Sean O’Casey

Sean O’Casey (born March 30, 1880, Dublin, Ire.—died Sept. 18, 1964, Torquay, Devon, Eng.) was
an Irish playwright renowned for realistic dramas of the Dublin slums in war and revolution, in which
tragedy and comedy are juxtaposed in a way new to the theatre of his time.

O’Casey was born into a lower middle-class Irish Protestant family. His father died when John was
six, and thereafter the family became progressively poorer. With only three years of formal schooling,
he educated himself by reading. He started work at 14, mostly at manual labour, including several
years with the Irish railways. (O’Casey would later exaggerate the hardships and poverty he had
experienced during childhood.)

O’Casey became caught up in the cause of Irish nationalism, and he changed his name to its Irish form
and learned Gaelic. His attitudes were greatly influenced by the poverty and squalor he witnessed in
Dublin’s slums and by the teachings of the Irish labour leader Jim Larkin. O’Casey became active in
the labour movement and wrote for the Irish Worker. He also joined the Irish Citizen Army, a
paramilitary arm of the Irish labour unions, and drew up its constitution in 1914. At this time he
became disillusioned with the Irish nationalist movement because its leaders put nationalist ideals
before socialist ones. O’Casey did not take part in the 1916 Easter Rising against the British
authorities.

Disgusted with the existing political parties, he turned his energies to drama. His tragicomedies
reflect in part his mixed feelings about his fellow slum dwellers, seeing them as incapable of giving a
socialist direction to the Irish cause but at the same time admirable for their unconquerable spirit.

After several of his plays had been rejected, the Abbey Theatre in Dublin produced The Shadow of a
Gunman (1923), set during the guerrilla strife between the Irish Republican Army and British forces.
In 1924 the Abbey staged Juno and the Paycock, his most popular play, set during the period of civil
war over the terms of Irish independence. The Plough and the Stars (1926), with the 1916 Easter
Rising as its background, caused riots at the Abbey by patriots who thought the play denigrated Irish
heroes. When first produced in the 1920s, these plays had an explosive effect on the audiences at the
Abbey and helped to enlarge that theatre’s reputation.

O’Casey went to England in 1926, met the Irish actress Eileen Carey Reynolds, married her, and
henceforth made England his home. His decision to live outside Ireland was motivated in part by the
Abbey’s rejection of The Silver Tassie, a partly Expressionist antiwar drama produced in England in
1929. Another Expressionist play, Within the Gates (1934), followed, in which the modern world is
symbolized by the happenings in a public park. The Star Turns Red (1940) is an antifascist play, and
the semiautobiographical Red Roses for Me (1946) is set in Dublin at the time of the Irish railways
strike of 1911.

His later plays, given to fantasy and ritual and directed against the life-denying puritanism he thought
had beset Ireland, include Cock-a-Doodle Dandy (1949), The Bishop’s Bonfire (1955), and The Drums
of Father Ned (1958). His last full-length play was a satire on Dublin intellectuals, Behind the Green
Curtains (published 1961).

O’Casey’s three indisputably great plays are The Shadow of a Gunman, Juno and the
Paycock, and The Plough and the Stars. All are tragicomedies set in the slums of Dublin during times
of war and revolution. Violent death and the everyday realities of tenement life throw into relief the
blustering rhetoric and patriotic swagger of men caught up in the struggle for Irish independence. The
resulting ironic juxtapositions of the comic and tragic reveal the waste of war and the corrosive effects
of poverty. O’Casey’s gifts were for vivid characterization and working-class language, and, though he
portrayed war and poverty, he wrote some of the funniest scenes in modern drama. O’Casey’s later
plays are not considered as powerful or moving as his earlier realistic plays. In his later plays he
tended to abandon vigorous characterization in favour of expressionism and symbolism, and
sometimes the drama is marred by didacticism.

