CLASS - 10 ( ENGLISH) CHAPTER – 6

THE LISTENERS
-Walter de la Mare
Reference to context
1.For he suddenly smote on the door, even
Louder, and lifted his head:
‘Tell them I came and no one answered,
That I kept my word.’
Silence search softly backward
‘Is there anybody there?’
He suddenly smooth on the door even louder.
a) Who do you think ‘them' refers to in line 1?
b) What was the word that he has kept?
c) Is there a suggestion of impatience on the part of the traveller? What gives you this
impression?
d) The poem is set in the medieval times. Pick out a word and a description that tells us so.
Answers:
a) Here ‘them’ refers to the inmates of the house.
b) The promise which the traveller has made to one of the inmates that he would come one
day was the word the traveller has kept.
c) Yes, there is a suggestion of impatience in the part of the traveller.
The gestures of the traveller who was knocking on the door over and over again, and
continuously asking aloud if there was anyone inside, gives us the impression of traveller’s
impatience.
d) The poet uses many archaic words such as ‘spake' which ensure us that the poem is set in a
medieval time. Besides the use of archaic terms, the supernatural elements of the poem and
the traveller himself who must have been returning home from a lone quest at night clearly
shows that this poem is set in the medieval time.

2. No head from the leaf-fringed sill

Leaned over and looked into his grey eyes,
Where he stood perplexed and still.
But only a host of Phantom listeners
That dwelled in the lone house then
Stood listening in the quiet of the moonlight
To that voice from the world of men:
Stood thronging the faint moonbeams on a dark stair,
That goes down to the empty hall,
Harkening in an air stirred and shaken
By the lonely Traveller’s call.
a) Why are the eyes of the traveller described as grey?
b) Identify two words used to give the poem an eerie atmosphere.
c) ‘Voice from the world of men'. Whose voice is it? how is it significant?
d) Why was he ‘perplexed and still'?
Answers:
a) The poet describes the eyes of the traveller as grey because the traveller seemed confused
and lost when he was knocking at the door, trying to convey a message which the reader
has no knowledge about it. The intention of the traveller is never known by anyone.
b) The two words used to give the poem an eerie atmosphere are ‘strangeness' and ‘phantom'.
c) It is the voice of the lonely traveller.
The voice is significant as it bridges the two separated world of the living and the death.
d) He was ‘perplexed and still' because he was expecting a response from the inmate of the
house. But despite repeated calls nobody answered him.
Read and write
Answer these questions.
1. In the poem ‘The Listeners’ how did the traveller feel as he repeatedly knocked on the
door?
Answer: In the poem, ‘The Listeners' the traveller was repeatedly knocking at the door as he had come
to keep his promise but he received no response. Yet he was continuously asking aloud if there was
anyone inside, but still there was no answer at all from a lone house. Then he sensed an eerie
atmosphere and came to the realization that no one was going to answer his calls. Later he felt uneasy
as he was alone in a quiet and silent place at that moment and finally decided to leave.
2. What does the Poet mean when he says the silence surged softly backward?
Answer: The poet means that as soon as the traveller has gone with his horse, the silence that
surrounded the house and its vicinity which was disturbed by the advent of the lonely traveller, re-
occupied the place and the house again.
Think and answer

Answer these questions.

