Elements of drama in riders to the sea

While both literary pieces have characters, drama offers the reader a more diverse set of characters because other than the protagonist and antagonist, characters such as the minor character, stock character, foil, and confidant are present in a drama. In Riders to the Sea, the following characters are identified: Maurya (protagonist), Bartley and The Sea (antagonist), Cathleen (Minor Character), The Priest (Foil; while this character was never actually present in the play, references to him show that his approaches differ from Maurya’s), and Nora (stock character). Moreover, while the reader discovers each character as the piece progresses, they are immediately identified at the start of a dramatic piece. The same can be said about the setting of the drama, which is explicitly stated at the start of every scene. Another common element in a drama is the soliloquy made by the characters. A soliloquy is a speech given by one of the characters that are directed to the audience (Styan, 1960). One of the most powerful soliloquies of Riders to the Sea is that of Maurya’s towards the end when she was quite not sure whether to follow Patch’s or Michael’s body.