rising of the moon

The Rising of The Moon

Lady Gregory wrote a book titled “Seven Short Plays” in 1909 and her play “The Rising of The Moon” was added in that book. All in all the play shows dominance of England over Irishmen. It is highly philosophical, hence, universal in nature but at the same time it shows the struggle of people for freedom.

The playwright portrays four characters in the play, two of them are major, who do nothing significant but talk to each other and express their opinions. Their actions are not important but their dialogues are praiseworthy. The play has very little action; however, its philosophy is very unique. Through one of the characters (sergeant), the writer shows a mental conflict between duty, greed for reward and promotion and and patriotism. Ultimately, at the end of the play, nationalism wins, which is more ethical than the duty. In short, Lady Gregory presents a summary of people’s love for Ireland in her play “The Rising of the Moon”.

The Rising of The Moon Summary

On a moonlit night, three Irish policemen gather at the quayside in a small, seaport town. Ireland is under British rule and the policemen are in the service of the British government. They put up posters for an escaped prisoner who is fighting for Irish independence. Convinced that the escaped rebel might creep to the water's edge to be rescued by sea, they all hope to capture him for the hundred-pound reward and a potential promotion. Left alone on watch, the Sergeant meets a ragged man who purports to be a ballad singer. They begin to talk and their conversation drifts to the past and moments in the Sergeant’s youth when he could have turned against British rule. The ragged man is revealed to be the convict he has been looking for, but the Sergeant has been moved by their discussion and memories of his own patriotic youth. He decides to let the prisoner escape and forgo the financial reward.

Setting Up the Play

The sergeant who is senior in age observes the place. The other police officials have a pastepot and a bundle of placards with printed sketches of the wanted prisoner. One of the police officials (policeman B) expresses his opinion that the barrel would be a good object to paste the placard but the second junior (policeman X) suggests that he should ask the sergeant, who is senior among them, hence, the policeman B asks him where to affix the placard but the sergeant does not reply. Policeman B asks again, to which the sergeant replies that it is a good place and thinks that the prisoner’s friends may come at this place to pick him up. Nonetheless the Sergeant allows him to put the placard.

Motif of the Play

Sergeant reads the placard. He gives a summary of the physical appearance of the escaped prisoner at the start of the play “The Rising of the Moon”. The prisoner has dark hair, dark eyes, smooth face, height five feet five. Sergeant also talks and tells the audience more about the prisoner, who is the first Irishman that becomes successful in escaping from the prison and now the government has announced a handsome reward of a hundred pounds to a person, who would catch the prisoner. He is sure that the prisoner would come this way to flee with his friends on the boat. Sergeant then tells the other policemen to go and paste the placards on different places whereas he sits there and waits for them. They go out and the Sergeant stroll there.

Appearance of Second Major Character

A ragged man, who in actuality is the escaped prisoner in the guise of a ballad-singer, appears. Sergeant stops him and questions his identity. He introduces himself as a ballad-singer. He tells the Sergeant that he came here to sell some ballads to sailors. Jimmy Walsh is his name, he says. He tries to leave the stage but the Sergeant stops him. He sings some ballads but the Sergeant does not like it and asks him to stop singing. The ballad-singer tells the Sergeant that he knows the man whom the police are looking for. He repeatedly tries to return to the town but every time he does, the Sergeant stops him.

Philosophy of the Play “The Rising of the Play”

The ballad-singer discloses some hard facts about the escaped prisoner (who he himself is but the Sergeant does not know as he is disguised as a ballad-singer). In summary, he elucidates the prisoner’s expertise in use of weapons and his muscle power at this moment of the play “The Rising the Moon”. According to him, the wanted man is very dangerous. He also quotes some of the incidents that were printed in the newspapers about the escaped prisoner. One of the incidents that he quotes is the one in which he kidnaps a policeman.

He also continuously sings some songs, in which he shows the life of Irishmen. The prisoner seems wicked, wise and has a strong personality. The sergeant thinks that a heavy headcount is necessary to catch the wanted criminal. They talk further, sit on the barrel and smoke. Jimmy Walsh shows himself as a poor man and discloses some more facts about the escaped prisoner. Jimmy Walsh also helps the Sergeant to look for the escaped prisoner while looking in the opposite direction to the Sergeant.