1. How does the poet describe the atmosphere in the poem' The Listeners'?
Answer: In the poem ‘The Listeners' by Walter de la Mare, the poet declares the atmosphere of the
poem through a series of horrific and eerie elements about the whole scene. The poet also keeps
many things unclear which only add to the mystery of the setting.
The poet brings together two worlds of the living and the death close to each other with the
advent of the lonely traveller about whom we know nothing except that he was there to keep a
promise to the inmates of the house. The poet, however, chooses not to reveal anything more about
the ghosts that inhabit the house. The inmate of the house became the listeners to the traveller’s
calls. Only the echoed sound were filled the silent house. The poet attempts to convey through the
poem that there is a parallel world of spirits which is invisible to human eyes and which we must be
ready to accept.
2. What are the poetic devices used in the poem?
Answer: Walter de la Mare has used many literary devices in the poem such as imagery, alliteration,
metaphor and simile.
Imagery- The imagery of silence is significant in the poem. The poet fills the house with images
of absence, silence and even death. The listeners are phantoms. This could mean they are dead or
absent. The listeners are the ‘quiet of the moonlight’ and the traveller is the ‘voice from the world of
men’. This imagery suggests the listeners are part of nature itself and the traveller is a lone man
asking questions but receives no response.
Alliteration – This poetic device is used by the poet in the poem as when the traveller leaves, the
listeners wait for the noise to fade away. The poet uses alliteration to suggest the sound of a light
breeze and whispering:
For instance;
‘And how the silence surged softly backward.’
The use of alliteration is also seen in the first line:
‘Of the forest’s ferny floor:’
Metaphor – The most significant metaphor in the poem is the one which suggests that ‘phantom
listeners' exist in the house where the narrator comes to knock and receives no response. Silence or
emptiness becomes identified with phantoms in an extended metaphor:
‘ But only a host of phantom listeners
That dwelt in the lone house then.
Stood listening in the quiet of the moonlight
To that voice from the world of men’.

3. What is the poem implying about the inmates of the mansion?

Answer: The poem ‘The Listeners' is implying that the people in the house are dead and the ghostly
presence remain from prior inhabitants. We have some clues about this in the poem. We are told that
when the traveller knocks, there were
‘ Both only a host of phantom listeners
That dwelt in the lone house then'
We know that this phantoms actually did listen to the voice from the world of men. So this listeners
are not humans certainly. The traveller felt their strangeness when nobody responded. He believed
that whatever was in the house would hear his message because he came to fulfill his promise.
This poem is so mysterious that it left to the reader's imagination to make meaning of the scene,
and the traveller arrived to find only ghost or phantoms. The inhabitants might had been deserted the
house or they might all had been starved to death or been slaughtered. We sense how upset the
traveller was as he banged loudly on the door. It seemed to have been his failure.
Answer these questions.
1. ‘This is a classic example of imagination, mystery and creativity’. Comment.
Answer: In the poem, ‘The Listeners' Walter de la Mare develops the reader's interest through his use
of supernatural and mysterious setting. When the poem begins, the traveller was knocking on the
moonlit door of whom we do not know who the traveller was and who was he hoping to find at the
abandoned house. He was perplexed and still when he received no answer from the house.
We also see the Gothic element of the bird which flew up out of the turret creating an
atmospheric scene of the house as home only to animals. The poet also introduces the host of
Phantom listeners. The only thing the Phantoms does is just to listen to others and not to respond.
Again the conversation evokes strangeness to the readers because no one knows what the traveller
has promised or to whom he has promised it. The poet leaves the whole situation opened for the
reader to interpret. We are left to imagine who was in the dark house before the listeners and what
once happened there. The house itself is now described using an eerie and evocative terms such as
‘shadowiness', ‘still’, ‘dark', ‘lone', etc.
CHAPTER – 7 MACBETH
- William Shakespeare
A. Reference to context
Read these lined from the story and answer the questions with reference to the context.
1.She called him the Thane of Glamis. The second gave him the title of Thane of Cawdor; and the third
said to him, ‘All hail! That you shall be king hereafter!’
a) Who are the three women?
b) Whom does ‘he’ refer to?
c) How is greeting of each of the women significant?
d) Who is a Thane?
Answers:
a) The three women were the witches, the strange creatures who were dressed like women
but had beards, and withered skins. They were not like any earthly creatures.
b) Here ‘him’ refers to the Scottish General Macbeth.
 c) The greetings of the three women were significant a they greeted Macbeth with different
title. The first witch prophesied that he would be the Thane of Glamis; then then Thane of
Cawdor; followed by the third woman prophesied that he would be the king of Scotland.
The whole plot of the play revolved around with the witches’ prediction.

d) A Thane is someone whose rank is equivalent to the lord, capable of sharing land from the
king’s share. Here Thane refers to Macbeth.

