User:Rfconover/sandbox

Article Evaluation-Juno and the Paycock (play)


 * Information is relevant. The article is mostly an act by act summary of the plot of the play.
 * Sections could be added on the critical and public reception of the play, the historical background and perhaps some discussion of major themes. There are only two sentences at the beginning of the article that offer any sort of context.
 * A section on the individual characters would also help complete the article.
 * There is a list of adaptations (non-stage productions) up to 2014, but some more recent stage productions could be included as only the original stage production is mentioned.


 * The article does not seem to favour one viewpoint in particular as it is mostly a plot summary and a listing of cast members of various productions.
 * The links in the references and external links sections are functional. However there are very few and are mostly to IMDB pages.
 * No scholarly sources are used.
 * The sources seem unbiased and support the information presented in the article, however there is a lot of useful information in the sources that was not included in the wikipedia article and could be beneficial to the thoroughness of the article.


 * There are only 3 entries on the talk page for this article.
 * One is distinguishing the article as being about the play. not the film, one suggests adding an explanation of the term ``paycock`` and the final comment disputes the nationality of the play`s solicitor although this information is not cited or supported.
 * There is a desire to improve the article as the commentors believe the play to be of importance.
 * The article is part of both the WikiProject Theatre (in which it is rated stub class and of high-importance) and the WikiProject Ireland (in which it is rated C-class and of Mid-Importance)

Editing article Riders to the Sea, Themes section and background section

Background
In 1897, J. M. Synge was encouraged by his friend and colleague William Butler Yeats to visit the Aran Islands. He went on to spend the summers from 1898 to 1903 there. While on the Aran island of Inishmaan, Synge heard the story of a man from Inishmaan whose body washed up on the shore of an island of County Donegal, which inspired Riders to the Sea.

Riders to the Sea is written in the Hiberno-English dialect of the Aran Islands. Synge's use of the native Irish language is part of the Irish Literary Revival, a period when Irish literature looked to encourage pride and nationalism in Ireland.

Several scenes in the play are taken from stories Synge collected during his time in the Aran Islands and recorded in his book The Aran Islands. These include the identifying of the drowned man by his clothing and the account of a man's ghost being seen riding a horse.


 * added hyperlink for book The Aran Islands and for The Aran Islands (place)
 * added last sentence

Paganism
The pervading theme of this work is the subtle paganism Synge observed in the people of rural Ireland. Following his dismissal of Christianity, Synge found that the predominantly Roman Catholic Ireland still retained many of the folktales and superstitions born out of the old Celtic paganism. This play is an examination of that idea as he has a set of deeply religious characters find themselves at odds with an unbeatable force of nature (this being the sea). While the family is clearly Catholic, they still find themselves wary of the supernatural characteristics of natural elements, an idea very present in Celtic paganism.

--just added heading to this part, text is from original page

Tradition vs. Modernity
Another main theme of the play is the tension between the traditional and modern worlds in Ireland at the time. While Maurya, representative of the older Irish generation, is immovably tied to the traditional world and inward-looking, Nora, representative of the younger generation is wiling to change with the outside world and therefore outward-looking. Cathleen, the eldest daughter struggles to bridge these two worlds and hold both in balance.

Fatalism
The characters of the play are at all times in contact with and accepting of the reality of death, the sea and drowning especially being a constant threat. They are caught between the dual realities of the sea as a source of livelihood and a fatal threat. The objects and culture of death in the form of coffins, keening, and mourning are prevalent in the play and are closely based on Synge's observations of the culture of the Aran Islands.


 * added individual headings to themes section
 * added Tradition vs. modernity section and Fatalism section