Key Topics:

Historic People:

W.B. Yeats—Dublin-born poet
Sean O’Casey—Irish Playwright
Sean Lemass—Dublin-born political activist
Winston Churchill—First Lord of the Admiralty and later Prime Minister of Great Britain
Sylvia Pankhurst—leader of the suffrage movement in England

W.B. Yeats

Descriptor

Dublin-born poet and dramatist who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1923. Yeats was a pillar in the Irish Literary Revival of the early twentieth century. Famous works include: The Second Coming (1920), The Tower (1928), and The Winding Stair and Other Poems (1929).

Books

Foster, R.F. W.B. Yeats: A Life. Vol I and II Oxford, NY: Oxford University Press, 1998.

Pierce, David. Yeats's Worlds: Ireland, England and the Poetic Imagination. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1995.

Websites

Nobel Prize- Yeats Bio

Yeats Recording on Poetry

Yeats Society- Ireland

Abbey Theatre History

Yeats Society of New York

Sean O’Casey

Descriptor

Irish playwright whose focus on the Irish working class was unprecedented and revolutionary.

Books

Krause, David. Sean O'Casey: The Man and His Work. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1960.

O'Conner, Garry. Sean O'Casey: A Life. New York: Antheum/Macmillan Publishing Company, 1988.

Websites

O'Casey Bio

Literary Collection

Playography

Abbey Theatre History

Easter Rebellion

Descriptor

The day after Easter 1916 a small group of rebels decided they were done with British rule over Ireland. Attacks on a Post Office and other city buildings led to the deaths of many and the destruction of much of Dublin. Deemed a failure, the Easter Rebellion of 1916 marked the beginning of the end of British rule in Ireland.

Books

Foy, Michael, Brian Barton. The Easter Rising. Gloucestershire: Sutton Publishing Limited, 1999.

De Rosa, Peter. Rebels: The Irish Rising of 1916. London: Corgi Books, 1991.

Websites

BBC- Easter Rising

Conflict & Politics in Northern Ireland

The Easter Rising

National Library of Ireland

Winston Churchill

Descriptor

First Lord of the Admiralty during WWI. Best known for being Prime Minister of Great Britain during WWII.

Books

Lukacs, John. Churchill: Visionary, Statesman, Historian. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1999.

Rubin, Gretchen. Forty Ways to Look at Winston Churchill: A Brief Account of a Long Life. New York: The Random House Ballantine Book Publishing Group, 2003.

Websites

BBC- Churchill Bio

The Churchill Centre

Churchill and the Great Republic

Time 100- Churchill

Nobel Prize- Churchill Bio

The Churchill Society- London

The Pankhursts

Descriptor

Mother and daughter team who led the suffrage movement in England. Best known for staging rallies, marches, and taking militant action to promote their cause.

Books

Mitchell, David. The Fighting Pankhurst. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1967.

Pankhurst, E. Sylvia. The Home Front. London: The Cresset Library, 1987.

Websites

BBC- Emmeline Pankhurst Bio

Sylvia Pankhurst Bio

Sylvia Pankhurst Papers

BBC- Suffragettes

Suffrage- Women's Epic Fight

Victorian Women

Life of the Victorian Woman

Women's Suffrage

Descriptor

Social movement in Britain and the US that sought to grant women the right to vote. Many women rallied, protested, and marched to fight for their rights, but some women sacrificed it all in the fight for equality. Despite all the earlier efforts made by women, it was their services in WWI that revealed the true social value of women.

Books

Briggs, Asa. A Social History of England. New York: The Vicking Press, 1984.

Keyssar, Alexander. The Right to Vote: The Contested History of Democracy in the United States. New York: Basic Books, 2000.

Websites

Spartacus- American Woman Suffrage Association

LOC- American Women's Suffrage Collection

American Women's Suffrage Timeline

National Archives & Women's Suffrage

Papers of Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony

LOC- Suffrage Photos

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1916 Easter Rising: The Poets' Rebellion

Easter, 1916: At noon, Dublin explodes in gunfire as a motley band of Irish rebels takes on the world's most powerful empire. They begin by hijacking a post office. Despite a fierce spirit of independence, the disorganized rebellion failed to capture the heart of the people, who branded it as a reckless, humiliating act of deplorable violence. But in the aftermath of the Rising, the British response to the captured rebels would cement their roles as martyrs and institutionalize the use of violence for political change in Ireland for the remainder of the century. Produced and Written by Karena O'Riordan.

