John Milington's Synge's Riders to the Sea

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Recommended: The role of nature in modern literature

Is man ever in control of the natural world? Or are we only ever in a temporary contract with it? We see pictures of towns being swallowed whole by the sea on news, renewing the balance of power between man and nature. Man for years has struggled in its relationship with nature, and at one time attempting to give gifts of sacrifice to control weather or like today, attempting to gain control through manipulative science. In John Millington Synge's tragic realistic one-act play Riders To The Sea he explores the power struggle between man and the sea through the realistic portrayal of the fisherman mentality. This one-act play unwraps an image of the past with use on symbolism, Aristotles unties, and the emphasizes of dialogue over action.
John Millington Synge's Riders To The Sea brings to life a realistic representation of Irish society, culture and religion. This one-act play portrays a poor Irish peasant family through a day of they're life. Synge's play is set in the Aran Islands, capturing the rural lifestyle and dialogue of the primitive area. The Aran Islands are a group of three small islands off the coast of County Galway in western Ireland. The characters lived modestly in a small cottage with no windows and only had what they could piece together themselves. Their clothing was made from their own wool, their diet based on fish and potatoes, and they even created their own fertilizer from seaweed. Like most modern societies this rural area is based on an economical structure. These people are slaves of the sea, living off of it and dieing because of it. This play struggles with the soiled truth of the Irish peasantry (Saifullah).
In Riders to the Sea the household held to patriarchal standards, keeping the men dom...

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...rate audience members familiar with Synge's work. The rich cultural out look that Riders to the Sea seems known for should not be lost in interpretation, but the preservation of culture can make the meaning lost to a younger audience.
John Millington Synge's one-act play Riders to the Sea captures the culture of western Ireland through application of Aristotle's three unities and authentic dialogue. Although, the play gives audiences a window into the early western Irish life, the struggles met by his characters are universal and the meaning of the play is something timeless that stretches beyond cultural boundaries. This play explores the struggle between man and the sea through the realistic portrayal of the fisherman mentality. This one-act play unwraps an image of the past with use on symbolism, Aristotles unties, and the emphasizes of dialogue over action.

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