Juno and the Paycock Study Guide

Juno and the Paycock is the second of three O’Casey plays in what is known as the “Dublin trilogy,” set in
the tumultuous years of 1916-1923. During Easter Week in 1916, Irish nationalists rose against the United
Kingdom in an attempt to secede from the union and establish an independent Irish Republic. While the Easter
Rising was quickly suppressed, it brought the republican cause to the forefront of Irish politics. In December
1918, republicans won 73 of 105 seats in the General Election to the British Parliament, and in January 1919
they declared the independence of the Irish Republic. The declaration coincided with the start of a guerrilla war
fought between the Irish Republican Army (IRA) and the British government, fought between 1919-1921. The
first play of the trilogy, The Shadow of a Gunman, takes place during this war, while the third, The
Plough and the Stars, is set at the time of the Easter Rising.
In 1921, the IRA signed a peace treaty with the British government which gave self-government to 16 of 22
Irish counties. The treaty was highly controversial, with die-hard Republicans insisting on the independence of
all of Ireland. From 1922-3 a civil war ensued between the Republicans (also known as Diehards or Irregulars)
and the Irish Free State forces, who had accepted the treaty. This is the setting for Juno and the Paycock,
which depicts the life of the Boyle family set against the backdrop of factional struggles.
In Juno, O’Casey draws upon his firsthand knowledge of slum tenements and workers’ suffering during the
1913 Lock Out to depict the ensuing hardships of poverty, malnutrition, disease, and lack of privacy. The play
has been praised for O’Casey’s realistic representation of idiomatic Dublin speech, rich literary allusions,
characterization, social conscience, and blend of comedy and tragedy.
Juno premiered on March 3, 1924 at the esteemed Abbey Theater and was an immediate success, playing for a
second week for the first time in the theater’s history. It is one of the most highly regarded and often performed
plays in Ireland. It has since been reproduced for other media, including a British film adaptation directed by
Alfred Hitchcock in 1930.

Juno and the Paycock Character List

'Captain' Jack Boyle
Jack Boyle is the "paycock" (peacock) in the play's title, so nicknamed by his wife Juno as he struts around in a
showy way without doing anything useful. He refuses to look for work, complaining of pains in his legs when
anyone suggests he applies for a job. Instead he prefers to spend his time drinking and consorting with his friend
'Joxer' Daly. While his antics are often humorous, he is deluded and self-centered. He calls himself a captain
and regales others with stories of his seafaring days, but in fact he was only once on a vessel. His invalid son
Johnny cannot count on him for help, and when his daughter Mary becomes pregnant, he thinks only of the
shame her plight will bring upon him. His short time thinking he will inherit several thousand pounds from a
relative make little difference. He borrows money and makes purchases on credit, and when he finds out the
legacy is worthless he tries to withhold this information from his creditors. He ends drunk and nearly penniless,
no different than how he was when the play began.
Juno Boyle
Juno Boyle is Jack Boyle's wife. She acquired her nickname because of the many momentous occasions which
occurred in June: she was born and christened in June, met her husband in June, married in June, and gave birth
to her son Johnny in June. The name Juno also refers to the sister and wife of Jupiter in Roman mythology, the
goddess of marriage and love. We see by the end of the play that Juno is aptly named, for she is a strong
character who can be thought of as a symbol of womankind. She is the only member of her family who is
working, since Boyle is unemployed, Mary is on strike, and Johnny is injured, and she acts as a kind of martyr
who keeps her family afloat. She feeds her family, comforts her son, tries to get Boyle to work, and supports her
pregnant daughter when nobody else will. In contrast to her husband, she becomes stronger and wiser due to the
tragic circumstances of their lives, learning to think of the plight of all humanity and not just that of herself and
her family.

