SOURCE: "Irish Literature, 1800-1890: Introduction," in Modern Irish Literature 1800-1967, Dufour Editions, 1967, pp. 11-14.

In the following essay, Harmon offers an outline of nineteenth-century Irish literature, noting the ways in which the novels of the time period reflected the socio-political structure of the country.

Irish writing in this period can be divided into three main categories—novels, poetry and scholarship. Little of what was produced is of interest to the critic; it appeals mainly to the literary and cultural historian. Yet, no student of Irish Literature since 1890 can ignore the nineteenth century background. The writers of the Literary Rivival (1890-1920) were frequently anxious to discover whatever was usable in their literary past and their creation of a distinctive and valuable literature was made possible in large measure by the weaknesses and strength of what their predecessors had written.

The literature of 1800-1890 was bound up with the question...