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Synge first traveled to the primitive, little-known Aran Islands in 1898. His trip proved to be a wonderfully fruitful and decisive experience. He then went back for part of each summer until 1902. The book that he wrote--and that he called his "first serious piece of work"--was published in 1907. In it, he said, he had found "the appropriate form through which to explore [his] own place in the universe." What he learned from the Aran Islands led directly to the great plays for which he is chiefly remembered.