The Origin and Evolution of a Dublin Epic

Abstract

Sean O’Casey’s autobiography was written over a period of more that a quarter of a century. The first volume, I Knock at the Door, was published early in 1939; it was followed by five further instalments: Pictures in the Hallway (1942), Drums under the Windows (1945), Inishfallen, Fare Thee Well (1949), Rose and Crown (1952) and, finally, Sunset and Evening Star late in 1954. In these books considerable liberties are taken with form and subject matter. O’Casey writes in the third person, exhibiting both originality and virtuosity in style and formal presentation in order to realise a wide range of public and private experience and many different states of mind and feeling. As one might expect, a skilful dramatic sense is observed in the evocation of mood and atmosphere, the juxtaposition of scenes, and the large-scale creation of character. An even more impressive quality, however, emerges from the cumulative power of the narrative as a whole: a sense of historical occasion and continuity, which, aided by considerable powers of observation and psychological insight, gives a series of individual events the compass of an epic.

There is no description so hard, nor so profitable as is the description of a man’s own life.

Montaigne