x, 147 p. A print copy of this title is available from the UO Libraries, under the call number: KNIGHT PR6053.A6944 Z75 2008 / This study explores and demonstrates how Marina Can uses Irish folktale motifs in her plays to bring the audience to a state of mind where they viscerally, as opposed to intellectually, engage with Ireland's search for a cultural post-colonial identity. The analysis of Carr's works focuses on four of her post- Mai plays: The Mai, Portia Coughlan, By the Bog of Cats, and On Raftery's Hill. The focus is on the connection between these plays and Irish folklore, and explores Carr's use of folklore motifs within her plays. The analysis uses the folkloristic research approach, which classifies items or stories in the folktales by identifying distinguishing characteristics or specific items within a tale genre. The indices used in the analysis are Aarne-Thompson Index, Tom-Peete Cross's Motif-index of Early Irish Literature, and Sean O'Sullivan's Motif-Index of Irish Folklore. The plays were searched for motifs that correspond with those of the folktale motifs, and were then compared with these found in the indices. A second analysis showed that, within these four plays, Marina Carr mainly uses Irish folktales from before England's colonization. She modifies the folktales within her plays, specifically around the issue of agency for her female protagonists. The concluding chapter offers a Jungian explanation of Carr's use of these folktales as a means to engage the Irish national discussion of the development of a cultural identity. / Adviser: John Watson