John Millington Synge's Riders to the Sea: Death Versus Life

Abstract

Abstract

          Riders to the Sea is one of the most critically acclaimed plays written by Synge. It contributes to make Synge’s name because he has succeeded in capturing a whole way of life in several pages. The play shows the Aran islanders’ life with simplicity and sincerity. Synge set his play on a remote Irish island, focusing on the hardships of a family plagued by the sea's dangers. Man is represented in the play by the main character Maurya; an elderly mother who has lost several sons to the sea. This paper shows how Synge's, impressively,  summarizes the whole existence of man on this universe and how man has no alternative but to accept his inevitable fate.