Symbols, Explanations and Short Answer Type Questions from John Millington Synge’s Riders to the Sea

Q. What is chorus?

Chorus is a group of chaos, who comment on the past, discuss the present, and anticipate the future.

Q. What do you know about Synge’s visits to the Aran Islands?

Synge visited the Aran Islands in 1898 (10th May ~ 25th June), 1899 (12th September ~ 7th October), and 1900 (15th September ~ 3rd October). Synge visited Aran Islands on the advice of W. B. Yeats.

Q. What do you know about Aran Islands?

Aran Islands are a group of three islands Inishmore, Inishmaan, and Inishee. These islands are situated between the coast of Galway and Clare.

Q. When was Riders to the Sea first performed? Where was it first published?

Riders to the Sea was first performed on February 25, 1904. It was first published in Yeats’ Samhain (1903). Yeats called it a “flawless masterpiece”. James Joyce translated it to Italian.

Q. What is locale? What is the locale in the Riders to the Sea?

 The place of tragic action is called the locale. Aran Islands is the locale here, in Riders to the Sea.

Q. Mention two plays by J. M. Synge, other than the Riders to the Sea.

Two other plays by J. M. Synge are – The Shadow of the Glen (1903) and The Playboy of the Western World.

Q. What is the setting of the play?

The setting (locale) of the play, Riders to the Sea is Maurya’s cottage-kitchen in one of the Aran Islands of the west of Ireland.

Q. What does the word ‘Aran’ mean?

‘Aran’ means – mountain of strength.

Q. What does the nets symbolize?

The fishing nets present in Maurya’s cottage-kitchen indicate that it is a family of fishermen. The nets may symbolize the helplessness of the family and their geographical confinement.

Q. What do you mean by ‘oilskins’?

Oilskins are water-resistant clothes. The oilskins indicate that the family members have to ride to the sea frequently.

Q. What does the spinning wheel indicate?

The spinning-wheel indicates that the female members of the family spin threads. The spinning-wheel may also symbolize the cyclic order of life and death. It may also symbolize the wheel of fate.

Q. What does the phrase ‘Some new boards’ refer to?

The new boards standing by the wall are used for making coffin. The new boards indicate that death is a frequent visitor in the family. It may also refer to ‘memento mori’ – an artistic or symbolic reminder of the inevitability of death.

Q. What is the age of Cathleen?

The age of Cathleen is about twenty.

Q. What was Cathleen doing when the play begins?

When Riders to the Sea begins, Cathleen finished kneading the batter for a cake and put it down on the pot oven. After that, she wiped her hands and began to spin at the wheel.

Q. Quote the first speeches of Nora and Cathleen.

The first speech of Nora is in a low voice, and it is: “Where is she?” The first speech of Cathleen is a response to Nora’s first speech, which was a question all over – “She’s lying down, God help her, and may be sleeping, if she’s able.”

Q. “She’s lying down… if she’s able.” – who is the speaker? Who is spoken of? Comment on the significance of the speech.

Here Cathleen is the speaker. Maurya, her mother, is spoken of. Cathleen’s speech is significant because it refers to Maurya’s restless and sleepless state of mind.

Q. Does there any choric role exist in this play?

In this play, the characters perform choric role.

Q. Who is the young priest? Why is he called ‘young’?

The young priest is an anonymous character in the play. He is called young for two reasons – first of all, he is youthful; and secondly, he is immature; he knows little of the arbitrary rhythm of the sea.

Q. What is Donegal?

Donegal is the northern-most country of Ireland.

Q. Who gave the bundle to Nora?

The young priest gave the bundle to Nora.

Q. What do you know about the ‘Galway Fair’?

Galway fair is a cattle fair held in Galway. Galway was the capital of the country of Galway, in the west of Ireland. Bartley is going to the Galway fair to sell his horses at a lucrative price.

Q. Why won’t the young priest stop Bartley from the Galway Fair?

Being a religious man, the young priest firmly believed that Maurya’s prayers had enough power to protect Bartley. Besides this, he believed that God won’t leave Maurya destitute with no son living. A Christian, the young priest knew very little of the arbitrary rhythm of the sea.

