Riders to the Sea
by J.M. Synge
Riders to the Sea is a fantastic dramatic piece of literature. It just has one act. J. M. Synge penned this tragic play. It’s about what goes wrong for a fishing family who lives in a cottage near the sea.
Riders to the Sea starts with a typical setting. Cathleen and Nora, two little sisters, quietly discuss about the past as they talk with each other. Nora can be seen clutching a bundle. Just now, she brought it in. She states that the priest in her village handed it to her. It begs her to figure out if the things in it belong to her brother Michael, who is reported to have died in Donegal. She was also informed that if the goods genuinely belong to him, she should tell her mother that Michael’s body washed up on the shore, but if they don’t, she shouldn’t say anything. Cathleen and Nora don’t want to look at the clothes in front of their mother, and since she could show up at any minute, they’d rather hide it.
Maurya walks out on stage as the sisters wait for their mother. Maurya is in a lot of difficulty. She always talks about Michael, who was believed to have drowned in the sea nine days ago but whose body hasn’t been recovered yet. Then, when Maurya and her daughters talk back and forth, it indicates more about how the plot is going to unfold. We learn out that Bartley, Maurya’s only son who is still alive, is heading to the Galway fair. Bartley thinks that the fair will help him sell his horses. Maurya tries to stop him because of the poor weather, but he doesn’t listen. We observe Bartley leave the cottage and walk to the fair a moment later.
At the outset of the play, we see that Cathleen is working with flour to prepare a cake. She has been cooking it for her brother, Bartley. But she forgets to give it to Bartley because she is so busy with what is going on in the house. She now tells Maurya to go to the Spring Well and give Bartley the cake. She also tells her to pray for him while he’s away from the house. Maurya departs the platform after giving the sisters an opportunity to look at the bundle. They pull the bundle down from the loft and carefully inspect at what’s inside. The stitching in the garment demonstrate that the garments belong to their brother Michael and no one else. When they find out the truth, it breaks them. But when their mother comes back, it breaks them even more. Maurya looked like she was about to lose it. She had been practically seen wailing. After being asked over and over, Maurya said that she had seen Michael riding the grey pony. She had spotted him following Bartley on his horse.
As we can see, Cathleen, Nora, and Maurya, the three souls, are in a lot of suffering. Maurya, in particular, is too antsy. Her anxiousness is so bad that it makes her lose her equilibrium. She thinks on her prior experiences when she is angry. As far as Maurya can remember, practically all of her family has been lost at sea. Her father-in-law, her husband, and her two boys all drowned. Now, her instincts tell her that Bartley, her only remaining son who is still alive, will also not come home alive. Eamon is asked to create a coffin for Bartley by Maurya.
Bartley’s lifeless body is brought in a moment later. Bartley had been flung into the sea by the grey pony, the old woman recounts. When Maurya sees Bartley’s body after he’s been killed, she feels sad again. In a final blessing, Maurya splashes the last of the holy water on Michael’s clothes and asks for God’s grace. She says that nobody can live forever, so a decent grave will suffice.