2. She would not have done so but she knew that her husband was ambitious man but kind to
murder.

a) Who is ‘she’? What would she have not done?

b) Who was to be murdered?
c) What prompted her to do it?
d) ‘too kind to murder’. What is implied in this statement?
Answers:
a) Here ‘she’ is referred to Lady Macbeth.
She would not have persuaded her husband to kill King Duncan of Scotland.
b) King Duncan was to be murdered.
c) Her husband Macbeth’s ‘too kind to murder’ nature prompted her to kill the King
sooner.
d) The phrase ‘too kind to murder’ implied that although Macbeth was an ambitious
person, who wanted to ascend the throne, he was not that evil minded person who
could murder someone like King Duncan whom he loved and honored.

3.He was struck numb with fear, however, when he learnt that the English army was advancing on
Dunsinane shielded with boughs cut from Birnam Wood.
a) Why was he struck dumb by fear?
b) What is the association of his fear with the soldiers marching with boughs cut from Birnam
Wood?
c) Explain the phrase ‘struck numb with fear’. Use it in a meaning sentence of your own.
Answers:
a) Macbeth was struck dumb by fear because the witches had prophesied that he would be
safe until Birnam Wood came to Dunsinane Castle and he thought it was not possible for
trees to move by themselves. But now, the English army was advancing on Dunsinane
shielded with boughs cut from Birnam Wood.
b) He thought that Birnam Wood would never reach the Dunsinane castle and thus he could
not be killed, according to the prophecies of the witches. But when he learnt that the
 soldiers were marching with boughs cut from Birnam Wood, he knew the Birnam was
coming to the castle and he could be killed.
c) The phrase ‘struck dumb with fear’ means getting such terrified that someone is unable to
speak. In ‘Macbeth’, General Macbeth was struck dumb with fear after he learnt that the
English soldiers were marching with boughs cut to fight against him.

B. Read and Write

Answer these questions.
1.How did the words of the three women affect Macbeth?
Answer: The words of the three women occupied the heart and mind of Macbeth completely and he
was filled with the lust for power without thinking much about right and wrong. He wanted to have all
the supposed prophecies fulfilled.

2.What did the women tell Banquo? How did he react? What was his advice o Macbeth?
Answer: The women told Banquo that he would never reign but his sons would be the kings in
Scotland.
He didn’t allow the words of the women to get into his head and be obsessed with them. He
was careful about the witches’ prophecy.
He advised Macbeth that though the words of the witches might raise a hope in him, but
often these supernatural creatures deceive people and lead them to do wrong.

3. Macbeth was reluctant to kill Duncan. What reasons does he give?

Answer: Macbeth gave the reasons for his reluctant to murder Duncan. He said that he was a close
relative of the king, and as his host, it was his duty to protect the king. King Duncan was a just and
merciful king who was loved by his subjects. Thus the subjects were bound to revenge his death.
Macbeth also said that king loved him and that was how he was honoured by all. So he said if he
murdered the king, he would damage his own reputation.

4. How does Lady Macbeth convince Macbeth to kill Duncan?

Answer: Lady Macbeth poisoned her husband’s ears and said that it was a very easy deed to kill King
Duncan. Once the king was killed, she said to Macbeth that he would rule the country. She even
accused Macbeth of fickleness and cowardice. These made Macbeth to gather courage and took the
dagger in his hand to murder the king.
5. Banquo and Macbeth both get exciting prophecies from the witches, but they react in very different
ways. How do their reactions reflect their different personalities and ambitions. How do they act toward
each other after the prophecies?
Answer: Though Banquo and Macbeth both received exciting prophecies, they both reacted
differently. Their reactions reflect very different personalities between the two. Macbeth was
dangerously ambitious and a gullible person who could be easily deceived. And he was also a person
who would make hasty decision. On the other hand, Banquo was not at all an ambitious man. He was
happy with what he was. He was not convinced by witches' prophesies on him.
After the prophecies, Banquo did not let the words of the witches take root in his head.
Whereas Macbeth was obsessed with the prophecies. So Banquo advised Macbeth that these
supernatural beings often deceive humans and may lead them to do wrong. But the wicked
suggestions of the witches had sunk deep into Macbeth’s mind. And he even started his plans to
ascend the throne of Scotland. Later in his pursue to ascend the throne, Macbeth murdered the king
of Scotland, and then killed his own friend Banquo out of jealousy and insecurity.