The Passions of William Butler Yeats

Up until the early 20th century, contemporary Irish literature barely existed in the world's imagination. Everyone looked to England for great literature. One man changed all that: William Butler Yeats set out to revive Irish literature. Countering the clichés and caricature that was the outward face of Irish culture to the uninitiated, Yeats' poetry and plays drew upon Celtic mythology and unleashed a distinctive Irish voice. The motivations driving this creative force were manifold, but unrequited love was central to Yeats' contributions. Produced and Written by David O'Dell.

Sean O'Casey vs. Ireland

As Ireland struggled for Independence, writer Sean O'Casey watched the needs of the poor become increasingly overlooked as matters of flag and nation took center-stage. O'Casey bristled at the hypocrisy of pompous speeches, and the jingoistic glory that accompanied fervent nationalism. He questioned what was sacred in Ireland: the words of the priests and the words of the patriots. He questioned these pillars not through editorial or ideology, but by crafting real, human characters that represent such ideas in plays that were embraced by his countrymen. Produced and Written by Karena O'Riordan.

Ireland: The Power of the Poets

Poetry is powerful in Ireland. This harsh land, besieged by violence, poverty and strife has produced some of the world's most enduring lyric poets. Since ancient times, Ireland's poets have wielded great power, from the noble bards that accompanied the chieftains to the modern era, where the insight and commentary provided by poets have helped forge social change in the country. This documentary features Irish poets Eavan Boland, Paul Muldoon and Seamus Heaney. Produced and Written by Betsey Bayha.

Winston Churchill: The Lion's Roar

Brilliant, arrogant and energetic, Winston Churchill led the nation he loved throughout World War II when Britain's very existence was threatened. In the early 1930s, Churchill was an out-of-power politician who many viewed as past his prime, but he saw the threat that Hitler posed to the world. When his prophetic concerns proved true, Churchill became Prime Minister, and his eventful life to that point had well prepared him for the struggle that lay ahead. Produced and Written by Sharon Wood.

Demanding the Vote: The Pankhursts and British Suffrage

In 1913, the British government was under assault by its own people who were torching buildings, shattering office windows, and attacking the homes of government leaders. These revolutionaries were frustrated British women furious that their government refused to take them seriously. Their goal was simple: suffrage, the right to vote. But in Victorian England, their request was dismissed as too outrageous to be taken seriously. The press labeled these militant women "suffragettes," and they were led by the fiery Emmeline Pankhurst and her two strong-willed daughters Christabel and Sylvia. The Pankhursts helped alter the political landscape and the perception of women, but in the process, each of them paid a heavy personal price. Produced by Adam Sternberg. Written by Adam Sternberg and Lisa Clark.

Fighting for the Vote: Women's Suffrage in America

At the birth of the United States, the Declaration of Independence affirmed the principles and intentions of the country's founders. But when the nation was born, the principles applied almost exclusively to taxpaying property-owning white men. Only they were guaranteed suffrage: the right to vote. The majority of the population could not participate in the government, but that would change. The struggle for women's suffrage in the United States was nothing less than a social revolution. It challenged the established roles of men and women and held the government accountable to the principles on which the country had been founded: liberty and equality for all. Yet few Americans are aware of the effort that the struggle for women's suffrage entailed. Produced and Written by Adam Sternberg and Lisa Clark.

Disclaimer: All resources (including books and websites) provided on indyintheclassroom.com are intended to be used by educators. Indyintheclassroom.com is not responsible for the content on linked websites.
Educators are strongly advised to review any resources prior to allowing student use.

Copyright: All images on Indyintheclassroom.com are used with permission or are in the public domain. Exceptions are noted. For additional information see our Copyright section.

Disclaimer: All resources (including books and websites) provided on indyintheclassroom.com are intended to be used by educators. Indyintheclassroom.com is not responsible for the content on linked websites.
Educators are strongly advised to review any resources prior to allowing student use.

Copyright: All images on Indyintheclassroom.com are used with permission or are in the public domain. Exceptions are noted. For additional information see our Copyright section.