J.M. Synge – “Riders to the Sea” – Exam Based MCQs
1. Riders to the Sea is written by: (UGC NET)
A) W.B. Yeats
B) Sean O’Casey
C) J.M. Synge
D) Oscar Wilde
Ans: C) J.M. Synge
2. The play is best described as: (SET)
A) A one-act tragedy
B) A five-act comedy
C) A historical romance
D) A satirical farce
Ans: A) A one-act tragedy
3. The setting of the play is mainly: (PGTRB)
A) Dublin city
B) London suburbs
C) A castle in Ireland
D) A cottage on the Aran Islands
Ans: D) A cottage on the Aran Islands
4. The central character (mother) is: (UGC NET)
A) Cathleen
B) Maurya
C) Nora
D) Bridget
Ans: B) Maurya
5. Maurya’s last surviving son at the beginning is: (SET)
A) Michael
B) Shawn
C) Bartley
D) Patch
Ans: C) Bartley
6. The missing son whose clothes are found is: (PGTRB)
A) Michael
B) Bartley
C) Stephen
D) Shane
Ans: A) Michael
7. Maurya’s daughters are: (UGC NET)
A) Nora and Bridget
B) Cathleen and Bridget
C) Nora and Mary
D) Cathleen and Nora
Ans: D) Cathleen and Nora
8. The main “force” acting like fate in the play is: (SET)
A) Fire
B) The sea
C) The forest
D) The city
Ans: B) The sea
9. Bartley goes to the mainland mainly to: (PGTRB)
A) Join the army
B) Attend a wedding
C) Sell horses at a fair
D) Become a priest
Ans: C) Sell horses at a fair
10. The play is linked with the: (UGC NET)
A) Irish Literary Revival
B) Augustan Age
C) Victorian Realism only
D) Romantic Movement in England
Ans: A) Irish Literary Revival
11. The play was first produced at: (SET)
A) Globe Theatre
B) National Theatre
C) Broadway
D) Abbey Theatre, Dublin
Ans: D) Abbey Theatre, Dublin
12. The play’s language is notable for its: (UGC NET)
A) Courtly French style
B) Simple, poetic speech influenced by Irish idiom
C) Scientific jargon
D) Modern slang only
Ans: B) Simple poetic Irish idiom
13. The mood of the play is primarily: (PGTRB)
A) Comic
B) Romantic
C) Tragic and fatalistic
D) Detective-like
Ans: C) Tragic and fatalistic
14. Maurya’s vision/foreboding includes seeing: (SET)
A) Michael riding behind Bartley
B) A golden ship
C) A burning church
D) A crowned king
Ans: A) Michael riding behind Bartley
15. The discovery of Michael’s clothes suggests: (UGC NET)
A) He is alive and hiding
B) He has married secretly
C) He has joined a circus
D) He has drowned at sea
Ans: D) He has drowned at sea
16. The play’s tragedy is intensified because Maurya has already lost: (PGTRB)
A) Only one son
B) Many sons and her husband
C) A daughter only
D) A fortune in gold
Ans: B) Many sons and her husband
17. A major theme of the play is: (UGC NET)
A) Urban luxury
B) Court politics
C) Human helplessness before nature/fate
D) Scientific progress
Ans: C) Helplessness before fate/nature
18. The two sisters try to hide the clothes from Maurya because: (SET)
A) They want to sell them
B) They are ashamed
C) They think Michael will return
D) They fear it will break her heart
Ans: D) They fear it will break her heart
19. Maurya’s final acceptance suggests: (PGTRB)
A) A tragic peace after suffering
B) A comic victory
C) A romantic reunion
D) A political revolution
Ans: A) Tragic peace after suffering
20. The title “Riders to the Sea” refers to: (UGC NET)
A) Tourists riding boats
B) Those who go out to sea and are taken by it
C) A royal parade on water
D) Fishermen celebrating a festival
Ans: B) Those taken by the sea
21. The play’s action takes place mainly: (SET)
A) In a courtroom
B) In a palace
C) On a ship at sea
D) Inside Maurya’s cottage (with offstage sea events)
Ans: D) Inside Maurya’s cottage
22. Synge collected material for his plays mainly from: (UGC NET)
A) London factories
B) French salons
C) The Aran Islands and Irish rural life
D) American cities
Ans: C) Aran Islands and rural life
23. The play highlights the harsh life of: (PGTRB)
A) Island people dependent on the sea
B) City bankers
C) Royal families
D) Industrial workers in mills
Ans: A) Island people dependent on the sea
24. Maurya tries to stop Bartley by: (SET)
A) Calling the police
B) Giving him bread and blessing (too late) / following him to give it
C) Locking him inside
D) Burning the horses
Ans: B) Following to give bread and blessing
25. The “bundle” in the play contains: (UGC NET)
A) Gold coins
B) A love letter
C) A holy relic
D) Clothes believed to belong to Michael
Ans: D) Michael’s clothes
26. The priest in the play mainly represents: (PGTRB)
A) Religious consolation but limited power against fate
B) Comic relief only
C) Political rebellion
D) A war commander
Ans: A) Consolation but limited power
27. Bartley’s death happens because: (SET)
