L2L Riders to the Sea

Riders to the Sea

J. M. Synge

In 1904, J. M. Synge’s simple-yet-lyrical tragedy Riders to the Sea debuted in Dublin, and scholars and critics have dubbed it perhaps “his greatest play.” A writer in The Manchester Guardian in 1909 called it “the tragic masterpiece of our language in our time […] it has made the word tragedy mean something more profoundly stirring and cleansing to the spirit than it did.” Synge’s play is based on real incidents from his time spent on the Aran Islands, and while it is only one act without a robust plot, its depth and nuance about family, the environment, and death speak to the people of Synge’s culture and time as well as our own. This week, Leigh, P. T., and Dr. C finish discussing Synge’s comedy The Playboy of the Western World in the first half hour and then turn to Riders to the Sea.