Juno is compared to other feminine archetypes as well as the Roman goddess. Boyle grumbles that she should
have been called "Deirdre of the Sorras" (Deirdre of the Sorrows), a mythical figure who inadvertently caused
the death of her lover and his brothers; she, like Juno, abandons her self-centered husband. Another reference
compares her to Cathleen ni Houlihan, a maternal figure who has long served as a symbol of Ireland. She can
even be compared to the Virgin Mary, who, like Mrs. Tancred and Juno, lost a beloved son, and whose picture
hangs on the Boyles' living-room wall.
Johnny Boyle
Johnny is Juno and Boyle's son. He was hit in the hip during the Easter Week rebellion, and his arm was blown
off by a bomb. He is thin, delicate, and fearful. Whenever talk turns to fighting or the murder of Mrs. Tancred's
son, he cannot bear to listen. It turns out that Johnny gave information that led to that murder, although they had
been comrades. His lack of moral virtue can be seen not only in that act of treachery, but also in the way he
turns on his sister Mary when she becomes pregnant. He is shot and killed in Act III in retaliation for his
contribution to Robbie Tancred's death.
Mary Boyle
Mary is Juno and Boyle's 22-year-old daughter. While she has a job, she is on strike for the duration of the play
in protest of the firing of a fellow worker. Mary is torn between the circumstances of her life pulling her back
and the influence of the books she reads pushing her forward. She is attracted to Charlie Bentham, a
schoolteacher whose worldliness offers an escape from her dreary life, whom she chooses over her other suitor,
Jerry Devine. She is also somewhat vain, looking in mirrors and considering what ribbon to wear while her
family worries about more serious matters. Mary ends up pregnant and abandoned by her fiancé. Her plight
reveals the character of others in the play: Juno supports her and offers to help raise the child, while the men in
her life - Boyle, Johnny, Jerry, and the baby's father, Bentham - all turn from her.
'Joxer' Daly
Joxer is Boyle's amiable drinking companion. He is typically ingratiating to whomever he is with, even if it
means contradicting himself as soon as he changes companions. Like Boyle, he avoids working, instead
spending his time drinking and consorting with Boyle. Juno detests him and tries to keep him from freeloading,
but he manages to nonetheless. He is a comical character and the source of many of the play's literary allusions.
Mrs. Maisie Madigan
Mrs. Maisie Madigan lives in the same tenement as the Boyle family. She is ignorant and forward but has a
generous heart. The female counterpart of Joxer, she is inclined to reminisce, as we see her do about Mary's
birth, her late husband, and singing at a party when she was much younger. She eagerly pawns some of her
possessions to lend money to Boyle when she thinks he will be getting a legacy, but she has no sympathy for
him when she realizes he will not be able to pay them back.
'Needle' Nugent
Needle Nugent is another neighbor in the tenement. He chastises the family for playing music while the funeral
of Mrs. Tancred's son is passing the house; however, he may not have much moral ground to stand on, as Mrs.
Madigan accuses him of supporting both the Republicans and the Free States. He makes Boyle a suit on credit,
but upon visiting the solicitor's office, he finds out that the legacy is worthless and takes back the suit from
Boyle's bedside.
Mrs. Tancred
Mrs. Tancred, another neighbor, is the mother of Robbie Tancred, the boy shot after Johnny let his ambushers
know his whereabouts. She is bringing the body of her son to the church the evening that Boyle and his family
celebrate the news of his legacy. She mourns not only her son's death, but also the war which pits son against
son. Juno mimics Mrs. Tancred's words when Johnny is shot and undergoes a kind of spiritual growth in which
she thinks beyond her own suffering.
Jerry Devine
Jerry Devine, another tenement-dweller, brings word to Boyle that Father Farrell can get him a job. He is active
in the labor union and hopes to become secretary, which would earn him a good salary. Jerry is one of Mary's
suitors, but she rejects him in favor of Charlie Bentham. He returns after the Boyles have lost their inheritance
and proclaims his love despite her disloyalty, but he leaves when he learns that Mary is pregnant.
Charles Bentham
Charlie Bentham is a schoolteacher with sophisticated ideas, who believes in Theosophism and can give a
scientific explanation for ghosts. He is now studying law and brings news of Boyle's legacy. It was he who
wrote out the will for Boyle's cousin Mr. Ellison, who intended to leave his property to Boyle and his second
cousin Michael Finnegan. However, due to the wording of the will, the property ends up being divided between
all of Ellison's first and second cousins and the legacy is worthless. Bentham is engaged to Mary, but he
abandons her after getting her pregnant once the legacy is gone.
an Irregular mobilizer
The "Mobilizer" is an officer charged with calling soldiers to action. He comes for Johnny while his family
watches the funeral procession for Mrs. Tancred's son and orders him to attend a meeting, as the battalion staff
suspect he may know something about Robbie Tancred's death.
two Irregulars
Two Irregulars come for Johnny at the end of the play, foreshadowed by the extermination of the votive light
under the picture of the Virgin Mary. We can see Johnny's cowardice as they drag him away; it is the last time
he is seen alive.
a coal-block vendor
A coal-block vendor drops in on Boyle and Joxer as they have tea in the beginning of the play. He instigates a
comic scene in which Joxer frantically tries to climb out of the window, thinking the vendor is Juno. His
character is one of several which provides some comic relief to the underlying tragedy.
a sewing machine man
A sewing machine man drops in on Boyle as he cooks breakfast. He thinks the man is Juno and hurries to hide
the food, since out of pride he had told Juno he wouldn't have breakfast that morning. The appearance of the
sewing machine man provides some comedy as we witness Boyle's reaction.
two furniture removal men
The furniture removal men arrive at the Boyles' apartment after Boyle fails to pay the bill for two months. They
add to the general confusion and foreshadow the disintegration of the Boyle family.
two neighbors
Two neighbors accompany Mrs. Tancred as she brings the body of her murdered son to church.
Juno and the Paycock Summary and Analysis of Act I
Summary
The scene opens on a two-room apartment in a tenement house in Dublin. There is a picture of the Virgin Mary,
below which hangs a bowl containing a floating votive candle. Furnishings and other belongings are sparse,
consisting of a dresser, a small bed, a fireplace, a box of coal, an alarm clock, a bath, a table and chairs, a
teapot, a frying pan, a few books, and a long-handled shovel.