Sergeant Vs. Jimmy Walsh

Sergeant needed company and he got it. He talks about his duties as a policeman. In his eyes, the profession that he chooses does not suit his personality as it is a dangerous job and he gets nothing in return but a small wage and scolding from his officers. He means that he does not get respect from the people that he deserves in spite of the efforts that he makes to catch the most-wanted criminals. Nevertheless, they pass the ball and the sergeant also sings a song. Jimmy Walsh is astonished that the sergeant can also sing a patriotic song. The sergeant tells him that it is the song that he used to sing when he was young.

Both of them have the same ambitions though the sergeant is in wrong profession. He joined his friends in the movement of freedom when he was young. Jimmy Walsh offers the policeman to join him in getting freedom. He thinks for a while. Lady Gregory in her play “The Rising of the Moon” in summary shows that the Sergeant imagines himself in place of Jimmy Walsh and thinks that he would do the same if he were him. Jimmy Walsh provokes the emotion of sergeant while saying that he lies to him; that he had never remained part of the movement of freedom in his younger age nor even in his childhood. Sergeant proudly tells him that he performs his obligations sincerely as a police officer. He also warns him to stop talking nonsense about him lest he should arrest him.

Climax

Meanwhile a boat touches the shores. Jimmy Walsh sings a song loudly so that the police officer cannot hear the sound of the boat. He repeatedly sings the song but due to a background whistle, the sergeant suspects the identity of Jimmy Walsh. Jimmy Walsh has worn the wig and a hat, which is removed and the policeman realises that he has been tricked. He seizes him but at the same time he repents that Jimmy Walsh has tricked him and curses himself that he is a foolish police officer. Meanwhile, the two policemen (B and X) return. Jimmy Walsh hides himself behind the barrel. Sergeant does not want the company of policemen and tells them that he wishes to sit alone, hence, he directs them to leave him alone. He does not tell them about the escaped prisoner and favours him.

The playwright creates a suspenseful atmosphere in summary form at this moment of the play “The Rising of the Moon” as it is a moment of excited expectation and uncertainty about what may happen. Both the policemen leave but before that they ask the Sergeant if he wants a lantern. The Sergeant answers negatively. He wants them to leave him. When they leave, the escaped prisoner promises that he would remember the Sergeant when the Irish people would get freedom. The play ends with the rise of the moon and the sergeant facing the audience.

Summary Analysis of The Rising of The Moon

At the start of the play, three policemen look for an Irish leader of the movement of freedom fighters, who has escaped from the prison. The writer has shown the Irish policemen as she wants to compare philosophies of two different people from the same nation; however, both support the same purpose. In addition, their emotions are also common. Sergeant is the first major character of the play. The playwright has put him in juxtaposition to Jimmy Walsh, who appears on stage soon after the remaining police officials leave the sergeant alone.

Sergeant is of the view that the jailors may have helped the prisoner in escaping from the prison. The writer wants to portray a fact that some people from Ireland have joined the England government as they want to support their families but they want freedom too, hence, most of them go against the rules and do not perform their duties sincerely. The escaped prisoner first finds support from the jailors in escaping and subsequently the Sergeant also supports him.

Symbolic Analysis of The Rising of The Moon

As the two (Jimmy Walsh and the Sergeant) sit on the barrel they talk about their lives. The playwright shows common human emotions, despite their different professions and entirely opposite thinking. Sergeant is also the representative of England whereas Jimmy Walsh of Ireland.

In the play, the lantern has been discussed too much. It symbolises little hope. A lantern saves a person from darkness. One of the policemen says that the lantern keeps a person warm. In summary, Lady Gregory through this symbol in her play “The Rising of the Moon” means to say that a little hope in the life of a person can bring many changes. At the end, the Sergeant tells his fellow policemen to take the lantern with them. He does not want it. He wants something more than the lantern. The rising of the moon at the end of the play, which is its title too, symbolises a new life of Irish people.

