"Riders in the sea" is a one act play written by John Millingtone Synge of Ireland. This presentation is regarding the themes of the play.

1. Presentation done by
V. Tony sam

4.  The play has so many connotations to
catholicism. There are Priests, blessings, Holy
water, etc.
 Maurya acts like a pagan despite being a
catholic.
 She listens to the power of the sea than the
power of God.

7.  Maurya represents tradition. Her children and
the young priest represent modernity.
 The tensions between the two worlds impact
Bartley.
 Modernity ultimately prevails.

8.  All of the characters resign to fate at the end
of the play.
 Throughout the play, Maurya believes that it
is her son’s fate to die
 Fate cannot be avoided. They are essentially
fatalists.

10.  Superstitions like a ghost could cause the
death of a loved one to assuage its
loneliness.
 It was also believed that the dead minded
other people wearing their clothes.

11.  Maurya doesn’t give blessing because of
superstition.
 The use of number nine is superstitious. The
number nine is used as a sign of bad luck
throughout the story.

13.  The Industrial revolution changed everything
so that people were unable to make a living
in the traditional way.
 Bartley is caught between the devil and deep
blue sea.
 The individual is pitted against society and
the conflict results in death.

15.  The sea is the most powerful element in the
play.
 It represents opportunity as well danger.

16. In line with the Greek thought that one must
suffer nobly and die a noble death.
Maurya suffers all her life.

18.  Nora gives Michael’s stick to Maurya.
 Bartley’s search for rope.
 Maurya intensifies the irony.
 Tragic irony

19.  Works cited:
 Greek elements in John Millington Synge’s
Riders to the sea
By Sister Mary Gabriela Klein de Notre Dame
A Thesis
Submitted to the Faculty of the Creighton
University in partial fulfillment of the
requirments for the degree of master of arts
in the department of English
Omaha,1941