6.Macbeth visited the witches a second time of the death of Duncan. What did they tell him? How did
he feel after he heard their prophecies?
Answer: When Macbeth visited the witches for the second time after the death of King Duncan, the
witches presented him with further prophecies. They told him that he must beware of Macduff, a
Scottish nobleman who opposed Macbeth’s accession. They also told that he was incapable of being
harmed by any man born of woman, and he would be safe until Birnam Wood came to Dunsinane
Castle.
After hearing a prophecies, Macbeth felt relieved. He felt secure because he knew that all men
are born of women and that forests cannot move.

7. How did Macbeth meet his end?

Answer : Prince Malcolm, Duncan’s elder son had succeeded in raising an army In England and
Macduff joined him to fight against Macbeth forces.
Before Malcolm and Macduff’s army arrived, Macbeth received news that lady Macbeth had
killed herself which cost him to lose hope and sank into despair. However, he waited to fight against
the opponent troops because he was certain that the witches’ prophecies guaranteed his invincibility.
Later, when Macbeth learned that the English army was advancing on Dunsinane shielded with
boughs cut from Birnam Wood, He was struck numb with fear. He realized that half of the witches'
prophecies were fulfilling.
In the battle, Macbeth fought bravely but the English forces gradually overpowered his army
and Castle. He became hopeless and merciless in the sight of vengeful Macduff who declared that he
was not “ Of woman born” but was instead “untimely ripped” from his mother's womb. Macbeth was
doomed and , yet he continued to fight until Macduff killed and beheaded him.

