THE WAKE
General. “The Wake” suggests and pictures the customs of the Irish following a death; at the same time it tells a story. For this latter reason it is superior, as a narrative, to “Supers,” which emphasizes the picture, the condition. Emphasis is placed on the situation, with a gradual heightening of interest as to a suggested outcome. The young wife of an elderly husband lies dead; she has loved and been loved by a younger man; the younger man (Kennedy) has declared, “If anything ever happens to that girl at your side, Michael James, I’ll murder you!” And now as Michael sits in dumb misery, he awaits the fulfillment of the threat. The passive situation is merged into the dramatic moment by the advent of Kennedy, who seeing the dead woman, foregoes his intention.
Setting. The locale, according to Mr. Byrne, is Ulster, North Ireland. What is the length of the action?
Germinal Idea. “I wished to write a story of an Irish wake which was neither utterly sordid, nor indelicately funny.” Is the resultant mood, atmosphere, in harmony with this intention?
The Action. Where is your interest first aroused? At what point does the principle of suspense operate to intensify interest? Is the dénouement satisfactory? Is the action that of a “triangle” story? Compare it, in this regard, with the action of “The Water-Hole.” How is the love interest submerged in “The Wake”? How is the hostility Kennedy bears James overcome? What bearing on the action and on the theme has the blind misery of James?
The Characters. From whose point of view is the story presented? Who is the main character and why? Is there in any way a suggestion that Death, as a character, controls? Or is the influence of the dead woman dominant?
The Theme. In stating the theme, refer to the germinal idea and comment on the author’s success.
Compare with this narrative, Chapter IX of Patrick MacGill’s “The Rat-Pit.” Mr. MacGill’s setting is also in Ulster: Donegal.
It should be added for the benefit of the student who resents, or finds hampering, an insistence on short-story type, that Mr. Donn Byrne believes there isn’t any such thing as the short-story. “A story is a story whether it’s a novel of 100,000 words or a short magazine affair. There is no difference in technic between a 4,000 word writing, like ‘The Wake’ and any of my big 15,000 worders—‘Sargasso Sea,’ for example, or ‘A Treasure upon Earth.’ Get a worth while idea and make your narrative interesting. That’s the only formula for any piece of fiction. The short-story is to the novel what the chip mashie shot is to the full St. Andrew Swing, the same identical stroke used effectively for shorter distance.”