Q. What do you mean by the phrase – ‘White rocks’?

Rocks of limestone is meant here.

Q. What do you mean by the phrase – ‘middling bad’?

It actually means – not too bad, nor too good; or somewhat bad.

Q. What do you mean by ‘turf-loft’?

Turf-loft is a loft for keeping turf, a sort of seaweeds. Incidentally, loft is a small chamber, just below the roof.

Q. What is gable?

It is, a triangular corner of the chimney.

Q. What is the first speech of Maurya?

The first speech of Maurya is – “Isn’t it turf enough you have for this day and evening?”

Q. What do you know of Connemara?

The Galway fair was held at Connemara. Incidentally, Connemara is the eastern part of the county of Galway. Connemara was a business area.

Q. Why did Maurya think that Bartley won’t go to the Connemara cattle fair?

Maurya thought that Bertley won’t go to the Connemara cattle fair because strong wind blowing from the south and west anticipated violent storm. Moreover falsely believed that the young priest would stop Bartley.

Q. Name the neighbours of Maurya.

Eamon Simon, Stephen Pheety and Colum Shawn were the neighbours of Maurya.

Q. What do you mean by ‘green head’?

The head of a rock covered with vegetation is meant by it.

Q. What do you mean by “hooker’s tacking”?

Hooker is a small Irish note for farrying passengers and goods. “Tacking” means changing the direction of a boat or a ship by adjusting the sails.

Q. What is the first speech of Bartley?

Bartley, in his first speech, says, “Where is the bit of new rope, Cathleen, was bought in Connemara?”

Q. Why did Maurya forbid Bartley to take the rope?

Maurya forbade Bartley to take the rope because it would be needed if Michael’s dead body was washed up. The rope would be needed to lower the coffin down into the grave.

Q. What is a halter?

Halter is a leather belt used for leading a horse.

Q. Why did Bertley need the rope?

Bertley needed the rope to use it in place of a halter. Besides Bertley must sail immediately because it was the only boat sailing for two weeks or beyond it.

Q. Explain Maurya’s speech: “It’s a hard thing they’ll be saying below if the body is washed up and there’s no man in it to make the coffin, and I after giving a big price for the finest white boards you’d find in Connemara.”

Taking cue from Bartley’s speech, Maurya passed the following comment. Maurya implied that the neighboring people who praised Bartley’s urgency for sailing to the Connemara Cattle fair would criticize if Michael’s deadbody was found in the absence of Bartley.

Q. Bring out the significance of number ‘nine’ in Bartley’s speech: “How would it be washed up…. nine days…. west and south?”

Number nine is a perfect number referring to the Holy trinity (i.e. God, Jesus Christ, and Holy Ghost) in literature. Number 9 is regarded as an ominous number. In Riders to the Sea, number nine is repeatedly mentioned to imply Bartley’s impending death.

Q. Why did Bartley think that Michael’s dead body would not be washed up?

According to Bartley, Michael’s dead body would not be washed up for two reasons –     1. It was already past nine days and the body was not found.     2. It was the most favourable time for the body to be washed up because, a strong wind was blowing from the west and south.

Q. Mention at least one pagan element in the play.

Maurya’s ability to read the natural signs is one of the pagan elements in Riders to the Sea. A star rising close to the moon portends violent storm in Irish culture. Maurya could understand the omen and anticipated the ruinous voyage of Bartley.

Q. Explain Maurya’s speech: “If it isn’t found itself, that wind is raising the sea, and there was a star up against the moon, and it rising in the night. If it was a hundred horses, or a thousand horses you had itself, what is the price of a thousand horses against a son where thee is one son only?”