8. Why does Macduff support Malcolm as the next King?

Answer: Macduff supported Malcolm as the next King because Malcolm was the rightful and true
here to the Scottish throne. Further, Macbeth had killed lady Macduff and his children And seized
Macduff’s Castle. This made Macduff a vengeful hero and ultimately killed Macbeth in the battlefield.
Macduff wanted to unite with Malcolm and his army to defeat Macbeth and put Malcolm on the
Scottish throne.
CHAPTER – 8 THE WINDHOVER
-Gerard Manley Hopkins
Read these lines from the poem and answer the questions with reference to the context.
1. I caught this morning morning's minion, Kingdom
Of daylight’s dauphin, dapple-dawn-drawn Falcon, In his riding
Of the rolling level underneath him steady air, and striding
High there, how he rung upon the rein of a wimpling wing
In his ecstasy! Then off, off forth on swing,
a) What did the poet see?
b) What was it doing?
c) What does he compare it to?
d) Identify an instance of alliteration in the extract.
Answers:
a) The poet saw a windhover.
b) The bird was flying high in the sky and doing different tricks during the flight.
c) The poet compares the bird to the crown prince of the kingdom of daylight or Christ.
d) The line such as “ kingdom of daylight’s dauphin, dapple-dawn-drawn” is an instance of
alliteration in the extract.
2.Brute beauty and valour and act, oh, air, pride, plum, here
Buckle! AND the fire that breaks from the then, a billion
Times told lovelier, more dangerous, Oh my Chevalier
No wonder of it: sheer plod makes plough down sillion
Shine, and blue bleak embers, ah my dear,
Fall, gall themselves, and gash gold-Vermillion
a) What is designed Line 1?
b) What shine ‘blue – bleak’?
c) Pick out a metaphor in the extract.
d) The poem has coined a number of words. Pick out at three such words from the extract.
 Answers:
a) In line 1, the poet described the majesty, beauty, love and unparalleled might of God.
b) The embers shine ‘blue – bleak’.
c) In the extract, the poet is comparing the soul to the ‘blue – bleak embers' which is a
metaphor.
d) Three words from the extract that were coined by the poet are sillion, blue – bleak, and gold
vermilion.
Read and write
Answer these questions
1. Describe the setting of the poem.
Answer: The poem ‘The Windhover’ set in the morning at dawn, possibly in the field. The poet says in
the opening line of the poem, “I caught this morning morning’s minion”.
2. Alliteration is the repetition of the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely
connected words. Identify at least two instances of alliteration in the poem.
Answer: Two instances of alliteration in the poem are “kingdom of daylight’s dauphin, dapple-
dawn-drawn” and “morning morning’s minion.”
3. Pick out a phrase which shows the poet’s admiration for the strength and beauty of the bird.
Answer: A phrase which shows the poet’s admiration for the strength and beauty of the bird is
“My heart in hiding
Stirred for a bird, - the achieve of; the mastery of the thing!”
4. Hopkins compares the windhover to many things. What are they? What characteristic of the
bird do they reveal?
Answer: Hopkins compares the windhover with embers, morning’s minion, daylight’s dauphin and
the chevalier. According to the poet, the bird resembles embers as embers glow out in a flame
again when stirred, so does the bird rise high again after a seemingly fall. The poet also compares
a bird to a dauphin due to its majesty and beauty during the flight which is unparalleled and
worthy of being above everything else. The poet also calls the bird his chevalier. The qualities of a
brute and beauty come together in a bird which carries itself in n the air with pride and valour.
Thus, the poet ends his poem attributing the beauty and the qualities of the bird to the pain and
suffering of Jesus Christ to save humanity.

Appreciation
2.Hopkins has used a number of foreign words and references in the poem.
Find out what they refer to: dauphin, chevalier
Answer: ‘Dauphin' is a French word which means Crown Prince, or the one who is next in line to be
the king. ‘Chevalier’ is also a French word for ‘Knight’.
3.The poem is about a bird, but it is also open to strong religious interpretations. Discuss the significance
of some of the words/ phrases from this viewpoint: kingdom, dauphin, gash, fall
Answer : The windhover is one of the best known sonnets written by G. M. Hopkins. The poet was
inspired by the sight of a small falcon as the bird hovered in the air looking for it’s prey on the land.
More significantly, the poem is not only about a bird but it is also interpreted in religious point of
view. The poet uses the terms kingdom and dauphin to describe the authority of the bird during the
flight. It has the ability to fly with the great firmness of a horse rider. The poet also uses the word ‘fall'
to describe the fall of humanity from the grace of God and the sacrifice Christ gave by bearing pain to
save humanity. The bird is symbolized as the Christ Jesus. Every nature’s beauty, the poet attributes
to the pain and sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

CHAPTER – 9 RIDERS TO THE SEA

-John Millington Synge
Reference to context
Read these lines from the play and answer the questions with reference to the context.

