
Thinking of selecting Sive (John B. Keane) as one of your comparative texts for Leaving Cert English? This free two-page PDF tells you everything you need to decide.
Sive gives you as rich a society as the course offers, and all of it concrete: land as the unit of worth, the match as a cash transaction counted down to the last note, illegitimacy as a disqualification, the county home held over the old, and schooling dismissed as high notions. It is short (two acts, five scenes, one kitchen) and it rewards being read aloud more than almost anything else on the list. Its formal oddity, a travelling father and son who arrive at the door to comment, curse and lament, is something a student can build a whole Literary Genre answer on. It is also a hard text to set without preparation, and this guide is plain about that.
Inside the guide:- An at-a-glance table: form and genre, setting, narration, length and playing time, first staging, prescribed-list status, and the play’s strongest modes at each level.
- A clear synopsis — the offer, the household that gives way, the burned letter, and the ending.
- Themes at a glance, and an honest “Before you teach” note on the material that needs framing first.
- How the play pairs in every comparison mode at BOTH levels, partner-agnostic so it holds whatever you set it against:
- Higher Level: Cultural Context, Literary Genre, Theme or Issue, and General Vision and Viewpoint.
- Ordinary Level: Hero, Heroine and Villain; Relationships; Social Setting; and Theme.
All four modes at each level are listed, with the honest note where a mode is a stretch rather than a strength.
A long-standing fixture on the Comparative list at both Higher and Ordinary Level, and on the list for 2026, 2027 and 2028. It is also available as a Single Text at Ordinary Level only — so a Higher Level class meets it as a comparative text. The onus is on the teacher to check the current circular on prescribed material each year.
The companion Student Textbook and Teacher Guide — full exam-ready analysis and complete teaching support — are available separately from The Prescribed Shelf, or together in the Complete Bundle.
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