\'Riders to the Sea\' is a one-act play written by Irish playwright J. M. Synge. It was first performed in 1904 and is part of Synge's series of plays known as \'The Aran Islands.\' The play is set in a small cottage on one of the Aran Islands off the western coast of Ireland and revolves around the tragic events befalling a rural family.Key features of \'Riders to the Sea\' include:Tragedy and Sorrow: The play is a tragedy that explores the harsh and unforgiving nature of life on the Aran Islands. The central theme revolves around the inevitability of death and the constant threat posed by the sea.Island Life: Synge's portrayal of the Aran Islands captures the remote and isolated existence of the characters. The sea, both a provider and a destroyer, plays a central role in shaping the lives of the islanders.Fate and Helplessness: The characters in the play, particularly the women of the family, grapple with a sense of fatalism and inevitability. The harsh conditions of island life contribute to a feeling of helplessness in the face of fate.Symbolism: Synge uses symbolism to convey deeper meanings. The sea, for example, serves as both a source of sustenance and a source of tragedy, symbolizing the dual nature of life on the islands.\'Riders to the Sea\' is renowned for its poetic language and its exploration of the human condition in the face of nature's forces. Synge's portrayal of the rural Irish experience, with its blend of sorrow and lyricism, contributed to the development of Irish drama and literature in the early 20th century.
MAURYA. Raising her head and speaking as if she did not see the people around her. Theyre all gone now, and there isnt anything more the sea can do to me.... Ill have no call now to be up crying and praying when the wind breaks from the south, and you can hear the surf is in the east, and the surf is in the west, making a great stir with the two noises, and they hitting one on the other. Ill have no call now to be going down and getting Holy Water in the dark nights after Samhain, and I wont care what way the sea is when the other women will be keening. [To Nora]. Give me the Holy Water, Nora, theres a small sup still on the dresser. [Nora gives it to her.]
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MAURYA. Drops Michaels clothes across Bartleys feet, and sprinkles the Holy Water over him.It isnt that I havent prayed for you, Bartley, to the Almighty God. It isnt that I havent said prayers in the dark night till you wouldnt know what Ild be saying; but its a great rest Ill have now, and its time surely. Its a great rest Ill have now, and great sleeping in the long nights after Samhain, if its only a bit of wet flour we do have to eat, and maybe a fish that would be stinking. [She kneels down again, crossing herself, and saying prayers under her breath.] CATHLEEN. To an old man.Maybe yourself and Eamon would make a coffin when the sun rises. We have fine white boards herself bought, God help her, thinking Michael would be found, and I have a new cake you can eat while youll be working. THE OLD MAN. Looking at the boards.Are there nails with them? CATHLEEN. There are not, Colum; we didnt think of the nails.
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ANOTHER MAN. Its a great wonder she wouldnt think of the nails, and all the coffins shes seen made already. CATHLEEN. Its getting old she is, and broken. [Maurya stands up again very slowly and spreads out the pieces of Michaels clothes beside the body, sprinkling them with the last of the Holy Water.] NORA. In a whisper to Cathleen.Shes quiet now and easy; but the day Michael was drowned you could hear her crying out from this to the spring well. Its fonder she was of Michael, and would any one have thought that? CATHLEEN. Slowly and clearly.An old woman will be soon tired with anything she will do, and isnt it nine days herself is after crying and keening, and making great sorrow in the house?
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MAURYA. Puts the empty cup mouth downwards on the table, and lays her hands together on Bartleys feet.Theyre all together this time, and the end is come. May the Almighty God have mercy on Bartleys soul, and on Michaels soul, and on the souls of Sheamus and Patch, and Stephen and Shawn [bending her head]; and may He have mercy on my soul, Nora, and on the soul of every one is left living in the world. [She pauses, and the keen rises a little more loudly from the women, then sinks away.] MAURYA. Continuing.Michael has a clean burial in the far north, by the grace of the Almighty God. Bartley will have a fine coffin out of the white boards, and a deep grave surely. What more can we want than that? No man at all can be living for ever, and we must be satisfied. [She kneels down again and the curtain falls slowly.]
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