The act opens with Juno Boyle and her daughter Mary discussing the murder of their neighbor Mrs.
Tancred’s son, written up in the morning newspaper. Mary's brother Johnny - thin, pale, and fearful - irritably
tells them to stop reading and leaves the room.
Juno asks if her husband, 'Captain' Jack Boyle, has come in yet. She tells Mary he’ll have to go without
breakfast if he doesn’t come in soon, for she is afraid he will invite his friend 'Joxer' Daly in to share his tea if
she leaves. She complains that he has already worn out his health insurance and will soon be out of
unemployment, yet he is always singing. Mary seems unperturbed, tying a ribbon around her head and musing
about which color to wear. Her mother complains about her being on strike and thus not contributing to the
household, but Mary insists that “a principle’s a principle”.

Johnny re-enters. He walks with a limp, having been shot in the hip during the Easter Week rebellion, and he
has also lost an arm. He is upset that Mary is leaving the house, since he doesn't want to stay home by himself.
Juno reminds him that his father will be home soon, but Johnny counters that his father hates to be asked to do
anything. He asks if the candle in front of the picture of the Virgin Mary is still lit, and Juno reassures him that
it is.

Jerry Devine, a young man, enters and Mary hurries out. He reports that Father Farrell has offered Boyle a
job, but Boyle is still out drinking with his friend Joxer. Jerry rushes out to find him and Juno complains that
her husband will deliberately miss the job.
Boyle and Joxer can be heard coming up the stairs, with Boyle singing. Juno sits on the bed with draperies
hiding her from view of the newcomers. Boyle invites Joxer inside, re-assuring him that Juno has left. He
grumbles that Juno is always complaining, and Joxer agrees that this is a hard thing to put up with. Boyle offers
Joxer a cup of tea. At this point Juno makes her presence known. She sarcastically offers Joxer an egg as well;
flustered, he says he is in a hurry. Boyle and Joxer begin talking of visiting the foreman of a job to start
working. Juno expresses her disgust for the charade and chastises her husband for his laziness. She complains
that everyone calls him “Captain” when he only once went out on the water.

Juno asks Boyle if he saw Jerry. She complains that he was in a pub; Boyle swears he was not. When she urges
him to eat breakfast, Boyle proudly counters, “I’ll have no breakfast - you can keep your breakfast…. I’ve a
little spirit left in me still”. Jerry re-enters and confirms that Boyle was lying, since the foreman in Foley’s pub
told him Boyle had left just ten minutes earlier. Rather than confess or apologize, Boyle complains about being
watched all the time. Jerry delivers his news - that he can have a job if he goes to Rathmines - and Boyle
complains of sudden pain in his legs that would make it hard for him to work.

Boyle goes into the bedroom to change into his work pants and Juno leaves for work. Jerry speaks with Mary,
telling her that he will likely be elected secretary of his union and explaining how well he could support her.
Mary has no interest and asks him to let her go, shouting when he refuses. Boyle re-appears and asks what all
the “hillabaloo” is about. Mary and Jerry exit, and Boyle complains about children not caring about their
parents anymore.

Despite his bold words, Boyle puts the breakfast sausage on the pan to cook and starts to sing. Steps are heard
on the stairs and he hides the pan under the bed, but it is only a man asking if he wants a sewing machine. Boyle
continues to cook his breakfast and sing, but is interrupted again by thundering knocking at the street-level
door. Johnny fearfully asks who it is. Joxer is afraid to look, but Boyle says it is a man with a trench coat who is
going away.

Boyle invites Joxer to stay for tea. Joxer is afraid that Juno might return, but Boyle convinces him that if she
did, he could climb out the window and hide on the roof. Joxer agrees to stay and the two speak briefly of
books, inspired by one of Mary's on the table. Boyle tells Joxer of the job he is going to. Joxer says it is good
news, but Boyle reminds him of the pains in his legs. The two complain about Jerry Devine, Father Farrell, and
the clergy, with Boyle arguing that it's no way to reward Johnny for his service to his country by making his
father work. A coal vendor's voice can be heard selling coal-blocks as Boyle and Joxer reminisce about Boyle's
fictitious days on a ship. The two hear footsteps near the door; Boyle frantically tries to hide everything and
Joxer rushes to escape out the window, but it is only the coal vendor, asking if they want any coal. Boyle asserts
that he's had enough of following Juno's orders: "Today, Joxer, there's goin' to be issued a proclamation be me,
establishin' an independent Republic, an' Juno'll have to take an oath of allegiance".

