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Exploring the influence of Shakespeare on drama in Ireland, Rebecca Steinberger examines works by two representative playwrights: Sean O'Casey (1880-1964) and Brian Friel (1929-). Shakespeare's plays, grounded in history, nationalism, and imperialism, embody an empathy for the Irish other. Irish dramatists' appropriations of Shakespeare, Steinberger argues, were both a reaction to the language of domination and a means to support their revision of the Irish as Subject.