Caoineadh Airt UI Laorie, Essay Example

The poem CaoineadhAirt Ui Laorie is a lament that was told by the wife of Airt Ui Laorie after his death. It has become a significant part of Irish literatyure, and has inclufnced generations of other artists. The films “CaoineadhAirt Ui Laorie” and “The Death of Arto Leary” are both modernized versions of the story of CaoineadhAirt Ui Laorie, and each of them offers new insight into the original story and why it is still an important part of Irish history and literature.

What makes “CaoineadhAirt Ui Laorie” interesting is the way it is structured. The actors and director are watching film footage on the screen that is based on the life of Airt Ui Laoire. The film takes place in an earlier time, and the character of Airt Ui Laoire is dressed in a military uniform of the time, riding a horse. He has returned from military service and is on his way home, and while he is seen riding, the actors are narrating the events and providing history about the political and social conditions between Protestants and Catholic in Ireland at the time.The main point of the film, which was made in the 1970s, is to show that the conflicts that existed in Ireland when the story of Airt Ui Laoire took place are still a problem so many years later. The British director and the Irish actors argue and disagree, and the director is seen as having the most power.

In “The Death of Arto Leary” the story is more complex, and some of the themes in the original lament are explored more fully. In the original lament the wife of Airt Ui Laorie seems to know that her husband is admired by other women, but in “The Death of Arto Leary” we see that he actually has an affair with the girlfriend of Morris, a local drug dealer. There is still a scene where Morris demands that Arto give up his horse, but this time the differences between the men are not about the power of the British over the native Irish. Instead, it is about the economic power Morris has in the situation, and how he seems like a threat to anyone who crosses him. This ends up being true when Morris and his men kill Arto. One of the most significant differences in the film is that Artos’ wife goes to seek revenge against Morris, and even though she eventually changes her mind Morris ends up dead anyway.

Each of these films updates the story of CaoineadhAirt Ui Laorie in different ways. In the original lament, Airt Ui Laorie’s wife seems to be aware that other women are attracted to her husband, but there in the film “The Death of Arto Leary” he is shown actually being with another woman. And in this film, his wife Eileen does not just cry over him, she starts to look for revenge. Even though it is Brid who kills Morris, the film makes it clear that the roles of women in Irish society have changed dramatically since the 1700s. In contrast to this, the film CaoineadhAirt Ui Laorie shows a modern version of the story while expressing to viewers that many things have not changed since the time the lament was written. It is two centuries later, but the British are still in power over Irish Catholics, which is symbolized by the British director giving orders to the Irish actors.