Juno's voice can be heard outside and Joxer throws himself out the window. When Juno enters, Boyle denies her
assertions that he and Joxer had been together. She tells him to smarten himself up as a visitor is coming; Boyle
assumes the visit has to do with another job.

Juno fusses to tidy the room and Mary enters with Charlie Bentham, a tall, good-looking young man. Boyle and
Johnny can be heard arguing humorously as Boyle changes out of his work pants. Juno introduces Johnny to
Bentham, boasting of her son's service to Ireland, and then introduces her husband. Bentham explains that
Boyle's cousin Mr. Ellison has died, and that he wished to leave his property only to his second cousin, Michael
Finnegan of Santry, and to Boyle, his first cousin. He explains that half of the property would be worth between
1500 and 2000 pounds. The entire family is ecstatic. Boyle claims that he is finished consorting with Joxer, who
angrily climbs in through the window. The two argue humorously, Joxer exits, and Boyle claims he is a new
man, singing emotionally to his wife about how dear she is to him.

Analysis
O'Casey's plays are "slices of life" rather than intricate stories, with their significance resting upon the main
characters. In Act I we get a good sense of Boyle's character. He is exceedingly selfish; Johnny notes that he
hates to be asked to do anything, and when Jerry Devine grabs Mary and she cries for help, all Boyle does is
complain about the noise. He lies without remorse and invents pains in his legs to avoid having to work. Boyle
is set up in opposition to Juno, a pillar of strength. While Boyle tries to escape reality through drinking and
fantasies of his former life as a sea captain, Juno faces reality and takes care of her family.

The act also introduces the play's major themes. We see the dehumanizing influence of poverty, the tragic effect
of the war on Johnny, and the futile way in which Mary tries to escape the circumstances of her life through
education. We can also see the reflection of O'Casey's life in the play's events. O'Casey was deeply influenced
by the 1913 Dublin Lockout, in which Dublin employers locked out unionized workers for six months; thus the
character of Mary likely reflects his union sympathies. His pessimistic view of the Easter Rising is evident in
the character of Johnny, who represents the cost of the rebellion in terms of the human spirit.

The stagecraft is expertly executed to support the play's themes. A clock lies face down on the mantel,
symbolizing the way that time stands still for the Boyles. A shovel leans against the dresser, unused due to
Boyle's avoidance of work. The mirror and the books by Ibsen on the table represent two opposing forces
influencing Mary, her vanity and her desire to better herself through education. Towards the end of the act, we
hear Boyle changing clothes practically in front of the audience, an offstage convention brought onto the stage;
it is almost as if he is only acting a part in the drama of human life.
The play is tragicomic, containing elements of both comedy and tragedy. Act I is full of comic incidents: the
appearance of the sewing machine vendor and the coal vendor, Joxer's hasty retreat to the roof, Juno's attempt to
catch Boyle and Joxer, and the men's mock-intellectual discussions about books and the nature of the stars and
the moon all lighten the mood and make the audience laugh. At the same time, there is an undercurrent of
tragedy reflected in Johnny's injuries, his overwhelming fear when he hears a man knocking in the street, and
the poverty of the household.

The language is rich with literary allusions. Juno is compared with the mythical figures of Deirdre of the
Sorrows and Cathleen ni Houlihan, while Joxer's speech is full of references from literary and oral
traditions. The play also provides an excellent reproduction of Dublin speech. We see words such as "chiselurs"
for children, "chassis" for chaos, and "braces" for suspenders, and irregular spellings reflect Irish tenement
dwellers' unique pronunciations. There are also comical phrases and malapropisms such as "Antanarctic
Ocean," a portmanteau formed by combining the words Antarctica and Arctic Ocean.

Juno and the Paycock Summary and Analysis of Act II

Summary
The second act takes place two days after the first. The setting is the same tenement apartment, but it is now full
of gaudy furniture, pictures, huge vases with artificial flowers, and paper chains stretching across the ceiling.
Boyle lies sprawled along the sofa smoking a pipe until he hears Joxer, at which point he jumps up and busies
himself with papers.

Joxer enters and delivers money from Mrs. Madigan, which she raised by selling some blankets and a table.
They talk about Father Farrell, the priest who had arranged a job for Boyle in Act I and prompted Boyle to
complain about the clergy; Boyle now defends him and, contrary to what he had said before, asserts that the
priests were always on the side of Ireland's people. The two complain about Bentham (who is giving up his job
as a teacher to become a lawyer) and Jerry, Mary's two suitors, and Joxer leaves.

