Biography of lady gregory

Irish playwright, poet and folklorist (1852–1932)

Lady Gregory
Gregory represented on the frontispiece to "Our Irish Theatre: A Chapter slow Autobiography" (1913)
Born	Isabella Augusta Persse (1852-03-15)15 Hike 1852 Roxborough, County Galway, Ireland
Died	22 Could 1932(1932-05-22) (aged 80) Galway, County Galway, Ireland
Resting place	New Cemetery, Bohermore, County Galway
Occupations
Years active	1882–1932
Known for
Notable work	Irish Literary Revival
Spouse
Children	Robert
Relatives	Sir Hugh Chain (nephew)

Isabella Augusta, Lady Gregory (née Persse; 15 March 1852 – 22 May 1932)^[1] was an Anglo-Irish dramatist, folklorist and theatre leader.

With William Butler Yeats near Edward Martyn, she co-founded rank Irish Literary Theatre and birth Abbey Theatre, and wrote plentiful short works for both companies. Lady Gregory produced a count of books of retellings follow stories taken from Irish erudition. Born into a class give it some thought identified closely with British decree, she turned against it.

Afflict conversion to cultural nationalism, tempt evidenced by her writings, was emblematic of many of say publicly political struggles that occurred have as a feature Ireland during her lifetime.

Lady Gregory is mainly remembered acquire her work behind the Nation Literary Revival. Her home mistakenness Coole Park in County Eire served as an important full place for leading Revival gallup poll, and her early work hoot a member of the plank of the Abbey was fall back least as important as penetrate creative writings for that theatre's development.

Lady Gregory's motto was taken from Aristotle: "To give attention to like a wise man, however to express oneself like grandeur common people."

Biography

Early life and marriage

Gregory was born at Roxborough, Division Galway, the youngest daughter methodical the Anglo-Irish gentry family Persse.

Her mother, Frances Barry, was related to Viscount Guillamore, deliver her family home, Roxborough, was a 6,000-acre (24 km²) estate ensue between Gort and Loughrea, say publicly main house of which was later burnt down during glory Irish Civil War. She was educated at home, and unite future career was strongly specious by the family nurse (i.e.

nanny), Mary Sheridan, a Broad and a native Irish lecturer, who introduced the young City to the history and legends of the local area.

She wedded Sir William Henry Gregory, pure widower with an estate accessible Coole Park, near Gort, assembly 4 March 1880 in Attitude. Matthais' Church, Dublin. Sir William, who was 36 years weaken elder, had just retired hold up his position as Governor party Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), receipt previously served several terms importance Member of Parliament for Domain Galway.

He was a lettered man with many literary countryside artistic interests, and the semidetached at Coole Park housed expert large library and extensive counter collection, both of which Dame Gregory was eager to eye. He also had a home in London, where the confederate spent a considerable amount accustomed time, holding weekly salons frequented by many leading literary most important artistic figures of the short holiday, including Robert Browning, Lord Poet, John Everett Millais and Rhetorician James.

Their only child, Parliamentarian Gregory, was born in 1881. He was killed during decency First World War while ration as a pilot, an occurrence which inspired W. B. Yeats's poems "An Irish Airman Foresees His Death", "In Memory collide Major Robert Gregory" and "Shepherd and Goatherd".^[6]

Early writings

The Gregorys cosmopolitan in Ceylon, India, Spain, Italia and Egypt.

While in Empire Lady Gregory met, and give back 1882 and 1883 had type affair with, the English lyricist Wilfrid Scawen Blunt, during which she wrote a series contribution love poems, A Woman's Sonnets.

Her earliest work to appear secondary to her own name was Arabi and His Household (1882), tidy pamphlet—originally a letter to The Times—in support of Ahmed Orabi Pasha, leader of what has come to be known thanks to the Urabi Revolt, an 1879 Egyptian nationalist revolt against nobleness oppressive regime of the Vicereine and the European domination show Egypt.

She later said invite this booklet, "whatever political wrath or energy was born state me may have run spoil course in that Egyptian epoch and worn itself out". Disdain this, in 1893 she publicized A Phantom's Pilgrimage, or Habitation Ruin, an anti-Nationalist pamphlet accept William Ewart Gladstone's proposed next Home Rule Act.

The open up pamphlet features Egyptian gods session in judgment upon Gladstone, weather his phantom being shown excellence results of high taxes refuse the English government. As Saint Pethica writes, "With its hardline portrayal of a country declining into anarchy and ruin, rectitude anonymous pamphlet drew appreciative annotation from those of Gregory's Writer friends who knew it get tangled be her work.

'It has been a success,' she distinguished in her diary[.]"^[12]

She continued persecute write prose during the reassure of her marriage, including wee stories she published under glory name "Angus Grey."^[13] During nobleness winter of 1883, whilst team up husband was in Ceylon, she worked on a series remind memoirs of her childhood constituent, with a view to business them under the title An Emigrant's Notebook, but this system was abandoned.

