Translations

Through Owen and Yolland’s work with the Name Book and Ordinance Survey maps, Translations examines a rich legacy of Irish words, phrases, and stories. While it would be easy to read the British as simple colonists stealing Irish culture, the play occupies a more complex position, demonstrating Yolland’s care for the Irish language, Owen’s complicated perspective toward his homeland, and the sense of loss he feels, knowing that many locals don’t even remember the origins of place names. What does Translations tell us about loss, memory, and language? What does it mean to be an outsider (or a native) in the convoluted world of Friel’s play? 

Through Yolland’s romanticization of Irish and Maire’s romanticization of English, Translations observes a certain beauty in words and ideas that feel foreign, even to the degree of being unintelligible. What does this play tell us about the beauty of language we do not understand? 

Translations contains a number of passages in both Latin and Irish that are not directly rephrased into English. What is the function of these passages? Why does Friel make the decision not to translate them? 

Romantic longing is a fraught subject in Translations, which not only contains a love triangle between Yolland, Maire, and Manus, but a triangle between Maire, Manus, and Sarah. What does Translations tell the viewer about romantic desire? How do romance and love function within the play?

When Yolland attempts to connect with Hugh over their shared love of poetry, Hugh is dismissive toward English literature, saying, “I’m afraid we’re not familiar with your literature, Lieutenant. We feel closer to the warm Mediterranean. We tend to overlook your island” (Act II, Scene One). In light of this statement, and the multitude of Latin phrases in Translations, what role does “the warm Mediterranean” play in the conscience of Baile Beag’s residents?

Set in County Donegal during the summer of 1883, Translations takes place in an era of major change for Ireland. At numerous intervals, the plays draws the viewer’s attention to these atmospheric changes, including shifts in education (and the teaching of language), stirrings of Irish liberation movements (exemplified by Maire’s references to Dan O’Connell), and signs of the Great Famine (suggested by an ominously sweet smell in the fields). Focusing on one of these background changes, discuss how the events of Translations coalesce and correspond with the greater history of Ireland. 

Translations premiered in 1980, which was a time of major cultural and political change in Ireland. The play’s premiere was backgrounded by The Troubles, a period of ethno-nationalist conflict between British and (namely Protestant) Unionists, who wanted Northern Ireland to remain with the UK, and (namely Catholic) Irish republicans, who fought for a united Ireland. After researching the Northern Irish conflict in the early 80s, choose a major event or dialogue and highlight how the themes of Translations converse with more current developments in Irish history. Possible subjects include (but are not limited to): the Irish Republican hunger strikes lead by Bobby Sands in the Maze prison, the ban on Irish language in The Maze prison, and Margaret Thatcher’s public response to IRA leaders (whose voices were forbidden to be played on the radio). 

Translations is filled with significant doubles—actions from the play’s first and second act that are repeated in the third act—including Jimmy’s gesture toward Athene, Maire’s reference to the word “always,” and Sarah’s labored articulation of her own name. This sense of repetition culminates with Hugh’s faulty recitation of a passage from the Aeneid, which he then starts over and redelivers. What is the role of repetition in Translations? How do these repetitions reflect changes between the beginning and end of the play?