Johnny enters from the bedroom, and Juno and Mary arrive with a gramophone. Juno is concerned about how
much debt they are accruing. She asks Johnny if he has looked at the gramophone, but he responds irritably that
he cannot think of such things. He has been sleeping at different houses each night and is unable to get any rest.

Bentham arrives and Juno makes him comfortable. He is now engaged to Mary. Boyle notes that Consols (a
type of government security) are down by a half percent, showing what a state of chaos the country is in. When
Juno asks for an explanation, Boyle responds that it's no use explaining such a thing to women.

Mary comes in the room, Bentham gives her a compliment, and the conversation shifts to religion. Juno
complains that the world is no better with religion since people do not follow them well enough. Bentham
explains his own belief system, Theosophism, based on the eastern Vedas. Boyle chimes in throughout with
worldly-sounding comments, even though it is clear he doesn't know anything about what Bentham is talking
about.

The topic of ghosts arises, and Bentham proposes a scientific explanation for their existence. Johnny gets upset
and rushes into the room on the left; a moment later a scream is heard. Johnny comes back, trembling. He has
seen the ghost of Robbie Tancred, the young man who had been shot, kneeling in front of the statue. Juno
comforts him and Johnny asks her to check if the light is still illuminated in front of the statue. Juno, Boyle, and
Mary are all hesitant to go in the room, but Bentham goes in and re-assures him that it is still burning.
There is a knock at the door and Joxer and their neighbor Mrs. Madigan enter. Introductions ensue, Mrs.
Madigan drinks some whiskey, and Boyle calls for singing. Mary and Juno comply, followed by Mrs. Madigan
and Joxer, who keeps forgetting the words. In response, Johnny and Boyle ask for the gramophone instead.

Just then Mrs. Tancred walks by, accompanied by several neighbors. They mourn the passing of her son, a
Die-hard. Juno explains the story to Bentham, noting that he and Johnny used to be inseparable; Johnny,
though, emphatically denies being his friend. Juno regrets disturbing the funeral procession with song. Boyle
argues that it is the government's business, not theirs, but Juno enumerates all those who in the tenement who
have lost a relative. However, she acquiesces that perhaps Mrs. Tancred deserved her fate for allowing the Die-
hards into the tenement. Johnny irritably asks them to stop talking of such things, and Mary and Bentham go out
for a walk.
Upon urging, Boyle recites a humorous poem he wrote, then puts on the gramophone. As it plays, the door
opens and Needle Nugent, a tailor, walks in. He chastises the family for blasting music as the funeral procession
of Mrs. Tancred's son passes the house. Mrs. Madigan counters that he doesn't look particularly grief-stricken
himself and accuses him of supporting both the Republicans and the Free States.

There is noise outside the street, and everyone but Johnny looks out. Part of the crowd is singing, and the
observers comment on the funeral procession. Everyone but Johnny goes downstairs for a better look.

When Johnny is alone, the "Mobilizer," an officer charged with calling soldiers to action, enters and tells
Johnny he must attend a Battalion Staff meeting in two nights. The staff think he may know something about
how Robbie Tancred was found. Johnny denies knowing anything about the matter and says he refuses to go.

Analysis
Act II illustrates the transformation that money can make. Boyle is now a respected member of the community.
His neighbors are eager to lend him money, and the priest, Father Farrell, is now a close supporter. Mrs.
Madigan, a comical female counterpart to Joxer, attaches herself to the family to join in their celebration.

Once again, O'Casey uses clever stagecraft to reinforce his message. In contrast to the bare setting of Act I,
every available spot in Act II is ornamented with huge vases with artificial flowers, symbolic of the
extravagance of the Boyles' hopes for the future. In addition, Boyle's attaché case serves as a prop which lets
him play the part of a man of means.

The transformation is only superficial, however. Boyle is still a poser, pretending to be busy with paperwork
and supposing himself an investor in the stock market, yet in actuality spending his free time lounging on the
sofa. The flowers adorning the room are artificial, and all the belongings have been purchased on credit.

