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General Introduction of the Play
The Sea is a play that has been written by Edward Bond. The play, at first, appeared in 1973 showcasing the life of the people living in an unknown seaside village in rural East Anglia. The title of this play has been aptly borrowed by Shakespeare's romantic comedy, The Tempest in which the sea has been painted as a destructive as well as a constrictive force of Nature. The title of this play has many symbolic interpretations as indicated by various critics. The Sea in the sea has been implied as the symbol of life, death, destruction and authority.
The Sea as a Force of Destruction and Death
The sea is mainly painted as a symbol of death and destruction right from the beginning of the play. In the opening scenes, much like in The Tempest, we see Collins and Willy trapped in a sea-storm. Willy calls for help but is not answered in time. Collins is drowned. Thus, here the sea shows itself as a sign of death. But one thing is noteworthy to point out that the death of Collins not only affects Willy to an extent but also the life of Rose to a great extent who was going to be married to him. Thus the sea has far-reaching distractive effects. Mrs. Tilehouse refers to the destructive nature of the sea as thus,
Oh dear. This terrible sea, this terrible life.
The sea also refers to the danger prevailing inside and outside it. Hatch is a coastguard and his main duty is to save people from getting drowned due to the coarse waves of the sea. Mrs. Rafi arranges a play to collect money for the coastguard. But ironically, it is Hatch who purposefully do not answer the call of help and indulges in molesting the body of the dead Collins. Thus, the destruction of the sea is a directly associated with the violence that is shown by the people like Hatch.
The Sea and the World War Two
Continuing the Sea as a symbol of distraction, another possible hint that strikes our minds is the aftershocks of destruction caused by World War Second. Although this play was written in 1973 but the contemporary society was still under the acidic clouds of the said Great War. For instance, Hatch and his fellows always remain fearful of an unknown enemy or aliens. The same way people of that time were and still are, afraid of the mass extinction caused by the nuclear weapons they had just invented. Willy alludes to the destruction of man in these symbolic terms:
Perhaps they’re all busy killing each other and killing other things.
Thus, the fear of aliens, trying to occupy the planet earth, is also an indirect symbol to the fear of destruction of World War Second.
The Sea as a Force of Authority
Lastly, another possible interpretation of the sea that is supported by the text is the force of authority. Almost everyone in the play longs for holding some kind of authority over someone or something. For example, Mrs. Rafi wants to retain her authority over other people in her village. That is why, Mrs. Rafi cancels out the order of the curtains that cost Hatch his "whole shop". An example of her authoritative nature can be seen below:
HATCH. The manufacturers won’t deal with me any more.MRS RAFI. Nor will I.HATCH. I’m in a small way of business, Mrs Rafi. I’m on the black list. I had to pay for all this before they sent it. And I made such a fuss about delivery. All my capital has gone into it.MRS RAFI. You should have thought ofthat before. I won’t have it in the house.
This example shows how authoritative Mrs. Rafi can get.
Hatch also has his influence on Carter and Holarcut, and he uses his power to grind his own axe.
Conclusion
Bond successfully adds meaning to the play by choosing the title that makes the most sense for the play. Conclusively, the significance of the title lies in the destruction and power both inside as well as outside of the sea. Evens rightfully concludes the dangers in the depths of the sea as below:
It doesn’t matter how clear the main currents are, you have to live through the details. It’s always the details that make the tragedy.
Sources and Suggested Readings
Tags:
Modern Drama