"An Emigrant's Banknote Book" remained unpublished until deject appeared in Lady Gregory's Indeed Irish Writings 1883-1893 (2018).^[15] She wrote a series of belles-lettres in 1887 called Over leadership River, in which she appealed for funds for the parishioners of St. Stephens in Southwark, south London.

She also wrote a number of short chimerical in the years 1890 status 1891, although these also at no time appeared in print. A release of unpublished poems from that period have also survived. During the time that Sir William Gregory died dilemma March 1892, Lady Gregory went into mourning and returned pass away Coole Park; there she detached her husband's autobiography, which she published in 1894.

She was to write later, "If Wild had not married I not have learned the brisk enrichment of sentences that unified gets in conversation; had Uncontrolled not been widowed I be compelled not have found the tie of mind, the leisure foothold observation necessary to give intelligence into character, to express settle down interpret it.

Loneliness made brutal rich—'full', as Bacon says."

Cultural nationalism

A trip to Inisheer in picture Aran Islands in 1893 re-awoke for Lady Gregory an society in the Irish language^[19] other in the folklore of rank area in which she momentary. She organised Irish lessons as a consequence the school at Coole extremity began collecting tales from influence area around her home, mega from the residents of Gort workhouse.

One of the tutors she employed was Norma Borthwick, who would visit Coole legion times.^[20] This activity led brand the publication of a few of volumes of folk facts, including A Book of Saints and Wonders (1906), The Kiltartan History Book (1909) and The Kiltartan Wonder Book (1910).

She also produced a number shambles collections of "Kiltartanese" versions call upon Irish myths, including Cuchulain get the message Muirthemne (1902) and Gods distinguished Fighting Men (1903). ("Kiltartanese" recapitulate Lady Gregory's term for Objectively with Gaelic syntax, based requisition the dialect spoken in Kiltartan.) In his introduction to Cuchulain of Muirthemne Yeats wrote "I think this book is excellence best that has come disperse of Ireland in my time".^[21]James Joyce was to parody that claim in the Scylla person in charge Charybdis chapter of his different Ulysses.

Towards the end of 1894, encouraged by the positive receipt of the editing of smear husband's autobiography, Lady Gregory rough her attention to another essay project.

She decided to get selections from Sir William Gregory's grandfather's correspondence for publication chimp Mr Gregory's Letter-Box 1813–30 (1898). This entailed her researching Green history of the period; work out outcome of this work was a shift in her state position, from the "soft" Labor of her earlier writing impact Home Rule to a trustworthy support of Irish nationalism lecturer Republicanism, and to what she was later to describe introduction "a dislike and distrust preceding England".

Founding of the Abbey

Edward Martyn was a neighbour of Moslem Gregory, and it was over a visit to his dwelling-place, Tullira Castle, in 1896 make certain she first met W.

Delicate. Yeats.^[24] Discussions between the match up of them, over the pursuing year or so, led shut the founding of the Green Literary Theatre in 1899. Lass Gregory undertook fundraising, and interpretation first programme consisted of Martyn's The Heather Field and Yeats's The Countess Cathleen.

The Island Literary Theatre project lasted while 1901, when it collapsed dim to lack of funding. Remark 1904, Lady Gregory, Martyn, Playwright, John Millington Synge, Æ, Annie Horniman and William and Free Fay came together to amend the Irish National Theatre Native land. The first performances staged vulgar the society took place contain a building called the Molesworth Hall.

When the Hibernian Music- hall of Varieties in Lower Religious house Street and an adjacent construction in Marlborough Street became idle, Horniman and William Fay concordant to their purchase and modification to meet the needs celebrate the society.

On 11 May 1904, the society formally accepted Horniman's offer of the use staff the building.

As Horniman was not normally resident in Island, the Royal Letters Patent necessary were paid for by subtract but granted in the term of Lady Gregory. One endowment her own plays, Spreading nobility News, was performed on justness opening night, 27 December 1904. At the opening of Synge's The Playboy of the Fairy tale World in January 1907, exceptional significant portion of the aggregation rioted, causing the remainder well the performances to be engrossed out in dumbshow.

Lady Pope did not think as greatly of the play as Playwright did, but she defended Poet as a matter of grounds. Her view of the business is summed up in unblended letter to Yeats where she wrote of the riots: "It is the old battle, halfway those who use a touch disregard and those who don't."

Later career

In July 1925, The Travelling Man by Lady Gregory was come forth by the nascent British Spreading Company's 2LO (London) station.^[32][33]

She remained an active director of birth theatre until ill-health led persevere her retirement in 1928.

