ENG 2211

Riders to the Sea: J.M. Synge

Elements of Classical Tragedy in Riders to the Sea

Riders to the Sea is a modern drama, a one act play, written by J.M. Synge, a modern dramatist.
In spite of that, this play follows some of the characteristics of the ancient classical tragedies.
Again, though its setting and theme are very simple, taken from the Aran Islands of Ireland,
isolated from its mainland, ‘it wins its own time’ and becomes universal because of the main
character’s turning from a simple and common mother to universal mother and of having a
universal philosophy. In this sense, it is also a classical art. Now, we will see how the play
becomes a classical one.
At first, we see that the playwright, in this play, follows the classical three unities – unity of time,
unity of place and unity of action.
The unity of time:
In classical tragedies, we see that all the actions take place within a single day; we can mention
the plays of Sophocles, Aeschylus and Euripides. Similarly, the span of actions of ‘Riders to the
Sea’ is not more than a day. The previous actions or incidents are revealed by the characters –
Maurya, Nora, Cathleen.
The unity of place:
According to this unity, all the ac tions must take place in a single place. In classical ‘King
Oedipus’, all the actions are presented in front of the royal palace. In the same way, in this play,
the fixed place is the ‘Cottage Kitchen’ of Maurya’s family. Though there are some incidents,
scenes and conversation of some other places – such as Donegal, far north, Galway fair, the Sea
by the white rocks, Connemara, green head, the pier, spring well, the black cliffs of the north,
and the rocks, these places do not appear before the audience. Rather, these are reported or told
by the characters.
The unity of action:
This unity indicates that in a classical art, there must be a single plot and single story. It does not
allow any sub plot. On the contrary, in non classical literature, we find more than one plot or
story. For example, in Shakespearean drama ‘The Merchant of Venice’, the main story is about a
merchant, Antonio, and his friend. Besides, there are some other stories about Lorenzo-Jessica,
about Gratiano Nerrissa and about Casket scene. In Riders to the Sea, Maurya is the round
character. There is only a single plot and story – Maurya’s losing all the sources of living and her
reaction.
Role of fate:
In classical literature, fate has a dominant role. It can be said that ‘fate is destiny’. For example,
Oedipus wanted to escape from the prophesy of Oracle – he did not want to kill his father and
marry his mother, but according to fate, he had to do these very deeds. However, in Elizabethan
drama, especially Shakespearean drama, we find ‘character is destiny’. For example, Shylock

Dept. of English, NUB

ENG 2211

was punished for his own vice. In fact, in modern drama, these traditions are turned into ‘society
is destiny’ that is society is responsible for character’s destiny. Now, in spite of its being a
modern drama, Riders to the Sea follows the classical tradition. The characters are operated by
their fate. Their fate is fixed. The male members of them are farmers or fisher men. They are to
go to the mainland across the sea, on account of earning their livelihood. Thus during the time on
the sea all of the male members, by their fate are to be drowned in the sea one after another.
However, in this way they surrender to the fate.
Chorus:
Chorus is another element of classical literature. The main responsibility of the chorus is to
express the past events. In this play, there is no definite chorus, but the characters sometimes act
like chorus. For example, Maurya remembers the death of her husband and sons. Again her
daughters report about Michael.
Universality:
In another sense, if any literary piece wins its own time and become universal, we call it classical
art. In this play, at first Maurya represents the Aran Islander mother – she believes in
superstition. She is only Bartley’s mother. Then, being left by all the male members of her
family, she accepts the truth of their life and their fate and by this surrendering to the fate she
becomes a universal mother from only Bartley’s mother. She says –
“May the Almighty God have mercy on Bartley’s soul, and on Michael’s soul, and on the souls
of Sheamus and Patch, and Stephen and Shawn, and May He have mercy on my soul, Nora, and
on the soul of every one is left living in the world.”
Again,
“What more can we want than that? No man at all can be living for ever, And we must be
satisfied” (universal philosophy)
Considering the above discussion, it has been clear that though Riders to the Sea, as product, is a
modern play, it possesses the classical ideals and becomes a universal one.

Dept. of English, NUB