ENG 125 Week 4 DQs

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Week 4

DQ1 Question: Chapter 13 discusses the major elements of drama and distinguishes the form from

other genres like the short story and poetry. Using the play Riders to the Sea (Synge) as an example,

discuss what elements and qualities make drama unique as a literary form. Support your ideas with

textual evidence from Synge’s play. In your post, take into consideration how the literary themes of

Riders to the Sea relate to the dramatic form.

DQ1 Answer: "Riders to the Sea" is set in Ireland. The preface of this dramatic play is provided

before the play dialogue begins. This enabled me to understand there would be an accent to the

characters of Irish decent. In reading this play, I had a hard time actually depicting what the

characters were trying to say because it was set back in 1903; as Synge wrote this, it was written in

original English with the Irish accent. Between those two barriers, it was difficult to comprehend

and I did have to read parts over and over again to fully grasp what Synge was trying to convey to

me. However, writing the preface to the story, the point of how the story began, how the story came

to be, painted the picture in my head before the play began. Poems do not typically lead up to the

beginning with a preface of where the poem came from or how it began. Short stories sometimes do

but not to the blunt extent that a play does. A play provides very short and powerful statements at

the beginning that need very little elaboration further on. It tells us who the characters are and their

relation to one another and it also tells us how the first scene of the play came to be. It is written in

short form.

This play was obviously different from a poem because, unlike a poem, this play gave the details

that a reader would need in order to visualize the picture exactly as the writer intends. The play

provided the set up of the character and settings that short stories do not provide. Where as a short

story starts out something like "It was a cold winter night in Cleveland", this play starts out with the

preface "SCENE: An island off the West of Ireland. (Cottage kitchen, with nets, oil–skins, spinning

wheel, some new boards standing by the wall, etc. Cathleen, a girl of about twenty, finishes

kneading cake, and puts it down in the pot–oven by the fire; then wipes her hands, and begins to

spin at the wheel. Nora, a young girl, puts her head in at the door.)".

As the dialogue continues, there are inserts of actions in between or directives as to whom the

character's verbiage is directed. This helped me know when the setting changed even while the

characters were speaking. It also helps, when there are multiple people in a conversation, to know

who is speaking and who they are speaking to. As an example, it is written: "BARTLEY: To

Cathleen." which tells me Bartley is speaking to Cathleen. Short stories use things like "and he said

to her"; however, in plays such as this, the "he" and "her" could be misconstrued by the reader if not

clearly defined by the narrator. In a short story or poem, the action either follows or precedes the

verbal quotations. The play has it in between lines and in italics so that I know that a new action is

taking place. Sometimes in a short story, setting changes can be missed. This can be due to the fact

that the writer left them out or it was not significant enough for us, the readers, to catch on to the

context clues of change. With each italicized action, you can certainly get the gist of how the

narrator would be speaking it to you if in an actual play versus written. It is in clear English and not

broken as the dialogue is. That separates it from the dialogue as well.

The people in this play represent different parts of literary themes. "One of the women" is how a

woman is described, as she happened to walk into a conversation. However, she was not an

important part of the story. There was also an old man that said "Are there nails with them?". The

people, not clearly defined by name, are considered minor characters. Nora was Cathleen's

confidant. When Nora came in with the bundle under her shawl, she immediately told Cathleen the

story behind the bundle and what it was.

Syng used interpretative power to make me want to read further. As an example, he had narrated in

that "Nora comes in softly, and takes a bundle from under her shawl." Reading this, I could feel the

cold air that must have been outside. I could sense that whatever was under her shirt had to be worth

hiding or protecting. It made me want to read further into the play to see what was under her shawl.

Synge also uses stage directions as part of the narrative. When he writes "Goes to the inner door and

listens.", not only is that a stage direction, but it allows the reader to actually visualize this when

read versus watched. These stage directions are used in the physical play. However, in reading the

play, it gives us, the readers, the ability to visualize the actions. Another good example is "Nora

picks up the turf and puts it round the pot–oven".

I also enjoyed how Synge used parts of the play to be so dramatic. Short stories do not typically

branch out to encompass the reader so much in a preface. It reminded me of the soap operas my

wife watches. It was almost like something people do in real life, but not in the ways that the writer

is creating the scenes in the play. " MAURYA: Turning round to the fire, and putting her shawl over

her head. "Isn't it a hard and cruel man won't hear a word from an old woman, and she holding him

from the sea? 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?" In this exact scene, I got the idea that Maurya

wanted to be listened to by Bartley. She wanted attention and therefore she turned her back to him

which caused a dramatic effect. I have seen things like this on soap operas before, so I knew this

exact action. It was Synge's way of giving the reader or audience the dramatic feeling through

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Week 4 DQ1 Question: Chapter 13 discusses the major elements of drama and distinguishes the form from other genres like the short story and poetry. Using the play Riders to the Sea (Synge) as an example, discuss what elements and qualities make drama unique as a literary form. Support your ideas with textual evidence from Synge's play. In your post, take into consideration how the literary themes of Riders to the Sea relate to the dramatic form. DQ1 Answer:?"Riders to the Sea" is set in Ireland. The preface of this dramatic play is provided before the play dialogue begins. This enabled me to understand there would be an accent to the characters of Irish decent. In reading this play, I had a hard time actually depicting what the characters were trying to say because it was set back in 1903; as Synge wrote this, it was written in original English with the Irish accent. Between those two barriers, it was difficult to comprehend and I did have to read parts over and over again to fully grasp what Synge was trying to convey to me. However, writing the preface to the story, the point of how the story began, how the story came to be, painted the picture in my head before the play began. Poems do not typically lead up to the beginning with a preface of where the poem came from or how it began. Short stories sometimes do but not to the blunt extent that a play does. A play provides very short and powerful statements at the beginning that need very little elaboration further on. It te ...
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