Some Difficult Phrases from J. M. Synge’s "Riders to the Sea"
"The wind is rising"
"The blessing of God on you."
Meaning: A traditional Irish blessing, this phrase is spoken to wish safety and divine protection. In the context of the play, it reflects the islanders' deep religious faith as well as their hope for protection in dangerous situations, such as Bartley’s journey to sea.
"Isn't it a hard and cruel man won't hear a word from an old woman, and she holding him from the sea?"
Meaning: This question reflects the constant association between the sea and death in the islanders’ lives. It’s almost as if going to the sea is synonymous with heading toward one’s doom, given how many of Maurya’s family members have perished there. So, Maurya’s words towords his son Bartley’s journey to sea is a desperate attempt to stop him from that calamity.
"I've seen the fearfulest thing any person has seen, since the day Bride Dara seen the dead man with the child in his arms."
Meaning: Maurya says this after her vision of Michael riding behind Bartley. It means she has witnessed something terrifying or ominous. This vision foretells Bartley’s death, underscoring the themes of fate and premonition in the play ."Since the day Bride Dara seen the dead man with the child in his arms" is an allusion to an earlier tragic event known to the Aran folk. Bride Dara is presumably a local woman who had witnessed an unsettling or supernatural event—a dead man carrying a child. This image suggests a past encounter with death and foreboding, linking it to the superstitions and fatalism of the islanders.
"He’s gone now, and when the black night is falling I’ll have no son left me in the world"
Meaning: This phrase reflects Maurya’s profound sense of loss. She anticipates the end of the day (symbolizing the end of her hope), knowing that by nightfall, she will have no sons left. The phrase encapsulates her grief and the tragic inevitability of her circumstances
"It's a great rest I'll have now, and great sleeping in the long nights after Samhain, if it's only a bit of wet flour we do have to eat, and maybe a fish that would be stinking."
Meaning: Spoken by Maurya in Riders to the Sea, it reflects her resignation and acceptance of the loss of her last surviving son, Bartley.
Despite the material poverty she anticipates (living on meager, unappealing food like wet flour and spoiled fish), Maurya suggests that these hardships are trivial compared to the emotional and spiritual relief she will gain from no longer fearing for the lives of her loved ones. This reflects her complete submission to fate and the inevitability of death. The physical struggles are no longer a source of concern, as the emotional toll has already been endured.
"It's hard set we'll be surely the day you're drownd'd with the rest. What way will I live and the girls with me, and I an old woman looking for the grave?"
Meaning: Maurya fears for the future after losing her sons, who were the breadwinners. The phrase reflects her helplessness and concerns about how she and her daughters will survive with limited resources. "Looking for the grave" is a symbol of their meager existence.
"It's the life of a young man to be going on the sea, and who would listen to an old woman with one thing and she saying it over?"
Meaning: This quote from Cathleen reflects the inevitability of young men going to sea despite the warnings of older generations. It conveys the conflict between youthful ambition or necessity and the wisdom of the elders, who foresee the dangers but are powerless to stop them.
"It’s little the like of him knows of the sea."
Meaning: Maurya refers to the priest, suggesting that he, despite being a figure of authority, does not truly understand the dangerous and unpredictable nature of the sea. It reflects the gap between the lived experience of the islanders and those who live more sheltered lives.
"It's hard set we'll be surely the day you're drownd'd with the rest. What way will I live and the girls with me, and I an old woman looking for the grave?"
Meaning: In the play, delaying a journey is seen as a bad omen, particularly when it involves the dangerous sea. The phrase suggests that Maurya’s attempts to stop Bartley from going to sea are seen as inviting bad luck or trouble, reflecting the superstitions of the islanders.
"If it wasn'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 there is one son only?"
Meaning: This refers to an omen Maurya notices. In Irish folklore, certain celestial events are often seen as signs of impending doom. The phrase highlights Maurya’s superstitious fear that the stars and moon are warning her of Bartley’s fate, heightening the sense of foreboding in the play.
"It’s destroyed we are from this day."
Meaning: This phrase expresses total devastation and loss. After Bartley’s death, Maurya and her daughters are left without any male support. The phrase conveys their emotional and practical ruin, as they are now completely vulnerable.
"Maybe yourself and Eamon would make a coffin when the sun rises. We have fine white boards herself bought, God help her, thinking Michael would be found, and I have a new cake you can eat while you'll be working."
Meaning: This reflects the inevitability of death in the lives of the characters. Cathleen refers to the white boards for coffin to be prepared for Michael, which will now serve for Bartley. The matter-of-fact tone emphasizes the recurring nature of death in their lives, where one death quickly follows another.
"I've had a husband, and a husband's father, and six sons in this house..." (Maurya's family)
Meaning: Maurya, the central character, is lamenting the losses in her family. This line reflects the tragedy that has befallen her: she has lost her husband, father-in-law, and six sons to the sea. It highlights the relentless grip of fate and the devastating impact the sea has had on her life. The line underscores the play’s theme of loss and the inescapable power of nature.
"I seen two women, and three women, and four women coming in, and they crossing themselves, and not saying a word." (Number nine)
Meaning: This line refers to the tradition of women visiting a home in mourning, particularly when there has been a death. The numbers two, three, and four symbolize growing numbers of mourners, building suspense and foreboding. The women’s silent gestures of crossing themselves signal respect and mourning for the dead, amplifying the sense of inevitable tragedy.
"They're all gone now, and there isn't anything more the sea can do to me.... I'll have no call now to be up crying and praying when the wind breaks from the south, and you can hear the surf is in the east, and the surf is in the west, making a great stir with the two noises, and they hitting one on the other."
Meaning: Maurya, after losing all her sons, reaches a point of indifference toward the sea, which once held the power to take away her family. This phrase shows her emotional numbness, as the sea can no longer hurt her once she has lost everything.
Meaning: This is Maurya’s final acceptance of her fate after losing all her sons to the sea. It expresses her utter devastation but also a sense of relief, as there’s nothing left for the sea to take from her. The phrase captures the inevitability of fate and the sea’s power.
"It’s a great rest I’ll have now, and it’s time surely."
Meaning: After losing all her sons, Maurya expresses her readiness for peace, having suffered enough. The "rest" refers to the emotional relief from the constant worry of losing loved ones to the sea. It conveys her resignation to fate and the end of her anguish.
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