''At the Hawk's Well'' is a one-act play by

William Butler Yeats William Butler Yeats (13 June 186528 January 1939) was an Irish poet, dramatist, writer and one of the foremost figures of 20th-century literature. He was a driving force behind the Irish Literary Revival and became a pillar of the Irish liter ...

, first performed in 1916 and published in 1917. It is one of five plays by Yeats which are loosely based on the stories of Cuchulain the mythological hero of ancient

Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kin ...

. It was the first play written in English that utilised many of the features of the Japanese Noh Theatre.

Dramatic form

The form of the play is stylised, abstract, symbolic, and

ritual A ritual is a sequence of activities involving gestures, words, actions, or objects, performed according to a set sequence. Rituals may be prescribed by the traditions of a community, including a religious community. Rituals are characterized ...

istic, unlike the more common realistic and plot-driven theatre of the time. The stage is, "any bare space before a wall against which stands a patterned screen", and the only props are a black cloth with "a gold pattern suggesting a hawk",Yeats, W. B.: "Selected Plays" p. 114. Penguin Books, 1997. and a blue cloth to represent a well. The actors' costumes are simple, striking and stylised, and the two main protagonists wear masks while the others have their faces made up to resemble masks. The puppet-like movement of the actors is accompanied throughout by a drum, gong, and

zither Zithers (; , from the Greek word ''cithara'') are a class of stringed instruments. Historically, the name has been applied to any instrument of the psaltery family, or to an instrument consisting of many strings stretched across a thin, flat ...

. The play is written in verse and opens and closes with the comments and interpretations of the musicians who speak both individually, and together as a chorus. The main body of the play consists of a short drama involving just three protagonists.

Characters

*Three Musicians *The Guardian of the Well *An Old Man *A Young Man

Synopsis

The play is set by a dried up well on a desolate mountainside which is guarded by a hawk-like woman. An old man has kept camp there for fifty years, waiting to drink the miraculous waters from the well which occasionally rise up. Cuchulain arrives at the spot, having heard a story that the waters bring immortality. The Old Man urges Cuchulain to leave the well, telling of his wasted lifetime there and how, even when the waters did rise up, he was thwarted by a sudden urge to sleep. But Cuchulain is determined to stay and convinced that he shall soon drink the waters. While they speak of a hawk which had attacked Cuchulain earlier in the day, and which the old man claims is a supernatural being which carries a curse of discontent and violence, the Guardian of the Well seems to fall into a trance, arises, and begins to dance with hawk-like motions. She then leaves the stage as the well waters bubble up. Cuchulain pursues her, but unable to find her he returns to the well to be informed by the Old Man he has missed the waters. Oblivious, he rushes out again to face the warrior women the Guardian of the Well has called out to battle, ignoring the Old Man's pleas to stay with him.

Themes

*Choice in relation to identity *Fate and

destiny Destiny, sometimes referred to as fate (from Latin ''fatum'' "decree, prediction, destiny, fate"), is a predetermined course of events. It may be conceived as a predetermined future, whether in general or of an individual. Fate Although often ...

*Age and youth *Natural and supernatural/physical and spiritual/mortality and immortality *Psychological obstacles, conflict, and insight * Rationality and impulse *

Hero A hero (feminine: heroine) is a real person or a main fictional character who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through feats of ingenuity, courage, or strength. Like other formerly gender-specific terms (like ''actor''), ''her ...

ic nature *Conflict, change and transformation

Miscellaneous

The

Hawk's Well Theatre The Hawk's Well Theatre opened in Sligo Town on 12 January 1982. Located next to Sligo's tourist office, it was the first purpose-built theatre in rural Ireland. History When the theatre opened on 12 January 1982, it was the first purpose-built ...

in Sligo, built in 1982 is named after the play.

Notes

References

* * Yeats, W. B. ''Selected Plays''. London: Penguin Books, 1997.

External links

The full text of the play
{{W. B. Yeats Plays by W. B. Yeats 1916 plays One-act plays Works based on the Ulster Cycle