The quoted line is taken from Synge’s Riders to the Sea. Maurya, the bereaved mother passed the comment. Bartley, the surviving son of Maurya decided to go to the Galway cattle fair to sell his two horses. Maurya anticipated Bartley’s death simply because she had already given her husband, husband’s father, and five sons to the sea. In other words, she had supped full with the horror of death. She attempted to prevent Bartley by saying that Bartley would be needed to make a coffin for Michael. Bartley replied that there was no chance for Michael’s dead body to be washed up because it was already past nine days and a strong wind was blowing from the west and south. Maurya changed her line of argument and cited a more practical reason to dissuade Bartley. She implied that even if Bartley had a hundred or a thousand horses instead of two, the price of horses were nothing against the price of Bartley.

Maurya’s speech is full of material sentiment. Her anxiety about Bartley’s safety is manifested in the speech. Death has struck her so badly that she’s now afraid of the sea and the prospect of riding to the sea. Maurya in the play is an archetype of fragility and sacrifice. The speech manifests that she is highly emotional as well as pessimistic.

Q. What do you mean by the term – ‘jobber’?

Jobber is a dealer of livestock or cattle.

Q. What do you mean by the phrase – ‘cock for the kelp’?

It is a triangular or cone-shaped pile of kelp.

Q. What are the advices Bartley gave to Cathleen before he left?

Before leaving for the Connemara cattle fair Bartley gave three advices to Cathleen –

• She must protect the rye from the sheep.
• She should sell the pig with black feet to the jobber for a good price.
• She and Nora should collect kelp enough for another cock if the west wind blows at dawn.

Q. Explain the quoted line: “It’s hard set we’ll be from this day with no one in it but one man to work.”

Bartley passed the comment before leaving for the Connemara cattle fair. He implied that after Michael’s death it became very difficult for him to run the family because he was the only male member of it.

Q. Explain Maurya’s speech: “It’s hard set we’ll be surely the day you’re drowned with the rest. What way will I live and the girls with me, and I an old woman looking for the grave?”

Maurya echoed Bartley’s speech and extended it farther implying that it would be very difficult for her and the two girls to survive after Bartley would die. Maurya’s speech is apparently cruel. It is actually a manifestation of her anxiety.

Q. What do you mean by the word – ‘pier’?

Pier means jetty. It is a large wooden platform stretched far into the sea for landing passengers and goods.

Q. “Is she coming to the pier?” – what does ‘she’ here refers to?

Here, ‘she’ refers to the ship.

Q. What is tragic irony? Give an example from Riders to the Sea.

Tragic irony is a sort of dramatic irony referring to an ironic antithesis of a speech resulting in tragedy. Bartley’s speech “…you’ll see me coming again in two days, or in three days, or may be in four days if the wind is bad.” is an example of tragic or Sophoclean irony.

Q. Explain Bartley’s speech: “…you’ll see me coming again in two days, or in three days, or may be in four days if the wind is bad.”

Bartley said this in Synge’s Riders to the Sea before leaving for the Connemara cattle fair. Bartley innocently said that he had half an hour to go down and he would return ‘in two days, or in three days, or may be in four days’. Bartley wanted to debut with a note of optimism contrary to Maurya’s fatal anxiety. But he was ignorant of the destructive mood of the hungry Atlantic. Errol Durback rightly comments: “And the arbitrary rhythm, of man’s precious existence in this world is the rhythm of the sea.” Bartley was evidently indifferent or was obliged to be indifferent to the ‘arbitrary rhythm’ of the sea.

Bartley’s speech is an example of tragic irony. His reference to two days, three days and four days is ominous because the sum of the days mentioned is nine. Bartley does not know, though we know, that he will never be coming. Robin Skelton says: “It is a triple trinity… it serves to evoke an atmosphere of mystery and terror which make Riders to the Sea so touching”. Bartley should not be blamed either because he was obliged to ride to the sea. Prof. Nicoll rightly says: “The tragedy goes back to primal emotions to the struggle of man with nature”.

Q. What does the word – ‘red’ signify in the phrase ‘red mare’?

Red is the colour of blood; therefore it represents life.

Q. What does the word ‘grey’ signify in the phrase ‘grey pony’?

Grey is the colour of dried blood; therefore it signifies death.

