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Our author of, “Riders to the Sea”, John Millington Synge, was a native of Ireland and very interested in

the islands just off the west coast, of which many of his stories, including this one, originated.

The dramatic form, a tragedy, centers around one family with a strong protagonist character called

Maurya and the antagonist, the sea; an avoidable, yet necessary source for survival but also an

uncontrollable danger and even demise. 

I also see a secondary theme with the old woman of the house, Maurya. She has had to deal with

losing most all of the men in her life to the sea, and with fear and reluctance must let her last son head

back to the sea, already committed that this is their doom, almost to a point of acceptance prior to the

actual deed.   Foreshadowing is a great literary tool, especially with tragedy and used well here.

Another form of foreshadowing comes with Maurya purchasing “the white boards” that are used to

build coffins, prior to knowing whether her son Michael was truly dead. (Clugston, 2010)

Foreshadowing is used well again when Maurya attempts to catch up with her son Bartley to provide

him with bread for his trip, but even more important, to bless his journey with God’s grace.

What happens is she has a sort of vision and sees her son Bartley on the red mare and unable to get

the words out of a blessing he quickly passes by, sending his own blessing her way. Right behind him,

riding on the grey pony is Michael, looking well, wearing “fine clothes on him and new shoes on his

feet”. (Clugston, 2010) I believe the way she described her son Michael atop the pony is symbolic of

how he is now treated in heaven.

Drama requires that certain things match up to tell the story and relate correctly what the author

intended. For example, while reading the story I am drawn back to the title and it becomes more

symbolic, a partial telling of the story in itself. “Riders to the Sea” takes me to a religious context and

the power to provide and destroy...

haracterization of Maurya in Riders to the SeaMaurya is the principal character in Synge's play, "Riders to the sea." The whole play is a drama of her sorrows. We are touched by her troubles because we feel that she is a living person. In her life, miseries had piled up one over the other. But these sorrows do not shatter her personality. She has a tremendous power of endurance.We admire her for her courage in the face of the worst disasters which can happen to a mother. Misfortunes do not break down her spirit. She is calm in difficulties.Due to her power of endurance, her determination to carry on in spite of calamities and her cool courage this peasant woman takes her place as the heroine of this play.Maurya is a typical mother who lives entirely for the welfare of her children. She is praying for them all the time. She had a lot of trouble in giving birth to her sons. But they grew to be six sturdy young men. But the sea started wallowing them up and at the end she was left only with her two daughters. The poor mother's prayers could not save them. All that she wants to do now is to give them a decent burial. She has purchased good white boards which we see in the kitchen at the beginning of the play. These

are finally used to make a coffin for her last son, Bartley.When the play opens, we find that Maurya is in deep mourning for her fifth son, Michael, who was drowned in the sea nine days back. She is half-crazy with weeping. She cannot sleep and she keeps going to the seashore to see whether Michael's body has been washed ashore.All her life she has been watching the moods of the sea and crying and praying. She has suffered one disaster after another. The sea was the bread-giver of her family and also her worst enemy. Her sons, Stephen and Shawn, were lost in "the great wind" and their bodies were found in the Bay of Gregory of the Golden Mouth. Her father-in-law, her husband and her son, Sheamus, were lost in a dark night and no trace was found...