A) He is stabbed in a fight
B) He falls from a cliff
C) He is knocked into the sea by the surf/horse
D) He is poisoned
Ans: C) Knocked into the sea by surf/horse
28. The play is admired for its: (UGC NET)
A) Complex subplot and many locations
B) Economy of plot and intensity of tragic effect
C) Long comic scenes
D) Magical battles
Ans: B) Economy and intensity
29. The sisters’ role in the play is to: (PGTRB)
A) Create political plans
B) Lead a rebellion
C) Provide comic entertainment
D) Support Maurya and reveal the tragic facts
Ans: D) Support Maurya and reveal facts
30. The sea in the play is best seen as a symbol of: (SET)
A) Death and uncontrollable fate
B) Urban development
C) Romantic joy only
D) Comedy and laughter
Ans: A) Death and fate
31. At the end, Maurya says she has: (UGC NET)
A) Won against the sea
B) Nothing to fear now because all are safe
C) No son left to be taken by the sea
D) Found treasure at sea
Ans: C) No son left to be taken
32. The play’s tone is closest to: (PGTRB)
A) Satire
B) Classical tragedy with chorus-like lament
C) Detective thriller
D) Romantic comedy
Ans: B) Classical tragic lament
33. The play’s tragic inevitability comes from: (SET)
A) A villain’s plot
B) A royal curse
C) A detective’s mistake
D) Nature’s power and repeated losses at sea
Ans: D) Nature’s power and repeated losses
34. Cathleen is mainly shown as: (UGC NET)
A) Practical and protective of her mother
B) A cruel villain
C) A queen
D) A comic trickster
Ans: A) Practical and protective
35. Nora helps Cathleen by: (PGTRB)
A) Buying a ship
B) Going to court
C) Examining the clothes and identifying stitches
D) Sending soldiers
Ans: C) Identifying stitches in clothes
36. The play can be called “modern tragedy” because: (SET)
A) It has kings and princes
B) Ordinary people face tragic fate
C) It ends happily
D) It has magical gods
Ans: B) Ordinary people face tragic fate
37. Synge’s drama often blends realism with: (UGC NET)
A) Science fiction
B) Courtly romance
C) Urban satire
D) Folklore, superstition, and poetic rhythm
Ans: D) Folklore and poetic rhythm
38. The play’s climax is when: (PGTRB)
A) Bartley’s body is brought in
B) Michael returns alive
C) The sisters leave the island
D) A wedding occurs
Ans: A) Bartley’s body is brought in
39. The play’s key emotional movement is from: (SET)
A) Joy to comedy
B) Anxiety to grief to resignation
C) Romance to wedding
D) Mystery to triumph
Ans: B) Anxiety → grief → resignation
40. The play’s conflict is mainly: (UGC NET)
A) Man vs Man
B) Man vs Society
C) Man vs Nature (sea/fate)
D) Man vs Technology
Ans: C) Man vs Nature
41. The play is known for its: (PGTRB)
A) Many comic subplots
B) Heroic battles
C) Royal intrigue
D) Tight structure and powerful tragic impact
Ans: D) Tight structure and tragic impact
42. The play’s tragic heroine is: (SET)
A) Maurya
B) Nora
C) Cathleen
D) Bridget
Ans: A) Maurya
43. The coffin boards mentioned are for: (UGC NET)
A) A wedding bed
B) Michael’s coffin (planned) / funeral preparations
C) A new boat
D) A church repair
Ans: B) Michael’s coffin / funeral preparations
44. Bartley insists on going because: (PGTRB)
A) He wants to fight a king
B) He wants to become a poet
C) He wants to buy a castle
D) He must earn money by selling horses
Ans: D) Earn money by selling horses
45. The play’s conclusion suggests Maurya attains: (SET)
A) Wealth and power
B) Romantic happiness
C) A calm acceptance beyond fear
D) Political leadership
Ans: C) Calm acceptance beyond fear
46. Synge’s use of “keening” (lament) is seen in: (UGC NET)
A) Maurya’s mourning speech
B) A comic song
C) A royal proclamation
D) A scientific lecture
Ans: A) Maurya’s mourning speech
47. The sisters’ secrecy about the clothes shows: (PGTRB)
A) Greed
B) Hatred for Maurya
C) Political plotting
D) Love and fear of causing pain
Ans: D) Love and fear of causing pain
48. The play’s tragic irony is that: (SET)
A) The sea becomes calm forever
B) Maurya’s fear is fulfilled; the last son is also taken
C) Michael returns alive
D) Bartley becomes rich
Ans: B) Fear fulfilled; last son taken
49. The play’s tragedy is closest to: (UGC NET)
A) Revenge tragedy
B) Comedy of manners
C) Tragedy of common life (domestic tragedy)
D) Pastoral comedy
Ans: C) Tragedy of common life
50. The ultimate message of Riders to the Sea is about: (PGTRB)
A) Endurance and human dignity amid unavoidable loss
B) Political revolution
C) Romantic triumph
D) Scientific victory over nature
Ans: A) Endurance and dignity amid loss
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