Q. What is a Tong?

It is a small stick of metal for raking the fire.

Q. What do you mean by the phrase ‘The Son of God’, spoken by Cathleen?

Here, the phrase ‘The Son of God’ refers to Jesus Christ.

Q. What does the forgetting of the cake or bread symbolize?

In Christianity bread is associated with Jesus (the flesh of Jesus) and therefore symbolizes holiness. The forgetting of the bread implies two things –

• Bartley will have to starve and may naturally die for extreme starvation.
• Bartley is deprived of the blessings of Jesus and therefore will die fatally.

Q. “And it’s destroyed he’ll be going till dark night, and he after eating nothing since the sun went up.” – who said this and why?

Nora passed the choric comment on Bartley’s impending death from extreme starvation because, he has eaten nothing since the morning and forgotten to take his bread.

Q. “There’s no sense left on any person in a house where an old woman will be talking for ever.” – who is the speaker and why did she say so?

Cathleen, the eldest daughter of Maurya said this. She passed the comment after it was discovered that they had forgotten to give Bartley the cake.     She blamed Maurya for her oblivion because Maurya was continuously talking.

Q. What do you mean by the word ‘keen’?

Keen is the verb of ‘keening’. Keening is a Celtic ritual of lamenting together over somebody’s death.

Q. What do you mean by the phrase – ‘spring well’?

‘Spring well’ means, a well containing water of a spring. It is a popular landmark in the area.

Q. “Will I be in it as soon as himself?” – who said this and why?

Maurya asked the choric question. She wanted to know how she could meet Bartley on foot. Actually, Bartley took a hilly path that was meandering (sinuous) and Maurya would take a shortcut rout.

Q. Why did Cathleen ask Nora to give Maurya the stick?

Cathleen asked Nora to give Maurya the stick so that Maurya might walk steadily.

Q. What does the word – ‘big world’ refer to?

‘Big world’ refers to the world outside the Aran Islands.

Q. “In the big world the old people do be leaving things after them for their sons and children, but in this place it is the young men do be leaving thing behind for them that do be old.” – explain the quoted line.

Maurya passed the comment in Synge’s Riders to the Sea when Cathleen asked Nora to give her the stick Michael bought from Connemara.     Maurya in her speech divided the world into two parts – the Aran Islands and the ‘Big world’ (the world outside the Aran Islands). Maurya lamented their misfortune that in the big world the old people would die and bequeath their property to the young; but in the Aran Islands, the mortal custom was reversed. Here the young men would die and their possessions were to be inherited by the old. The stick was bought by Michael, the fifth son of Maurya. Michael is missing for nine days and was supposedly drowned. Now Maurya was using Michael’s stick. The wretchedness of the incident triggered Maurya’s speech, quoted above.

Maurya’s speech is full of pathos. It significantly reveals the cruelty of the hungry Atlantic. It is the Sea that has taken everything away from her. Secondly, the speech shows the helplessness of the islanders. We are reminded of a similar complaint in Shakespeare’s King Lear: “As flies to wanton boys / Are we to th’ gods / They kill us for their sport”.  But Maurya’s speech suffers the fallacy of myopic observation. She fails to understand the fact that death visits everywhere. Death does not distinguish between the big world and the Aran Islands. To conclude, we should quote Robin Skelton: “The pathos and dignity of Maurys’s speech… is not unlike many of the laments in Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides”.

Q. Which plot in the Riders to the Sea can be identified as the anagnoresis?

The identification and the recognition of Michael’s clothes may be called anagnoresis in the Riders to the Sea.

Q. What do you mean by the word ‘rowing’?

The function of propelling the oar is actually meant here.

Q. What is ‘poteen’ ?

Poteen is illicit whisky distilled from potatoes.

Q. How was the dead body of Michael found?

Nora informed Cathleen that two men were rowing round with poteen, illicit whisky before dawn and near the black cliffs of the north, the oar of one of them caught the dead body.

Q. What do you mean by the phrase ‘black knot’?

The phrase refers to the knot difficult to losen.     The knot is called ‘black knot’ because it is perished with the salt water.