1.They’re all gone now, and there isn't anything more that sea can do to me… I’ll have no call now to be
up crying and crying 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. I’ll have
no call now to be going down and getting holy water in a dark night after Samhain , and I won’t care
what way the sea is when the other women will be keening.
a) Who is this speaker?
b) ‘They are all gone now’. Whom does ‘they’ refer to here?
c) ‘I’ll have no call… and I won’t care’… What is the emotion expressed in these lines?
d) What is keening? Why would the other women be keening? Why won’t the speaker keen anymore?
Answers:
a) Maurya is the speaker.
b) ‘They’ refers to the sons and other male members of the family who were taken away by
the sea.
c) These lines expressed the emotions of Maurya who is heartbroken after all her loved ones
are dead. She used to pray for her family for their safety as they went for sailing. But now
she do not care about the condition of the sea anymore because she has nothing left to be
taken away by the sea.
d) Keening is an intense mournful wailing after the death.
 The other women would be keening because this isolated island may also take away men
from their family.
The speaker will not be keening because all of her male members are dead and she is left
with nothing to be mourned. She accepts the fate and believes in God’s plan.
2.Why wouldn’t you give him your blessing and he looking around in the door?
Isn’t it sorrow enough is on everyone in this.
house without your sending him out with an
unlucky word behind him, and a hard word in his ear?
a) Who is the speaker? Who does ‘you' refer to?
b) Why did ‘you’ send him out with an unlucky word?
c) What is the relationship between the speaker, ‘you’ and ‘him’?
d) Explain ‘hard word’ in this context. What was the hard word spoken?
Answers:
a) Cathleen is the speaker. ‘You’ refers to Maurya.
b) Maurya sent her son Bartley to Galway Fair with an unlucky word because he was not
listening to her who was trying to stop him from sailing out of fear of death.
c) The relationship between the ‘speaker', ‘you' and ‘him’ is ‘daughter-mother-son'.
Here ‘speaker' refers to Cathleen, ‘you' refers Maurya and ‘him’ refers to Bartley.
d) In this context, hard word is a terrifying word spoken by Maurya to Bartley to stop
him from going to the sea. The hard word spoken was that he would be drowned like
the rest of his family.
3.Michael has a clean burial in the far North, by the grace of the almighty God. Bartley will have a
fine coffin out of the whiteboards, and a deep grave surely. What more can we want than that? no
man at all can be leaving forever, and we must be satisfied.
a) What is the tone of the speaker in the above lines?
b) Explain the significance of the line ‘What more can we want than that?’
c) According to the speaker, with what should they be satisfied?
Answers:
a) The tone of the speaker is of remorse, of accepting the fate and of God’s plan. It is also
about being satisfied with the life one live.
b) After all her loved ones died, Maurya accepted the tragedies of her family. She said that
Michael had a clean burial by the grace of the Almighty God, and Bartley would have a fine
coffin and a deep grave. She was happy and contended that there was nothing more than
that or nothing she wanted more. The only hope she left was of the afterlife.
c) According to the speaker, they should be satisfied with the way life treats them. Maurya
realized lately when all her sons were taken away by the sea despite her unceasing prayers.
Fate taught her that no one can live forever. So she accepted that her last son is dead. She is
 happy that her loved ones will be heaven in perfect bliss. Everything depends on the
destiny. Maurya’s satisfaction is not with death but is in God.