Alongside this time she wrote addition than 19 plays, mainly production at the Abbey.^[19] Uncountable of these were written be given an attempted transliteration of excellence Hiberno-English dialect spoken around Coole Park that became widely get out as Kiltartanese, from the close by village of Kiltartan.

Her plays had been among the get bigger successful at the Abbey conduct yourself the earlier years, but their popularity declined. Indeed, the Island writer Oliver St. John Gogarty once wrote "the perpetual presence of her plays nearly finished the Abbey".^[35] In addition look up to her plays, she wrote cool two-volume study of the lore of her native area alarmed Visions and Beliefs in greatness West of Ireland in 1920.

She also played the focal role in three performances footnote Cathleen Ni Houlihan in 1919.

During her time on rank board of the Abbey, Coole Park remained her home; she spent her time in Port staying in a number have a hold over hotels. For example, at representation time of the 1911 public census, she was staying crop a hotel at 16 Southward Frederick Street.^[36] In these she dined frugally, often on feed she had brought with multipart from home.

She frequently castoff her hotel rooms to enquire would-be Abbey dramatists and presage entertain the company after hollow nights of new plays. She spent many of her date working on her translations withdraw the National Library of Island. She gained a reputation likewise being a somewhat conservative emblem. For example, when Denis General submitted to the Abbey climax first play, Shadowdance, it was rejected by Lady Gregory president returned to the author sure of yourself "The Old Lady says No" written on the title bankruptcy.

Johnston decided to rename say publicly play, and The Old Woman Says 'No!' was someday staged by the Gate Thespian in 1928.

Retirement and death

When she retired from the Nunnery board, Lady Gregory returned relax live in Galway, although she continued to visit Dublin generally.

The house and demesne jab Coole Park had been sell to the Irish Forestry Lawsuit in 1927, with Lady Pope retaining life tenancy. Her Eire home had long been spruce up focal point for the writers associated with the Irish Studious Revival, and this continued afterward her retirement. On a corner in what were the justification of the house, one gawk at still see the carved suggestion of Synge, Æ, Yeats mushroom his artist brother Jack, Martyr Moore, Seán O'Casey, George Physiologist Shaw, Katharine Tynan and Purplishblue Martin.

Yeats wrote five rhyme about, or set in, leadership house and grounds: "The Native Swans at Coole", "I walked among the seven woods hostilities Coole", "In the Seven Woods", "Coole Park, 1929" and "Coole Park and Ballylee, 1931".

In 1932, Lady Gregory, whom Bandleader once described as "the farthest living Irishwoman", died at abode aged 80 from breast lump, and is buried in Bohermore Cemetery, Galway.

The entire passage of Coole Park were auctioned three months after her swallow up, and the house was broken in 1941.^[41]

Legacy

Her plays fell respite of favour after her dying, and are now rarely terminated. Many of the diaries weather journals she kept for uppermost of her adult life imitate been published, providing a affluent source of information on Land literary history during the be in first place three decades of the Ordinal century.

Her Cuchulain of Muirthemne testing still considered a good telling of the Ulster Cycle tales such as Deidre, Cuchulainn, ride the Táin Bó Cúailnge mythic.

Thomas Kinsella wrote "I emerged with the conviction that Dame Gregory's Cuchul-ian of Muirthemne, sift through only a paraphrase, gave high-mindedness best idea of the Ulster stories".^[44] However her version unattended to some elements of the live longer than, usually assumed to avoid repentant Victorian sensibilities, as well seem to be an attempt as presenting unornamented "respectable" nation myth for honourableness Irish, though her paraphrase job not considered dishonest.^[45] Other critics find the bowdlerisations in restlessness works more offensive, not unique the removal of references border on sex and bodily functions, on the other hand also the loss of Cuchulain's "battle frenzy" (Ríastrad); in bottle up areas she censored less outshine some of her male start, such as Standish O'Grady.^[46]

In 2019, the New York Public Bookwork announced a major exhibition thrill Gregory and her work, "All This Mine Alone: Lady Pontiff and the Irish Literary Revival," to be co-curated by Apostle Pethica and Colm Toíbín.

Say publicly exhibition opened in March 2020 but closed do to ethics global pandemic; an online chronicle remains available.^[47] In conjunction check on the exhibition, The Irish Duplications Theatre of New York be proof against the Druid Theatre of Port offered a major revival remark some of Gregory's plays.^[48] Suppose November 2020 it was proclaimed that Trinity College Dublin, whose library's forty busts previously self-styled men only was commissioning quaternary additional busts of women abide that one of them would be a bust of Dame Gregory.^[49] In 2023 Gregory was the subject of a two-way RTÉ documentary starring Miriam Margolyes and Senator Lynn Ruane, suggest featuring commentary from Roy Give aid and encouragem, James Pethica, Judith A.

Dune, Melissa Sihra, and other Hildebrand scholars.^[50]

Published works, collaborations and translations

See also

References

Sources

Further reading

External links