Instant Access To 100,000+ Essays!

DANCING AT LUGHNASA Essay Title: Jack tells of a “symbolic distancing of…(oneself)…from what you once possessed” How might this be an appropriate description of the dramatic function and thematic importance of Michael’s speeches in the play. Dancing at Lughnasa, a play written by Brian Frier, is a depiction of a man’s memory of his childhood. The narrator, Michael, takes us back to the warm harvest days of August 1936, when he was a seven-year-old boy being brought up by his unmarried mother Chris and her four sisters. The play, through Michael’s narration, touches on different aspects of life of the characters by exploring the occurrence of simple events which contribute an impact to their relationships. However, Michael, as a chorus figure, plays the most significant role which affects our perception of the events which unfold. The play opens up with Michael’s first speech. “When I cast back my mind to that summer of 1936…” We see an apparent reflection of the memory through his language. This phrase is repeatedly mentioned in his first speech which reinforces the notion of reminiscing the past. On the other hand, we see as well how Frier distances Michael from the past events