Dancing at Lughnasa

Although Michael is involved in these events, the narrative point of view could be qualified as a "third-person limited." Frier doesn"t really give him an access to the character's thoughts or to what they do in private since he only re-tells a story that he witnessed when he was a child. This method is important because it allows the narrator to assess the events in an adult's point of view and this is one of his main functions as a chorus-figure which we will explore later on. Another remarkable linguistic aspect of this speech is that it is characterised by a lyrical tone. The choice of this tonality is important in order to remind us of the notion of musicality and the idea of dance. The tone is very comforting but at the same time it creates a nostalgic atmosphere and the tone itself seems to distance us from the characters being introduced. .
             Frier applies the "flashback" technique by using Michael's memory to simply separate two elements of his character - he detaches the adult Michael from Michael the boy. This explains why the whole play has no plot at all. The narrator relates a story of what he witnessed when he was seven therefore he is relating his memory in an objective manner which simply imply that during that summer of 1936, he did not really have a complete and a deeper understanding of those events. He is narrating a story according to how things had happened exteriorly. This explains as well his absence throughout the play for the reason that he hides and observe everybody as if it is his main preoccupation. "for the first time in my life I had a chance to observe him(his father)," "It had fallen out of Aunt Kate's prayer book and she snatched it from me before I could study it in detail." Since the play echoes Michael's memory as a "boy," this answers the flatness of the plot. There is no climax in the play and it almost lacks colour and other ingredients that could make the story attractive.