what is the relevance of playboy in present times?

The center of the story is the community reaction -- how the small community seeks and (putatively) finds a hero, and how atificial their criteria for heroism are -- the love story is the "encasement" of Synge's real concern, which is how Ireland (the Western world) is conceived by outsiders, and how mistakenly the public image of Ireland represents its real strengths -- mysticism based on Celtic history, and the devotion to Ireland's past. Synge was not interested in a "small" story; he was, in his whole canon, seeking a dramatic justification of his love of his country, constantly under attack during Synge's lifetime. The lasting value of the play lies in his success at making this statement. Worjs of dramatic art are worth analyzing when the student seeks the deeper meanings of the simple actions.