Read and write

Answer these questions.
1. Why did Bartley tried to take the pony to Connemara in spite of his mother's warnings?
Answer: Bartley tried to take the pony to Connemara in spite of his mother's warnings because he
heard people talking that it would be a good fair for horses. And he also thought to be the best time
for him to go to Galway fair to sell his horses.
2. Why was the mother unable to bless her son Bartley?
Answer: The mother was unable to bless her son Bartley because when she went down to bless him,
suddenly something choked the words in her throat. Also she had seen Bartley riding the Red Mare
with Michael behind him riding the grey pony in new clothes and shoes who was drowned nine days
ago.
3. Why did the priest refused to stop partly from going to the call Wayfair?
Answer: The priest refused to stop Bartley from going to the Galway Fair because he believed that the
mother's prayers through the night would not leave unanswered. He said as well as believed that the
Almighty God would not leave her destitute with no son leaving.
4. What do the sisters try to hide from their mother?
Answer: The sisters try to hide from their mother the clothes found of a drowned body given by the
priest for identification. The clothes contained shirt and a stalking which the priest had handed over
to Nora.
5. Was it possible that Michael pushed partly off the rocks? support your answer with logical
reasoning.
Answer: It was possible that Michael pushed Bartley of the rocks because when Maurya went to bless
Bartley for his journey she saw Michael who was already dead, sitting on a grey pony behind Bartley
which was a bad omen for Bartley. Michael could have wanted Bartley to accompany him in the world
beyond. So it is possible that Michael spirit had taken Bartley’s life.
6. Briefly characterize the following: Maurya, Bartley, Cathleen, Nora.
Answer: MAURYA : In the play ‘Riders to the Sea', John Millington Synge portrayed Maurya as the
main character of the play. In the beginning of the play, Maurya, the matriarch of the family, finds out
that one of her two remaining sons Michael has drowned, therefore she sounds emotionally unstable
and she tries to save the last son Bartley by persuading not to go for sailing because she knows that he
will not come back alive but Bartley needs to go as he is the sole provider in the family now. She says
that by nightfall, she will have lost all her sons. We come to know from her statement when she says,
‘There isn't anything more the sea can do to me’ which makes us believe that the sea is viewed as an
enemy who has taken everything from Maurya. She says that she is nothing that that she can bring
any more damage. She is the victim of fate. In the end the peasant woman, accepts her cruel destiny
and becomes a true heroine of this grim tragedy.
BARTLEY: Bartley is Maurya’s last surviving son and the only man remaining in the household in
the one Act play ‘Riders to the Sea' by John Millington Synge. Bartley is determined to go out on the
sea to provide needs for his family, despite the grief he feels after the death of his brother Michael.
Maurya relentlessly urging him to stay home because as a mother she doesn't want to risk his life
going out to the sea in a storm. But unfortunately he dies when he is thrown from his horse in the sea,
directly after Maurya sees a vision of Michael’s ghost riding behind him.
CATHLEEN: Cathleen is one of the main characters in ‘Riders to the Sea'. she is a daughter about
20 years old. As the older of two sisters, she takes the responsibilities of the family. She sympathizes
with her Bartley’s decision to go to the Sea and criticizes her mother for repeatedly trying to stop him
by not giving him a blessing. She still firmly believes in traditional gender roles such as Bartley's duty
as a young man to go on the sea. She has stepped up as the most capable woman in the household,
since the age and sorrow have broken much of her mother’s spirit. With most of her brothers' gone
Cathleen is prepared to take on more responsibility at home.
NORA: Nora is the youngest of the two sisters one of the important characters in ‘Rders to the
Sea’. A young girl Nora assists her sister Cathleen in household chores. She helps taking care of their
mother as their mother is coping with all the deaths happening in their family. Nora is the only
character who have a strong faith and confidence in the Catholic priest more than Cathleen though
her confidence in the priest proves misplaced after Bartley’s death.
7. Trace the change in Maurya’s attitude from the beginning of the play to its end.
Answer: Riders to the Sea by John Millington Synge discusses the struggles of a family in dealing with
deaths.
The play begins by introducing the old woman Maurya, who has been lamenting for days over
her lost son, Michael. Later, when Bartley decides to go for sailing Maurya is not only mourning for
Michael’s disappearance but she is also filled with full of fears for Bartley’s life. Maurys has already
lost her husband and her five sons. The possibility of losing the last surviving son to this tyrant has left
Maurya destitute.
As the play comes to an end, we find Maurya who has accepted her fate of losing all her six sons
and a husband. Maurya’s acceptance of fate displays that she believes in God’s plan.

