Riders to the Sea is a one-act play that falls into the theatrical category of tragedy. The tragedy is present from the beginning of the story through the end as readers learn that Maurya’s son Michael is missing at sea, only to find out that he has, in fact, drowned, as has almost every other man in her family (including her husband, father-in-law, and several other sons). The tragedy only increases as Maurya's remaining son Bartley disregards her orders to stay home on a stormy day and ultimately perishes at sea as well.
The literary period in which Synge wrote Riders to the Sea—the Irish Literary Revival—had a significant influence on the play. As one of the leaders of the Revival, Synge wrote the play in order to tell a story about traditional Irish culture. Though the characters have ties to the Catholic Church (as seen in their frequent references to “the young priest” in their village and evocations of God), they also practice many traditional Irish pagan customs, such as keening, a mourning ritual. Also, the way Maurya “sees” Michael’s ghost riding on Bartley’s horse and understands this to mean that her son has died is based on a real story that Synge heard when spending time with the people of the Aran Islands. In this way, he is capturing the folklore and traditional cultures of Ireland and proudly sharing them with a wider audience through the play.
