NOTE THIS is not a biographical study of J. M. Synge. "Lies and lives will be written of him," said Mr. Masefield, who was Synge's friend: it is my wish not to add to either. It is more particularly my wish, since a book is shortly to make its appearance that will tell from direct reminiscence all that the world is entitled to hear, written by those who knew Synge well. This book is an essay in dramatic criticism merely, seeking to make clear the beauty and the value of the plays, and their place in English drama. I wish to make the fullest acknowledgment to Messrs. Maunsel and Company, Limited, the publishers of Synge's complete works. I am indebted also to Sir Hugh Lane, for his consent to the reproduction, for the first time, of the portrait by Mr. J. B. Yeats, R.H.A., which is one of the series of portraits painted |