Riders to the Sea the One Act Essay

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Riders to the Sea

The one act play Riders to the Sea by John Millington Synge is a recognized classic, often utilized as an expression of the iconic place and time of its setting, early 18th century Aran Isles. Synge himself writes about his visit to the Aran isles, which became the inspiration for many of his dramatic works, that the struggle between man and the sea,

The maternal feeling is so powerful on these islands that it gives a life of torment to the women. Their sons grow up to be banished as soon as they are of age, or to live here in continual danger on the sea; their daughters go away also, or are worn out in their youth with bearing children that grow up to harass them in their own turn a little later (Synge, 1907).

Analyzing the work itself illuminates to this reader three literary devices that are interesting as well as influential on the reader's impression of the whole work. Those devices or elements are foreshadowing, connotation and catharsis.

Foreshadowing is the first and most obvious element of the work as the daughters (Cathleen, Nora) and later the mother (Maurya) intermingle the news of the body washed ashore with the frustrating inevitability of the only remaining son about to take to the sea to go to fair and sell a horse. The intervention sought by the mother and sisters of the young priest to stop her only remaining son (Bartley) from sailing, in bad weather, does not pan out, as the priest expresses that he will not stop the boy because god would not be so cruel as to leave the mother of six boys with no living son. This same priest is also the man who has given the clothing, from the washed up corpse, to Nora to take to Cathleen for examination to determine if it is their 5th brother most recently disappeared, Michael, so he might have a Christian (clean) burial far to the north where his body came to rest. All this information as well as more leads the reader to contend that clearly the death of the final son is looming.

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Maurya's language after his departure, despite her attempts to convince him to stay "He's gone now, God spare us, and we'll not see him again. He's gone now, and when the black night is falling I'll have no son left me in the world," are a clear indication of the outcome. Finally, the foreboding dream that Maurya has where she sees Bartley as Michael, and then the girls tell her about the clothing and the fact that Michael is indeed dead washed up far to the north, the message is made clear, Bartley is all but dead.

Connotation is also a strong element in this work as words simply mean more than they do on the surface. Words like rope, which in a last moment at home Bartley asks….....

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