The general tone of the act is light and humorous, with much singing and merry-making. Audience members
familiar with cultural references may laugh when Boyle mistakes J.L. Sullivan, an Irish-American boxer, for
A.M. Sullivan, author of The Story of Ireland. We laugh, too, when Boyle pretends to know about the
Prawn and Yogi, chiming in to Bentham's explanation of Theosophism. At the same time, the tragic elements
become more pronounced. Johnny is more fearful than ever, sleeping at different people's houses each night,
and we shiver with him when he sees the ghost of Robbie Tancred. The scene with the Mobilizer foreshadows
his death, yet perhaps even more tragic is his cowardice and refusal to take responsibility for his role in Robbie
Tancred's murder.
The play's language continues to bring us into the heart of lower-class Dublin. Joxer often sings a refrain from a
popular comic song to announce his arrival: "Me pipe I'll smoke, as I dhrive me moke - are you there,
Mor...eee...ar...i...teee!" (31.) Other sayings, too, reinforce the audience's cultural identity. When Boyle tells
Joxer that Father Farrell shook his hand, he replies "I met with Napper Tandy, an' he shuk me be' the han!" (32.)
The reference, while little known to many of today's readers, would have been familiar to the audience of the
time, coming from a patriotic song about the 1798 rebellion.
Juno and the Paycock Summary and Analysis of Act III
Summary
Act III takes place in November, two months after the end of Act II. The votive light under the Virgin gleams
even more brightly. Juno and Mary discuss Bentham, who has disappeared to England without leaving Mary his
address. Mary was madly in love with her fiancé, even though she admits Jerry may have been the better man,
and wonders if he left because her family wasn't good enough for him. Juno supposes it was a bad idea to
introduce him to Joxer and Mrs. Madigan and laments that Mary waited so long to share the news with her
mother.

Juno speaks with Boyle, who complains of pains in his legs. The two argue over the fact that they still haven't
received any money, although they are deep in debt. Boyle asks for some stout (a type of beer), liniment, and a
newspaper, and Juno places a second bottle of stout on the table. Juno and Mary leave, heading for the doctor as
Mary is not feeling well.

Joxer and Nugent enter the room while Boyle is in the bedroom. Nugent tells Joxer how he went to the lawyer's
office and found out that Boyle will be getting no money, due to the way the will was written. The lawyer has
told the same thing to Boyle, who has visited repeatedly. Nugent complains that Boyle never paid for his suit,
and Joxer says he is glad he had nothing to loan him.

The two hear Boyle coughing and realize he is in bed. Nugent opens the door and asks to be paid; rather than
acquiescing, Boyle asks for a heavy top-coat as well. Angrily, Nugent rushes into the room and takes the suit,
much to Boyle's dismay. At the same time, Joxer slips the bottle of stout from the table and puts it in his pocket.

Boyle complains about Nugent to Joxer, who expresses his outrage and feigns ignorance of the event. Joxer
wonders aloud if perhaps Nugent had heard something about Boyle not getting the money. Boyle realizes his
second bottle of stout is gone from the table and blames that on Nugent as well.

Mrs. Madigan enters and asks for the three pounds back that she had raised by selling blankets and furniture.
Boyle says that isn't possible, and that she'll have to wait. Intent upon getting her money back, Mrs. Madigan
takes the gramophone, ready to bring it to the pawn shop, though complains that is hasn't even been paid for yet.
After she leaves, Joxer expresses his outrage again, yet again wonders aloud if perhaps she has heard something
about Boyle not getting the money. The two argue and Joxer leaves.

Johnny and Juno enter; Juno is visibly upset. She sits the family down and explains that Mary is pregnant.
Boyle threatens to go to England to find Bentham and bring him back to marry her, then complains about what
Mary's plight will do to him and his reputation. Juno points out that Mary will have far more to deal with. Boyle
wants to tell his daughter off, but Juno says that if he does, she and Mary will both leave. Johnny has little
sympathy either and wants to drive his sister out of the house. Juno says they need only move somewhere where
they're not known, using the money they'll be getting from the legacy.

At this point Boyle admits that they will not be getting any money, since Bentham wrote the will incorrectly:
instead of naming Boyle and the other beneficiary he simply wrote "first cousin" and "second cousin," so now
all cousins can claim a portion of the money and the legacy has become worthless. Johnny is outraged at his
father, infuriated that he ran the family into debt so he could drink every day. Juno tries to placate him, but he
blames her too, for not checking up on Boyle and looking after the money.

There is a knock at the door and two furniture men enter to take back the family's furniture. Juno leaves to find
Boyle, Mary returns, and Johnny chastises her.
Jerry enters, looking hopeful. He tells her that her mother has told him everything, and that he loves her more
than ever even though she had left him for another man. When he learns that she is pregnant, however, he
expresses his pity and leaves. As he goes, Mary recites for him some verses from his lecture on Humanity's
Strife with Nature, whose message is that the world is both a beautiful and a horrific place.

The furniture men return, saying they can't wait for Boyle any longer, and start carrying some things out.
Johnny chastises Mary again for telling of the shame she has brought upon the family, and she rushes out.