Q. “It is surely” – what does ‘it’ refer to?

‘It’ refers to the fact that it is a long way to Donegal from the Aran Islands.     Cathleen informed Nora that the knife seller had told her that one would take seven days to reach Donegal on foot from the white rocks in the Aran Islands.

Q. Quote a choric speech from Riders to the sea.

“It’s not with them, Cathleen, and where will it be?” – is a choric speech passed by Nora.

Q. “Give me that and it will do” – who’s the speaker? What does the line signify?

Cathleen asked Nora to give her the bit of a sleeve lying in the corner so that she might compare the flannel with that of the shirt in the bundle.

Q. How did Nora identify the plain stocking?

Nora counted the stitches on the plain stocking and discovered that the stocking contained sixty stitches with four of them dropped – the exact number of stitches she knitted.

Q. What do you mean by the phrase ‘black hags’?

The souls of the drowned in the sea are actually meant by this phrase. Black hangs may also refer to large sea-birds.

Q. Who first introduced natural-supernaturalism?

Samuel Taylor Coleridge first introduced natural-supernaturalism. J. M. Synge in Riders to the Sea had implemented the style following Coleridge’s aestheticism.

Q. Give an example of peripeteia in Synge’s Riders to the Sea.

Reversal of Michael’s status can be seen as peripeteia in Riders to the Sea.

Q. “And isn’t it a pitiful thing when there is nothing left of a man who was a great rower and fisher but a bit of an old shirt and a plain stocking?” – Who is the speaker? Why did the speaker say so?

Nora’s speech marks Michael’s peripeteia from a great rower and fisher to a wretched dead body floating nine days with the mighty currents with no one to keen. Nora implied that the greatest truth of life is death. Michael was a great rower and fisher but his death completely annihilated his former heroism. Only a shirt and a plain stocking are left to be identified as Michael’s.

Q. How many times was the bundle hidden?

The bundle was hidden twice from Maurya’s sight. At first, it was the turf-loft and later, a hole in the chimney corner of the room was the spot where the bundle was hidden.

Q. What did Cathleen advise Nora to hide her tears and why?

To prevent Maurya from knowing that Nora was crying, Cathleen advised Nora to turn round with her back to the door, so that Maurya might not see her face.

Q. “God forgive you; isn’t it a better thing to raise your voice and tell what you seen, than to be making lamentation for a thing that’s done?” – Who said this and why?

Cathleen solicited Maurya to raise her voice instead of lamenting for ‘a thing that’s done’. Cathleen mistook Maurya’s lamentation to be for Michael’s death. The speech underlines a situational irony in the play.

Q. What does the falling of Maurya’s shawl symbolize?

The falling of Maurya’s shawl symbolizes the tragic destiny of the family. Bartley’s death will deprive Maurya and her daughters of security and sustenance.

Q. “What is it ails you at all?” – Who said this and why?

Cathleen asked Maurya the cause of her irritation and stup fiction after hearing of Bartley on the red mare with the grey pony behind him.

Q. “I’ve seen the fearfullest thing any person has seen since the day Bride Dara seen the dead man with the child in his arms” – Bring out the significance of the quoted line.

Maurya is the speaker here. By ‘the fearfullest thing’ she refers to her vision (hallucination) of Bartley on the red mare followed by the ghost of Michael on the grey pony. Michael was wearing new clothes and new shoes.     The vision is called ‘the fearfullest thing’ because, it anticipates the impending death of Bartley. In Irish folklore, the legend of Bride Dara asserts that a living man pursued by someone already dead will die soon.     In the original legend of Bride Dara, Dara was a new bride who died just after giving birth to her child. The ghost of Dara seemed to feed her child by her family. After a few days the child dies. Synge modifies the legend in the play. Bride Dara, as Maurya reports, saw her dead husband with her child in his arms. After a few days the child died.

Q. Pick up the only supernatural thing that could be found in Synge’sRiders to the Sea.

‘God speed you’ – these were the words which Maurya tried to use to bless Bartley with. But, ‘something choked the words’ in her throat. This is the only supernatural thing that we find particularly in this play.