Sergeant also does not like his job. He joins the forces to support his family. It also may be the case with the remaining two police officials. There are circumstances in which the people of Ireland have joined the forces of England but their hearts are with their homelands. At the end the sergeant faces the audience and the writer leaves everything on the audience to decide whether the Sergeant is a fool, who helps the prisoner in escaping and leaving the reward or he is a true patriot, whose ambitions are also the same as of the leader/escaped prisoner. In summary, Lady Gregory shows political pressure on Irishmen and their struggles for freedom in her play “The Rising of the Moon”.

Write the character analysis of Sergeant in “The Rising of the Moon”.

Answer: In the one act play the playwright Lady Gregory has fantastically portrayed the real picture of Ireland when Ireland is under the rule of British government. In that play she has introduced two main characters and sergeant is one of them. From the very beginning of the play to very end, sergeant remains on the stage. He is totally different from other man. By his exceptional characteristics, he arrests the audience's attention throughout the play.

Sergeant is an Irish by nationalism. He works in Irish police when Ireland is under British rule. So he has to perform his duty against his own nation Ireland under the command of British. In spite of being a patriot in early life, he has to do that because he has to support his family. So it shows that he is a patriot as well as a man obedient and careful to his duty. In his early life he also dreamed of Ireland's freedom, but now he has been appointed to arrest a renowned patriot who leads the revolutionary movement for Ireland against British. In spite of all these, he is very much keen to perform his duty. It shows his loyalty towards duty and law. He knows very well that the whole country depends on police to keep law and order perfect and so he does not want to to break the faith of countrymen in police.

This very character begins to change when a new character appears on the stage. He is described as a ragged man. In course of conversation Sergeant begins to give importance to the ragged man. That man introduces himself as a ballad singer and he sings patriotic song very often in the play. Those songs begin to rouse patriotism in Sergeant's mind. Immeadiately Sergeant recalls his young days when once he dreamed to liberate Ireland from British rule. Now Sergeant's mind is in dilemma. On the one hand, he cannot ignore his duty to arrest the revolutionary and on the other hand he thinks that to help the Irish revolutionary to free Ireland from British is also a duty. At the very end of the play, we see that he helps the rebel who is disguised now as the rugged man, to escape though he had the Chance to get rewards of hundred pounds for arresting him. This great sacrifice makes him a genuine motherland lover.

This character has two sides-- his good side is revealed when he shows his love for country more than his profit and his bad side is revealed when he tells lie to Policeman B and X. He is a dynamic character who changes himself from a dutiful police officer to a patriot.

Write the character analysis of ragged man/escaped prisoner/Jimmy Walsh in “The Rising of the Moon”.

The Ragged man is an interesting character of the one act play “The rising of the moon” written by Lady Gregory. He is a rebel of heroic qualities. He is a clever man, a true leader, a psychoanalyst, a true patriot and a passionate lover of his country.

The man appears at the quay on the seaside in the guise of a poor ballad singer. He can sing ballads in the most appealing passion to touch the heart and the spirit of the ardent police officer. His make-up of a ballad singer is so perfect that even in the course of his conversation, smoking, singing and sitting together back to back on the barrel the Sergeant can’t suspect and detect him until he finally reveals his identity. He tries his tricks one after another to deceive intelligent and dutiful Sergeant.

At first the Ragged man sings a love song to please the Sergeant but he fails to fulfill his purpose. Then he tries his second trick to hold the Sergeant w9thin his intellectual grip. He reels off a number of fictitious stories about the unusual physical strength and also about his dreadful deeds. Thus he succeeds in exercising his wit and intelligence to be fool the dutiful Sergeant. He talks and smokes with the Sergeant in a very intimate and friendly manner. The charm of his lovely talks and magic spell of his patriotic song meet the hard heart of the Sergeant in the spirit of patriotism. Finally he appeals to the patriotic feelings of the Sergeant hot to betray the friend, the Sergeant can not but turns himself into a friend of Ireland and allows to escape safely.

Right from the very beginning of the play we find the Ragged man on the top of his wit. He made friends among the jailors to come out of the goal; now he makes the Sergeant friend again to escape arrest and imprisonment. Thus he proves that he is really a wonder but he does not forget the help and association of the Sergeant. So before departure he expresses his gratitude to the Sergeant with an empathetic note of optimism, he will surely pay back the good turn done to him by the Sergeant when the rules of the day will of down and the ruled will come up at the rising of the moon.