The votive light flickers for a moment and then goes out. Johnny cries in fear, to the disgust of the furniture
man. He says he feels a pain in his breast, as if he were getting hit by a bullet. At that moment two
Irregulars enter the room. One orders the furniture men to face the wall, while the other tells Johnny to come
with them. We learn from their conversation that Johnny had given away Robbie Tancred's hiding place to the
gang who killed him. The Irregulars drag Johnny away, and the curtain falls.
When the curtain rises again, most of the furniture is gone. Juno and Mary sit by the fire, waiting for Johnny.
Mrs. Madigan comes in and tells Juno that two policemen want to speak with her; they've found a man they
think is Johnny. Mary laments that there must not be a god or he wouldn't let such things happen, but Juno
responds, "Ah, what can God do against the stupidity o' men!"

Juno decides that she and Mary won't return to the tenement. They will live with Juno's sister until Mary has her
baby, then work together to raise him or her. She urges Mary to come see Johnny's body, then changes her
mind, chastising herself for her selfishness. She repeats Mrs. Tancred's words from when she lost her son,
praying for humanity to lose its hatred and receive eternal love. They all exit the stage slowly.
In the last scene, Boyle and Joxer, both very drunk, return to the apartment. Boyle wonders aloud what the
policemen were doing with Juno and Mary. He has just one coin left and drunkenly wonders where the chairs
have gone. He supposes he can join the IRA if need be. The play ends with Boyle's characteristic saying: "I'm
telling you... Joxer... th' whole worl's... in a terr... ible state o' ...chassis!"

Analysis
The dichotomy between Juno and the "paycock" continues in Act III as we see how differently the two respond
to suffering. While Boyle can think only of the effect Mary's plight will have on him and his reputation, Juno
points out the ordeal their daughter will have to go through. Boyle is not even aware that Johnny has been
killed, having left to escape his troubles through drink. Juno, however, undergoes a spiritual transformation as
she realizes how selfish she has been in the past: “I forgot, Mary, I forgot; your poor soul’ selfish mother was
only thinkin’ of herself… maybe I didn’t feel sorry enough for Mrs. Tancred when her poor son was found as
Johnny’s been found now - because he was a Die-Hard." Thus strengthened, she decides to respond to tragedy
in the way which will cause the most good, by leaving her lazy husband and instead helping Mary to raise her
child.

Once again, we see how money affects the way that people treat one another. Boyle was practically a celebrity
when his neighbors thought he would be inheriting a fortune; now that they realize the legacy is gone, they have
no mercy in taking as readily as they previously gave.

The tone of Act III is noticeably darker than the rest of the play, emphasizing the tragic elements of the
tragicomedy. Even amongst the suffering, however, there are humorous moments. Joxer's behavior as the truth
about Boyle is discovered is very funny; he sides with Nugent against Boyle, then a moment later expresses his
outrage with Boyle against Nugent. We laugh, too, when he steals Boyle's bottle of stout and then goes along
with the story when Boyle blames it on Nugent. At the same time, the tragedies become more pronounced.
Johnny, who should have been considered a hero for his role in the Easter Rebellion, again reveals his
cowardice as he is taken away. Men who should have been supportive reveal their narrow-mindedness as they
turn from Mary in her plight. Nationalism seems to lose its purpose as the tragic consequences of war become
clear, and the dehumanizing power of poverty reveals itself again.

O'Casey continues his excellent stagecraft in this act, with actions becoming more symbolic. The extinguishing
of the votive candle is a powerful foreshadowing of Johnny's death. After the tragic event, Juno stands beneath
the picture as she invokes the Virgin, a compelling juxtaposition of mothers who have lost their sons which may
suggest Juno's own godliness. Arguably, O'Casey achieves his finest moment when all of the upholstered
furniture purchased on credit is taken away, so that in the last scene Boyle and Joxer stagger into a stark, empty
room - a powerful symbol of the chaos to which Boyle refers in the last line.

As in the rest of the play, the language reflects urban life in the Dublin tenements and also makes us laugh.
Nugent says he hasn't received even a "red rex" (penny) and that Boyle wouldn't be getting even a "make"
(halfpenny). Joxer uses hyperbole and literary allusion to comic effect when he lets Boyle blame Nugent for
stealing his bottle of stout, saying, "Ah, man's inhumanity to man makes countless thousands mourn!" ; a quote
from Robert Burns.) The malaprops continue as well, such as Mrs. Madigan's use of the word "formularies" in
place of preliminaries or formalities.