Q. “… but something choked the words in my throat” – What were the words? Why were the words choke in her throat?

The words were ‘God speed you’ that Maurya tried to bless Bartley with. Maurya could not utter the words as if ‘something choked the words’ in her throat. Maurya’s failure to utter the words implies Bartley’s separation from the divine providence and anticipates his death.     Maurya’s predicament echoes Macbeth’s:

…but wherefore could not I pronounce “Amen”?
I had most need of blessing and “Amen”
Stuck in my throat.

[Macbeth II, ii]

Q. “Didn’t the young priest say the Almighty God won’t leave her destitute with no son living?” – What does this line imply?

The question (Nora is the speaker here) implies the immaturity of the young priest.

Q. “It’s little the like of him knows of the sea…” – Who is the speaker? What did the speaker want to tell actually?

Maurya said this in reply to Nora’s query with reference to the confirmation by the young priest that the Almighty God won’t leave Maurya destitute with no son living.

Maurya implied that the young priest knew little of the arbitrary rhythm of the hungry Atlantic. A Christian, the young priest was ignorant of the destructive natural forces recognized and understood by the Aran Islanders including Maurya.

Q. What is the ‘Bay of Gregory’?

The Bay of Gregory is otherwise known as Gregory’s Sound between Inishmaan and Inishmore.

Q. What is the ‘Golden Mouth’?

It is a local river.

Q. What is a ‘curragh’?

It is a small Irish fishing boat.

Q. “I seen two women, and three women, and four women coming in, and they crossing themselves and not saying a word” – Who is the speaker? With whose speech, matches can be found with it?

Maurya is the speaker here. Here, the valedictory speech of Bartley has been echoed.

Q. How did Patch’s death resemble Bartley’s?

There is a close affinity between the death of Patch and Bartley. Patch was drowned out of a curragh that turned over. Bartley was drowned when the grey pony knocked him over into the sea. The dead body of Patch was covered with a red sail and there was water dripping from it to leave a track behind. Bartley’s dead body was carried in exactly the same way. The past and present are juxtaposed by death – the greatest carnivalesque of human life.

Q. Mention the name of the sons of Maurya.

The sons of Maurya were, Stephen, Shawn, Sheamus , Patch, Michael and Bartley.

Q. Mention how Maurya’s sons along with their father and grandfather died?

Stephen and Shawn were lost in a great wind (storm), and were found later in the Bay of Gragory (Gragory’s Sound) of the Golden Mouth.

Sheamus along with his father and his grandfather were lost in a dark night, and not a stick or sign of them was seen when the sun went up.

Patch was drowned out of a curragh that turned over.

Michael also died in sea-accident although we don’t get a complete description of it.

Bartley’s death arrived when the grey pony knocked him over into the sea.

Q. How did Bartley die? Is there anything supernatural?

One of the neighboring women reported that the grey pony had knocked Bartley over into the sea and he was washed out by the mighty current and dashed against the white rocks.

Bartley’s death borders on the supernatural scenes. Maurya envisioned Michael on the grey pony. But Bartley’s so-called supernatural death may have a natural explanation. The grey pony running behind the red mare had perhaps knocked Bartley coincidentally.

Security is man’s deepest enemy.

– Macbeth

Q. What is ‘Samhain’ ?

Samhain is a Celtic festival otherwise known as the festival of the departing sun, celebrated on November 1 to drive out evil spirit. The word ‘Samhain’ is a Gaelic word for late Autumn.

Maurya alluded to ‘Samhain’ to imply that she would no more go down and collect ‘Holy Water’ in the dark nights after ‘Samhain’ because all of her sons were dead.

Q. What do you mean by the phrase – ‘Holy Water’?

The phrase – ‘Holy Water’ means sanctified water used for driving out evil spirit and purification.

Q. Explain: : “… it’s a great rest I’ll have now… “

Maurya said this in a fit of tragic desperation after Bartley’s death.