Think and answer

1.Compare and contrast the life of the characters in the play of Riders to the Sea to your own life.
Answer: In the play ‘Riders to the Sea' J. M. Synge portrayed the main characters such as Maurya,
Bartley, Cathleen and Nora who belong to one family struggling to deal with the deaths in the family.
Among all the characters, Maurya plays an important role in the play. When we compare the life of
Maurya to our normal life, it is Maurya who embodies many elements of the ideal and a good mother.
As a mother she has the right to be grief, mourn and anger for the fate she met. In comparison to our
normal life we can assume that Maurya is the courageous woman. She is able to face the worst
disasters which can happen to any mother. Misfortune do not break down her spirit. Like any other
mother, Maurya is a typical mother who lives entirely for the welfare of her children and her family.
She prays for them all the time. She tries to save her last surviving son Bartley by stopping him to go
to the sea, but she fails. Fate overpowers her. Like any woman, Maurya becomes strong in faith as she
finally decides to resign herself to her cruel fate. She finds consolation in the fact that nothing worst
can happen to her. Now she will have peace and sound sleep. She prays for peace not only for the
souls of her lost sons but for the whole of mankind. In the end, she bows before the divine plan. She is
satisfied with her life because she believes that no one can live forever.
2.Bartley was the last surviving male member of the family. With his death, what do you think will
happen to the family?
Answer: ‘Riders to the Sea’s by John Millington Synge revolves around the theme on the importance
of male members in the family. In the beginning of the play, the readers are aware that six male
members were already dead. And Maurya who was a mother protecting to save the life of the last
surviving son Bartley by preventing him from sailing to the Galway Fair. She did so her family needed
a man in the family. It was the responsibility either of the father or the son to handle the family in
every sphere according to the Irish culture. Female characters like Maurya, Cathleen and Nora did not
seem more important in providing livelihood for the family.
Bartley, however as the last man to support his family went against his mother’s will and met his
death. After Bartley's death we are sure that the rest of the family members could had been survived
with the flow of life. They could had been adapted to the circumstances and conditions in order to
survive. They had to accept whatever destiny they were bounded by. They could had been
surrendered all their lives to the power of fate. Lastly, Maurya decided to accept God’s plan. She also
believed that she would be united with her loved ones in the heaven afterlife.
4. Riders to the Sea is steeped in the folk traditions of Irish folklore. What is the relationship
between the grey pony and death? What is the significance of a ghost on a horse? Is there a
conflict between religious beliefs and superstition in the play? Discuss.
Answer: John Millington Synge’s ‘Riders to the Sea' takes place in a cottage on the remote Aran
Islands. The islands are located of the Western coast of Ireland within sailing distance of Connemara
and the Galway Fair. The Aran Islands are a place of cultural significance and they have also been a
place of poverty and loneliness.
The grey pony and death is related when Maurya saw Michael’s spirit riding a grey pony
behind Bartley. After this vision, Bartley was thrown from the horse and died. Grey pony is a sign of
death.
The ghost of Michael riding on a grey pony signifies Bartley’s tragic life. The prediction of
Maurya is true.
 In the play, there is a conflict between religious beliefs and superstition. The sea which has
claimed Maurya’s husband, father-in-law, and her six sons has a supernatural force. Religion becomes
powerless to defeat it in Maurya’s condition. In other words, the priest is powerless to prevent the
deaths of both Michael and Bartley. Instead the sea claims both the sons. Even Maurya’s prayers
cannot defeat the power of supernatural.
5. People whose lives are lived in hardship and uncertainty are bound to be fatalistic. Do you
agree with this statement? Why/why not?
Answer: I agree with the statement, ‘ People whose lives are lived in hardship and uncertainty are
bound to be fatalistic'. In the play, ‘Riders to the Sea’ the whole thing revolves around the character of
Maurya. The whole play is a drama of her sorrows.
Maurya is a typical mother who lives entirely for the welfare of her family. She prays for her
family all the time. The sea is the bread giver to her family and also her worst enemy. The sea has
already taken her husband and five sons. Michael is drowned nine days ago. Now Bartley is left and
she has a sign that his life is at risk if he goes to the sea. She tries to prevent him but Bartley goes
against his mother's wishes and meet his death.
Maria is a victim of fate. She keeps fighting with the hardships and obstacles throughout the
play. She tries to save her only surviving son Bartley but she cannot save his life too. Maurya’s prayers
become powerless against the fate.
At the end, Maurya decides not to fight against the fate, rather she accepts the fate and decides
to live happy with her two daughters. Her only hope is to meet the souls of her sons and husband in
afterlife. She surrenders her life to fade that God has planned for her.