A Touch of the Poet
A Classic American Drama
Set in 1828 in a tavern outside Boston, this Eugene O’Neill drama follows Con Melody, a volatile and fiercely proud Irishman determined to maintain the appearance of status and authority in a community that sees through him. Having served as a major under the Duke of Wellington at Talavera, he clings to those memories as proof of his worth, spending his days riding through town, rehearsing speeches, and putting on his old British uniform to mark each anniversary of the battle.
But these displays convince no one. In true O’Neill fashion, Con is an outsider trapped between who he is and who he believes himself to be—deeply in debt, isolated by his pride, and reliant on his patient wife, who keeps the tavern operating despite his treatment of her. His daughter responds only with resentment, especially as he demeans her and treats her more like hired help than family. Through Con’s unraveling, O’Neill examines the illusions people build to survive, and the painful reckoning that follows when those illusions collapse.