Plot of Playboy of Western World
Plot Summary.
.......It is an autumn evening along the Irish coast in County Mayo. Shawn Keough stops at Michael James Flaherty’s country pub to visit Flaherty’s daughter, Margaret, called Pegeen Mike by her family and friends. Keough, a fat young fellow devoid of wit or talent, means to marry pretty Pegeen, a spirited colleen of twenty who is minding the tavern in her father’s absence. But she entertains no fancy for Shawn. When he pesters her about the “good bargain” she would have in becoming his wife, she tells him to stop tormenting her while she is doing her job.
.......Her father enters with Philly Cullen and Jimmy Farrell. They are on their way to Kate Cassidy’s wake. Flaherty and his friends enjoy wakes, which are among the few lively activities in the Mayo countryside, and they generally stay for the whole night to watch the corpse while imbibing spiritous glee.
.......Pegeen is upset about having to tend the pub alone. After all, who knows what evildoer might steal in from the shadows to set upon her. She complains, "It's a queer father'd be leaving me lonesome these twelve hours of dark, and I piling the turf [peat] with the dogs barking, and the calves mooing, and my own teeth rattling with the fear."
.......When Flaherty suggests that Keough keep her company, Shawn begs off, saying he would incur the wrath of Father Reilly for staying alone with her the whole night. By and by, a slight young fellow named Christy Mahon stumbles in, tired and dirty, and asks for a glass of porter. When he inquires whether the police frequent the establishment, Michael Flaherty thinks he might be on the run. Flaherty and his friends question Christy. Did he commit larceny? Did he stalk a young girl? Did he fail to pay his rent? Is he a counterfeiter? Does he have three wives?
.......Christy, who speaks in a wee voice, says he is the son of a well-to-do farmer and therefore has no need of money. And, says he, he is a decent fellow who would never do wrong to a
.......It is an autumn evening along the Irish coast in County Mayo. Shawn Keough stops at Michael James Flaherty’s country pub to visit Flaherty’s daughter, Margaret, called Pegeen Mike by her family and friends. Keough, a fat young fellow devoid of wit or talent, means to marry pretty Pegeen, a spirited colleen of twenty who is minding the tavern in her father’s absence. But she entertains no fancy for Shawn. When he pesters her about the “good bargain” she would have in becoming his wife, she tells him to stop tormenting her while she is doing her job.
.......Her father enters with Philly Cullen and Jimmy Farrell. They are on their way to Kate Cassidy’s wake. Flaherty and his friends enjoy wakes, which are among the few lively activities in the Mayo countryside, and they generally stay for the whole night to watch the corpse while imbibing spiritous glee.
.......Pegeen is upset about having to tend the pub alone. After all, who knows what evildoer might steal in from the shadows to set upon her. She complains, "It's a queer father'd be leaving me lonesome these twelve hours of dark, and I piling the turf [peat] with the dogs barking, and the calves mooing, and my own teeth rattling with the fear."
.......When Flaherty suggests that Keough keep her company, Shawn begs off, saying he would incur the wrath of Father Reilly for staying alone with her the whole night. By and by, a slight young fellow named Christy Mahon stumbles in, tired and dirty, and asks for a glass of porter. When he inquires whether the police frequent the establishment, Michael Flaherty thinks he might be on the run. Flaherty and his friends question Christy. Did he commit larceny? Did he stalk a young girl? Did he fail to pay his rent? Is he a counterfeiter? Does he have three wives?
.......Christy, who speaks in a wee voice, says he is the son of a well-to-do farmer and therefore has no need of money. And, says he, he is a decent fellow who would never do wrong to a