOGRAPHY INTO DRAMA.

CHAPTER 1 of the paper, entitled IRISH DRAMA, will present a short exposure of Irish tradition into drama.

This first chapter will explore the context of Irish drama as a traditional literary gender. The politics of Irish Drama is considered primarily to be the political of national self-expression. The traditional Irish Drama is considered to be he expression of the Irish nationalism or identity. This is one of the most important themes of Irish plays, generally speaking, and Behan s plays, particularly speaking. Irish playwrights and their plays are concerned to find a theatrical correlative of intellectual, social, historical and political life of Irish and British-Irish people.

CHAPTER 2 of my paper will be a short presentation of TRANSLATING TRADITION for Irish playwrights.

According to some critics, the translator is a character in search of an author. Many Irish playwrights prefer Gaelic as a language of their own expression, and they use than translation to share their thoughts to other people.

A serious translation is usually an indication of fame and value. Even if texts and events go non translated, it is their translatability, which is significant.

For Brendan Behan Irish is the most expressive language, more direct than English and more bitter. He wrote some of his main works using it.

His masterpiece, The Hostage, written in Gaelic first under the title An Giall, was translated then in English.

For Behan, Gaelic is the language that helps him better to express his soul and thoughts and this is the reason that he prefers sometimes to write in his own language and then to translate in English.

CHAPTER 3 of this paper, entitled BIOGRAPHY OF BRENDAN BEHAN, will present the most important life-events and the literary work of the Irish playwright. Considered to be the most important playwright of the 1950, Behan passed in his life events ...

BEHAN BRENDAN - "THE COMPLETE PLAYS" - METHUEN DRAMA, LONDON, 1995

BROWN TERENCE - "IRELAND: A SOCIAL AND CULTURAL HISTORY 1922 - 1985" - FONTANA PRESS, LONDON, 1985

ETHERTON MICHAEL - "CONTEMPORARY IRISH DRAMATISTS" - ST. MARTINS PRESS, NEW YORK

HARRINGTON JOHN - "MODERN IRISH DRAMA" - NEW YORK, NORTON, 1991

KENNELLY BRENDAN - "LANDMARKS OF IRISH DRAMA" - METHUEN DRAMA, LONDON, 1988

KIBERD DECLAN - "INVENTING IRELAND. THE LITERATURE OF THE MODERN NATION" - VINTAGE, LONDON, 1996

OUSBY IAN - "THE CAMBRIDGE GUIDE TO LITERATURE IN ENGLISH" - UNIVERSITY PRESS, CAMBRIDGE, 1993

OWENS COLLIN D. AND RADNER JOHN N. - "IRISH DRAMA 1900 - 1980" - THE CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF AMERICA PRESS, WASHINGTON D. C. , 1993

SCHRANK BERNICE AND DEMASTES WILLIAM W. - "IRISH PLAYWRIGHTS, 1880 - 1995. A RESEARCH AND PRODUCTION SOURCEBOOK" - GREENWOOD PRESS, WESTPORT, CONNECTICUT AND LONDON, 1997

CONCISE DICTIONARY OF BRITISH LITERARY BIOGRAPHY, VOL. 7, WRITERS AFTER WORLD WAR II 1945 - 1960, A BRUCCOLI CLARK LYMAN BOOK, LONDON, 1991