Formerly, Maurya’s whole existance centered on the safety and security of the male members of her family. With everyone going out to the sea, she had suffered. For Bartley’s safe home-coming she had prayed to the Almighty God. But no heavenly benediction could keep death off the family. Bartley died. Maurya grew desperate with a sense of selfish security. She was relieved from the prolonged anxieties for the safety of her sons and other male members of her family. Bartley’s death put an end to her sufferings and she would have a great rest now. She would sleep peacefully after ‘Samhain’. Even though they would have to survive on rotten food, they would live peacefully.

Maurya’s speech is full of tragic desperation. Apparently she spoke like a selfish mother who was indifferent to the suffering of others. Again the speech underlines her maternal affection to Bartley. Her speech shows her calm resignation to fate. She accepted what was predestined. She emerged as a berieved woman with philosophical wisdom. Bartley’s death removed the curtain of illusion.

Q. Does Maurya’s forgetting of nails symbolize anything?

Being old, Maurya forgot to buy nails for the white boards. Synge may have used symbolic implication in Maurya’s forgetting of nails. Michael’s death was followed by Bartley’s death and Bartley’s would be followed by somebody else’s. The forgetting of nails suggests that the deaths of Michael and Bartley did not hammer the last nail of sorrow. Contrary to Maurya’s thought, Maurya would continue to be anxious even though Bartley had died.

Q. Consider Bartley as a Christ figure in Synge’sRidersto the Sea.

Bartley is a Christ figure in this play because with Bartley’s death comes Maurya’s Stoic realization.

Q. How did Nora interpret Maurya’s silence after Bartley’s death?

According to Nora, Maurya was fonder of Michael than of Bartley. When Michael had died, her agonised lamentation could be heard even from the spring well. But surprisingly Bartley’s death made her calm and quiet.

Nora misinterpreted Maurya’s silence. Bartley’s death instrumentalised Maurya’s Stoic realization: “No man at all can be living for ever, and we must be satisfied.”

Q. What did Cathleen say about Maurya’s silence after Bartley’s death?

Cathleen told Nora that Maurya’s tragic silence was a result of her prolonged agony and suffering. She was old and tired of weeping, for she had already been weeping for nine days after Michael was lost.

Cathleen misinterpreted Maurya’s silence. Bartley’s death instrumentalised Maurya’s Stoic realization: “No man at all can be living for ever, and we must be satisfied.”

Q. What is Immram? How does Synge’sRiders to the Seadiffer from it?

Irish travel narratives are called ‘Immram’.

Immrams often conclude with a completely tragic or comic outcome. Although, Synge’s Riders to the Sea also portrays a tragic outcome at the end, it reflects a Stoic realization as well. Thus, it’s different from Immrams.

Q. Explain: “No man at all can be living for ever, and we must be satisfied.”

The concluding speech of Maurya is an outcome of her Stoic realization that death is a part of life. Maurya, the tragic protagonist of the play sprinkled the remaining ‘Holy Water’ on Bartley’s dead body lying on the table. She gradually refer to the death of Michael, Bartley among others. Her prayers failed to protect Bartley. She consoled herself with the thought that Michael got a clean burial in the far north and Bartley would get a deep grave by the grace of God. She finally accepted the only truth of human life that every man is predestined to die. The conflict with death came to an end after Bartley died. She lost everything she had and transcended to the philosophical realm of Stoicism. Formerly she had divided the world into the Aran Islands and the ‘Big world’ and wrongly considered the ‘Big world’ to be a happier place. With Bartley’s death, she realized that, death is the greatest carnivalesque that death does not distinguish between Maurya’s world and the ‘Big world’.

Maurya’s last speech borders on the Buddhist philosophy that death releases man from the illusion of life. Through the Stoic realization, Maurya attained universal motherhood: “And on the soul of every one is left living in the world.” Maurya’a concluding speech proves that she had transcended to the realm of philosophical indifference to weal and woe. To conclude we may allude to Macbeth’s speech:

Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day
To the last syllable of recorded time,
……..
…It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.