Riders to the Sea

Riders to the Sea  by John Millington Synge

Riders to the Sea is a successful one act play having all the features. It was written by the author John Millington Synge,one of the major poets of the Irish Dramatic movement.  It describes the beginning and climax within its short space. The story is short in size. The whole story is expressed with brevity, compression, and limited characters . It is one of the example of a  great tragedy .The whole story expresses the real problems of the poor people of the Aran Island and their sufferings. Maurya ,the protagonist  of the play has lost all her son by the sea. The describes the sorrows and sufferings of Maurya. It is a perfect tragedy and also one of the best examples of one act play. Synge is successful to express the local colour presenting the sufferings of the poor people of the Aran Islands.

Role of Sea :

In this short story, the sea is the only character that stands head and shoulder above other character. Sea is the offstage villain. It is the symbol of death. It kills all the menfolk of Maurya . it is considered as the fate of the people of Aran Islands.

Important Characters:

·        Maurya: Protagonist of this play,mother of eight children Cathleen,Nora, Bartley, Shawn, Sheamus, Stephen, Patch, and Michael.

·        Cathleen: Elder daughter of Maurya.

·        Nora: Yonger daughter of Maurya

·        Bartley: Maurya’s youngest and only living son.

·        Priest: who is never seen  but is responded by Cathleen and Nora.

Local Colour:

The author lived in the Aran Island and he acquired some knowledge from this place. He learnt many customs and ways of the living of the people of Aran Islands. The members of the Maurya’s family lived by fishing, farming, raising animals etc.  Seashore also helps them to survive. There are some Roman Catholics, though they believe in many pagan superstitions.

Supernatural Elements:

The premonitions of Bartley’s death, a single star by the side of the moon, Maurya’s watching the fearfullest thing, Bride Dara’s seeing her living son in the arms of her dead husband and some superstitions are the examples of supernatural elements. They enriched the play by creating horrors and mysteries.

Theme:

Maurya has lost her husband and all her sons to the sea. At the beginning of the play, Nora and Kathleen get the information that a body which may be their brother Michael, has washed up on the seashore in Donegal from the priest. Bartley, only the living son in this family is planning to sail to Connemara to sell horse and ignores his mother’s call to stay. Maurya things that by the nightfall,she will have on living sons. Her daughters chide her for sending Bartley off. After that she goes after her son to bless for his voyage.

                                                 ‘’I have seen the fear fullest thing’’ 

 In her vision, Maurya sees Bartley at the spring well riding the red mare with the dead Michael following him on the grey pony with new clothes on him and new shoes on his feet.                                                   ‘’I have seen the fear fullest thing’’ 

 In her vision, Maurya sees Bartley at the spring well riding the red mare with the dead Michael following him on the grey pony with new clothes on him and new shoes on his feet.  Its is very fearful because it forebodes that Bartley is going to die. Maurya returns home and she claims that she sees the ghost of Michael riding behind Bartley and starts lamenting the loss of the men in her family. After that some villagers bring corpse of Bartley. He has fallen off his horse in to the sea and drowned.

  ‘’No man at all can be living for ever and we must be satisfied’’

After the death of Bartley,Maurya is liberated from fear. She accepts her fate with resignation.