Formalist Review of Riders to the Sea

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A Formalist Review of Riders to the Sea A Formalist Review of Riders to the Sea Riders to the Sea provides a deep and complete look into how literary elements are used within drama to create depth and insight. In a drama you are engaged into human relationships and experiences (Clugston, 2010). My reading of this play has allowed me to further understand how plays are executed using common poetic literary elements. In this review, I am going to explain how this play uses dialogue, character, and setting to enhance the emotional impact that this play provides and adds to the narrative quality. This play has captured my interest for a number of reasons. Firstly, the dialogue is well thought out and executed and helps to enhance the readers understanding of the theme. Our text tells us that, dialogue are the words that are expressed between characters in conversation, specifically in literature (Clugston, 2010). For example, in this story Mauyra states, “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?” Bartley responds, “I must go now quickly. I’ll ride down on the red mare, and the grey pony I’ll run behind me……The blessing of God on you. (as cited in Clugston, 2010, section 13.3, lines x-x). This excerpt is a good example as to how dialogue is used to build suspense and give insight as to the plot. Her words to her son also portray the tone of this play. In drama the two most common forms or poetry are tragedy and comedy, two complete polar opposites and this is certainly a tragedy as you are filled with intense sadness and anticipation as the plot unfolds. Secondly, characters are of the upmost importance in drama as they shape the theme and affect the outcome of the

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